Interview: Playwright Dian Schaffhauser Talks LESBIANS OF SAN DIEGO, A HERSTORY IN TWO ACTS
The Lesbians of San Diego Project presents the world premiere of a new play, “Lesbians of San Diego, A Herstory in Two Acts,” crafted from real oral histories and shaped into a vibrant and moving script by playwright Dian Schaffhauser. In this interview, Schaffhauser shares insight into the creative process, the challenge of historical truth, and the enduring legacy of lesbian culture in San Diego.
The “Lesbians of San Diego, A Herstory in Two Acts”, began with interviews — dozens of them — capturing the lives and voices of women who helped build lesbian community in San Diego from the 1970s through the 1990s. Playwright Dian Schaffhauser took those stories and shaped them into a stage production that’s both archival and alive.
“Listening to the interviews was full of surprises for me. As they’re sitting there in these zoom sessions answering questions of the Project team, these women would discuss the most intimate aspects of their lives – the painful moments, the angriest or embarrassing ones, the heartfelt ones, the saddest ones – with humor and wisdom – as if recounting somebody else’s memories. The stories focused on their lives between the 1970s and 2000. When you get two, three or more decades away from those experiences, as these women did, if you’re living true and you’re lucky, you gain perspective and acceptance. As I was working on the play, I tried to use memories that were authentic to the times, but also the ones that could hook people. We want to entertain while also helping the audience experience our lives as lesbians through those years.”
Rehearsals for The Lesbians of San Diego, featuring (from left), Jess Falstad, Lisa Telepman, Arina Kay, Bliss Ross, Jayne Bond, Carolina Buzato Marques, and Ekaette Mbong.
Telling the story of a community means spanning decades, perspectives, and identities. The idea for this came directly from the community — real people, real stories, and real lives documented through an oral history archive. Spanning the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s meant navigating a wide range of experiences and professions. Schaffhauser walks us through the evolution of the script and how fictional framing helped hold it all together.
“The script went through 22 versions. It’s very different now than it was in the early editions. We had shared an earlier version of the play with somebody who’s a theater expert who had distinct opinions about its many flaws, especially about its lack of a narrative arc. It wasn’t like The Laramie Project or Come From Away or one of Anna Devere Smith’s plays, where there was a distinct event upon which people were pinning their experiences. And just shifting from one character’s story to the next wasn’t compelling enough to sit through for two hours.
That’s when I decided I needed to veer away from the interviews and introduce a couple of characters who don’t exist in real life – though they could. They provide the context against which everybody else – the real women -- have reasons to share their stories.”
Working with oral histories means honoring real lives while still creating a piece of theatre that moves and connects. When working with community-sourced stories, authenticity is everything, but storytelling still requires structure. Schaffhauser says that required balancing accuracy with artistry—blending interview material with theatrical framing devices that bring coherence and momentum to the play.
“Most people talk in loops. They haven’t necessarily rehearsed their memories for recounting to others. The Project team did an amazing job of drilling down with the women they interviewed, pressing them for details, names, places, times. But I often had to piece together segments from multiple interviews with numerous women to get the full story of any given aspect of lesbian life. For example, one of the earliest women’s music festivals took place in San Diego. That was covered in its own interview with a group of women, but numerous individuals also talked about it in their interviews. And they didn’t all agree about what a great time they had. Same with the military stuff. So the bulk of quotes were taken from the interviews – except for the lines delivered by the two fictional characters I added. But you’d have to go to numerous transcripts to hunt down the actual verbiage. The made-up stuff provided the delivery vehicle. The real stuff delivered the historical and emotional truth.”
The term “herstory” is used frequently, but language carries weight, especially when it challenges dominant narratives. Schaffhauser shares her complicated relationship with the term “herstory,” and why it fits this project.
“I always stumble over that word herstory, but then I always stumbled over calling myself a lesbian too. Like one of the characters in the play explains (and someone said during her interview), “The word Lesbian wasn’t considered nasty, but it was too clear. It was a real consciousness-raising thing that went on.” So I guess this play – and that tagline – is my chance to practice using language that I as an English major was always uncomfortable with because it’s considered “nonstandard.” Simply put, the women in this play want to be remembered. They want to maintain their place in the world. These days, especially, when so much is being bulldozed for not fitting into the American myth of the all-powerful, well-armed white man, I’m not sure MAGA would think of looking up the word “herstory” when they’re doing their purging of history and culture. And maybe in that way, we’ll sneak in under their noses to survive another day.”
Looking ahead, Dian hopes that “Lesbians of San Diego, A Herstory in Two Acts” will serve as a bridge, not just to the past, but to future generations. Schaffhauser hopes younger audiences find not just wisdom in these stories, but a model for preserving their own and how legacy-building starts with listening.
“The struggles young people face may be new to them, but they’re not new to us, the oldsters. We’ve seen a lot, and we’ve survived a lot. Ask us what we think! Ask us for guidance. We were as wacky as you are now – and some of us are still just as wacky. By helping the lesbians capture and retain their stories, you’ll be learning how to do the same for yourselves. And one day that will matter.”
How To Get Tickets
“Lesbians of San Diego, A Herstory in Two Acts”, premieres July 31and runs through August 10th, presented by the Lesbians of San Diego Project at the Diversionary Theatre. For tickets or info, visit https://tickets.sdlesbians.org/
(This is not a Diversionary Theatre production).