First half recap

A week early, I know, but I was thinking about the year so far as far as my theatrical efforts go.

Nice year so far I'd say.

I spent the spring term of the Woodstock Fringe Playwrights Unit working on The Craftsman, scene by scene.  It was a lot of fun and culminated in the Voices From the Fringe reading.  It was a very satisfying event; made more so by Bette reading her new piece, Glass Slipper, to open the evening.  Her writing just keeps getting better and deeper; a very moving piece.

The reading of The Craftsman was all I would have hoped for, with the unexpected last minute addition of me reading the part of Ralph Peterson, whose two scenes are the heart of the play.  I wrote the part of Ralph for myself over twenty years ago, but had never had the chance to read it, so it was a very special occasion for me.  It was also gratifying to have the array of talent reading for me, and we can't forget Craig's puppet of the Homeless Man that he created FOR THE READING!

Unforgettable evening.

I've kept track of the plays I submit on a spreadsheet; I started doing this four or five years ago as a way to keep track of these things.  I have submitted The Craftsman to seven competitions/theater companies, with more to come, no doubt.  I believe in the piece, and while it scares some folks off due to the potential threat of violence to women . . . the dark comedy aspects of it seem to mitigate those concerns nicely.  None of the women who have heard/seen the play read have expressed concerns regarding our current moment.

I've also submitted Brother of the End of the World seven times this year . . . another recent favorite.

I've gone back in the archives and sent Pigotry to EST (figuring it might benefit from the #metoo moment).  I also sent The Straight and Narrow to a competition.  Interesting that of the fourteen full length plays on my resume, this one isn't on there . . . never had a reading or anything.

And finally I submitted The Rumpled Man for a horror competition.

 Having a body of work in the metaphorical vault, you can respond to just about anything.

We can't forget the reading we did for the Welsh Women's Club either.  Bette read the Glass Slipper there as well, and we read scenes from my sort of in the works series of scenes called Random Encounters.

What does Act 2 of 2018 hold?  Don't know but can't wait to find out!!!!!

25th anniversary!

Right about now is the 25th anniversary of the production of Trip to Bountiful that I did with Ellen Burstyn in the lead.

That occurred to me the other day as I ready a monologue for the B'way production of To Kill a Mockingbird.  The EPA is tomorrow and I reserved a slot and will be there.  The monologue is the one I wrote for the audition for Bountiful . . . and writing that monologue changed three people's lives in a major way.

I believe I've written about this before, but I wrote the monologue about my grandfather, who was a farmer,  because I didn't have a regional piece to use for the audition.

So I sat down at a typewriter and wrote it (actually not sure if I wrote long hand first).  That monologue got me cast, which led to us finding Nyack (where Ellen lived) and got me into Equity.  It also woke me to the possibilities of writing, or, as Bette put it:  'See what happens when you write'.

So . . . for the past 25 years I've been applying myself to the writing craft.  I had written this or that, all along . . . short stories, poems, songs and such . . . but I didn't have the focus to keep it rolling.

For tomorrow's audition it seemed like a no brainer to use that monologue again. I kept it and knew exactly where it was . . . except it wasn't!  I was very upset, this was a keeper the one page typewritten (before we even had a pc) marked up sheet that I thought should be kept for 'posterity'.

To make long story short:  I eventually found it.  So onward.  We'll see if lightening can strike twice!