Maybe I'm just too picky...but maybe not
I've wondered about this for a while, and am increasingly of the mind that I am. I went to a short plays festival on Friday night and didn't really like most of the plays! I had reasons for feeling this way, of course. It wasn't just a vague, "Gee, these suck," sense (and in fact, with the exception of one of the plays, I didn't feel that way at all). I just felt as if they could be so much better, and that I could have written a play equal to or better than any of them. (Of course, it's easy to think that, but if you haven't written the work yet, you're not in any position to make such a claim. You can still think it, but you can't prove it and why should anyone care?) The plays weren't bad, and most had something of interest. The acting was generally good (though not uniformly), and most of the plots had some originality, but I kept thinking, these aren't really working for me.
In one play, about body travel, I felt as if the point was made really early on, and then reiterated and reiterated. There was a slight twist at the end that helped redeem it, but I wanted MORE. I realize that there's only so much you can do in a 10-15 minute play, but I would rather see a playwright put too much in than not enough. (Maybe that's b/c it's what I tend to do...who knows?!) Another play was about someone who predicted another's death, and was poorly acted and conceived, in my opinion, so I won't discuss that. One interesting play was about a woman having a baby in a restroom, while her boyfriend, another woman, and another man revealed their relationships to one another. Perhaps a bit too much was taking place in this one, but I think it might be because the actors needed to slow down and enunciate a bit more; otherwise, I liked the premise and the execution. A play that seemed to generate a very favorable audience response was called "Spam" and was about advertising on the internet. It was extremely well-acted and a lot of it rang true, but it just seemed a bit too easy (cheap laughs), and as someone who is not particularly into The Three Stooges, Abbot and Costello, and slapstick, it just didn't work for me.
One play actually seemed a bit too heavy on the message (though well-acted) about censorship and the Republicans' agenda (not that I disagreed ;-)) and the play about suicide and a relationship that didn't work also seemed too heavy on the message (and had a very, very odd ending that A. and I couldn't figure out). A. thought I would like it, since I write about or allude to suicide in some of my plays, but for some reason I didn't like it. This makes little sense to me--maybe I like what I don't write about. Maybe I'm a total hypocrite. ;-) I can't really tell you. The play that worked best, "Bloom" by Kelly DuMar (also presented at the Arlington Players Festival, where I liked it as a reading), had humor amongst the sadness (it just had a feeling of regret, but wasn't depressing or depressive), and the actors, who had originally done the reading, had a nice chemistry. I voted for it as best play, though I didn't go in thinking I would. I really wonder what my deal is. Am I merely jealous? I don't think so; after all, I loved the Rough and Tumble's play at the Boston Playwrights Theatre Marathon, though I desperately wanted them to cast me in their latest play, "Pieces of Whitey" (and I'm going w/ A. to see it at the BCA this afternoon; air conditioning and a $12 ticket were also factors, as well as a strong cast). I think I am at a hypercritical point right now, and that is probably typical when one is focusing so much on one's own writing.
I think I was like that back in grad school at Emerson College, when I was writing and submitting short stories. I liked some of my colleagues' work but some I didn't like at all, and I tended to have a lot of suggestions. Of course, my hope is that everyone will write scripts (or novels or short stories or screenplays) that I and everyone will enjoy, that won't pander to me, that will challenge me without being too esoteric (as in impossible to decipher, the way I find most poetry). But I did wonder, as I watched the plays in the festival, if my expectations were just too high, and perhaps they were. As I've noted, I cringed when my play was read at the Arlington Players Festival, and I know that it isn't a bad play, so I'm tough on everyone's writing. I am not going to say I gravitate toward comedy rather than tragedy or drama, though I think it's easier to achieve in a short play (anything under 30 minutes, and certainly a 10-minute piece). I don't gravitate toward comedy in many cases (though my one-woman play was mostly funny, or odd-funny or quirky, but not dark and depressing, unlike my plays), but if something is truly funny to me, I am unbelievably appreciative. I think the answer, again, is that I just have to get my own work out there, and then I will be able to be more impartial (and will also feel as if I'm accomplishing something while also being able to appreciate others' efforts).
Trust me, I know it's not easy to write and get a play out there--the hardest thing for me is just starting (for others, it's editing or taking constructive criticism or submitting, and none of these are problemmatic for me)--and I hope to do at least a bit of it next week, when I'm on vacation. And of course, just being on vacation, away from the everyday grind, away from my preoccuaption with theatre, and in touch with a friend I rarely see and areas I rarely visit (in this case Buffalo and Toronto, which I love), should help stimulate me, or so I hope. At least, it should help me gain a bit more perspective and, as with yoga, allow me to breathe. One cannot breathe enough.
In one play, about body travel, I felt as if the point was made really early on, and then reiterated and reiterated. There was a slight twist at the end that helped redeem it, but I wanted MORE. I realize that there's only so much you can do in a 10-15 minute play, but I would rather see a playwright put too much in than not enough. (Maybe that's b/c it's what I tend to do...who knows?!) Another play was about someone who predicted another's death, and was poorly acted and conceived, in my opinion, so I won't discuss that. One interesting play was about a woman having a baby in a restroom, while her boyfriend, another woman, and another man revealed their relationships to one another. Perhaps a bit too much was taking place in this one, but I think it might be because the actors needed to slow down and enunciate a bit more; otherwise, I liked the premise and the execution. A play that seemed to generate a very favorable audience response was called "Spam" and was about advertising on the internet. It was extremely well-acted and a lot of it rang true, but it just seemed a bit too easy (cheap laughs), and as someone who is not particularly into The Three Stooges, Abbot and Costello, and slapstick, it just didn't work for me.
One play actually seemed a bit too heavy on the message (though well-acted) about censorship and the Republicans' agenda (not that I disagreed ;-)) and the play about suicide and a relationship that didn't work also seemed too heavy on the message (and had a very, very odd ending that A. and I couldn't figure out). A. thought I would like it, since I write about or allude to suicide in some of my plays, but for some reason I didn't like it. This makes little sense to me--maybe I like what I don't write about. Maybe I'm a total hypocrite. ;-) I can't really tell you. The play that worked best, "Bloom" by Kelly DuMar (also presented at the Arlington Players Festival, where I liked it as a reading), had humor amongst the sadness (it just had a feeling of regret, but wasn't depressing or depressive), and the actors, who had originally done the reading, had a nice chemistry. I voted for it as best play, though I didn't go in thinking I would. I really wonder what my deal is. Am I merely jealous? I don't think so; after all, I loved the Rough and Tumble's play at the Boston Playwrights Theatre Marathon, though I desperately wanted them to cast me in their latest play, "Pieces of Whitey" (and I'm going w/ A. to see it at the BCA this afternoon; air conditioning and a $12 ticket were also factors, as well as a strong cast). I think I am at a hypercritical point right now, and that is probably typical when one is focusing so much on one's own writing.
I think I was like that back in grad school at Emerson College, when I was writing and submitting short stories. I liked some of my colleagues' work but some I didn't like at all, and I tended to have a lot of suggestions. Of course, my hope is that everyone will write scripts (or novels or short stories or screenplays) that I and everyone will enjoy, that won't pander to me, that will challenge me without being too esoteric (as in impossible to decipher, the way I find most poetry). But I did wonder, as I watched the plays in the festival, if my expectations were just too high, and perhaps they were. As I've noted, I cringed when my play was read at the Arlington Players Festival, and I know that it isn't a bad play, so I'm tough on everyone's writing. I am not going to say I gravitate toward comedy rather than tragedy or drama, though I think it's easier to achieve in a short play (anything under 30 minutes, and certainly a 10-minute piece). I don't gravitate toward comedy in many cases (though my one-woman play was mostly funny, or odd-funny or quirky, but not dark and depressing, unlike my plays), but if something is truly funny to me, I am unbelievably appreciative. I think the answer, again, is that I just have to get my own work out there, and then I will be able to be more impartial (and will also feel as if I'm accomplishing something while also being able to appreciate others' efforts).
Trust me, I know it's not easy to write and get a play out there--the hardest thing for me is just starting (for others, it's editing or taking constructive criticism or submitting, and none of these are problemmatic for me)--and I hope to do at least a bit of it next week, when I'm on vacation. And of course, just being on vacation, away from the everyday grind, away from my preoccuaption with theatre, and in touch with a friend I rarely see and areas I rarely visit (in this case Buffalo and Toronto, which I love), should help stimulate me, or so I hope. At least, it should help me gain a bit more perspective and, as with yoga, allow me to breathe. One cannot breathe enough.
posted by Sue B at 8:30 PM
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