Please forgive this late posting. I was too busy having fun in Ohio yesterday to publish this (even though it was ready to go) then my plane got delayed and then cancelled and my phone died, and blogging just slid down the priority list. I guess that means today will be a DOUBLE POST!!! Oooh fancy.
This is going to sound trite, but when you go to school for something, and work really hard to make it happen, THEN IT DOES, you are still kind of surprised and delighted that you pulled it off.
I had a play on, here in New York. Being a writer, a playwright, that is kind of a huge deal to me. To find my place in the New York theatre community is a lifelong dream.
(Elephant in the room: Have I had a play on since? Honestly, no. But I have about six working manuscripts, long and short, that are being tinkered with and dusted off after a long hiatus. I am starting again. My family situation, and the depression with which I have struggled, culminated in the most God-Almighty writers block. All my stories have been ones of loss, grief and anger, because that's all I could wrap my brain around. I just needed time. And the curtain, the haze, is slowly lifting. I am coming back to literary life.)
I wrote the play as my final thesis for graduate school. The plot revolves around a bullied student who, for his high school English class, writes a play about a Columbine-esque school massacre. The play becomes a tug of war between the school's principal (who wants the boy expelled) and his English teacher (who claims that the play is just a way to express himself) with the student caught in the middle. Not to toot my own horn, but I really do think it's good. It's honest and tries to tackle some pretty big (and still, sadly very relevant) issues, such as bullying, freedom of speech, and the atmosphere of fear and violence in schools. It received a warm reception in performance, and many other theatres were interested, but because I am no one of note, it didn't find another audience. I hope that changes. I think it could really have a very positive impact. When people leave, they talk about it, debate the issues, which is exactly what I want to happen with my work. In fact, at the end of one performance, my friend overheard an old man exclaim (because you know the elderly have no idea how loud they speak, and that cracks me up) "I'm really worried about the guy who wrote that play!" God, if we had more money for publicity I would've loved that quote splashed across the poster!
The team for the show - director, cast and production was stellar. We were very lucky to get them. The actor we had playing the student - I maintain he is going to be a big deal and I'll get to brag he was in my play - blew my mind and broke my heart every single time. It was funny, because when he came in for the audition, I just muttered "that's our guy" because I felt it. It was instinct, and in this case, it was spot on.
My brother flew all the way out from LA to see the show. I was completely blown away by this gesture, the willingness to travel so far to support me. It meant so much, especially because our parents couldn't make it, due to my dad's illness. Having missed my graduation, I shouldn't have been surprised he was too sick to come to New York, but not having your parents see your first big show is hard. I know how much they wanted to be there too. Sometimes, life is in fact just a bitch.
