Playwright Bingeing, Part Two
Well, the binge is in full swing, and I'm happy to say that I'm swinging along with it. :-) Not only have I submitted to at least 10 theatres (probably more like 15), BUT I also wrote a new 10-minute play called "Not A Competition" yesterday morning. It was rather weird, b/c I wrote it in about 2 1/2 hours, but I'm not complaining! The theme of one of the festival's is "20 years," so I thought, how can I come up with a play that is about some sort of reunion but isn't cliche-ridden? I considered writing about a company hosting a 20th reunion for dismissed employees, but I wasn't sure I could make it funny and then it would just be depressing. ;-) (I might still try at some point, however.) So I went the usual 20-year high school reunion, but it's a lot different than you'd expect (or so I hope). If anyone wants to see a copy of it, let me know, but I'd rather not post about it, b/c you never know who's reading. :-)
Anyway, it was remarkably easy to compose--I'd be thinking about the theme a bit, and it also integrates ideas of interest (like 38-year old single women, which I was, not long ago, and their male co-horts), so it wasn't like it was this out-of-the-blue topic. I rarely am able to just sit and write and like the results--"Peanut Butter Sandwiches," for example, another 10-minute play, was about 20x harder to write (and I'm still not sure if it works, though I think it's a lot stronger than it once was after a lot of rewrites)--but this one really did just come out, and with a bit of tweaking, I think it's pretty much done, and I've already submitted it to the Savage Tree Festival and plan to send it out to Heartland Theatre Company, the theatre hosting the "20 years" theme, tonight or tomorrow (I think the play is done, but I'm not 100 percent sure). I realize that I'll probably make changes to it over time, as I've done with my other plays, so I should just get it over with and send it out.
This binge has been incredibly motivating, and I couldn't be more grateful to Patrick, the Founder, and to Kathleen, who manages the En Avant playwrighting site, and the other wonderful playwrights on the listserv. I am really inspired to write, edit, and submit, and I can't say this has always been the case. And the more I get out there, the better my chances, of course. I'm VERY anti-playwrighting fees, for the record, and have only paid twice to submit, one to Perishable Theatre in R.I., for an inexplicable reason (they like women-driven plays, and now I have another one, and I can't send it without paying again...oh, well), and one to another company that took the first submission for free and the second for $3.00 (I can swing $3.00). I won't pay $10, $15, or $20, however, no matter how prestigious the company or festival and matter the prize money (assuming there is some, and there generally isn't), b/c I really can't afford AND b/c I don't think I should have to! The actors don't pay to play, nor do the directors pay to do their thing, so why should the playwrights? Are we wealthier than the other participants? I think not.
I find it frustrating and unfair and I'm also not confident enough that my work is strong enough (so much of this is out of the writer's hands, anyway, and has nothing to do with the play but more with the company's needs, as is the case with acting and directing). But there are enough places that don't require submission fees that I've had plenty of opportunities to send or (preferably) email my work, and it's forced me to revisit the plays (except "Uncharted Territory," which is done, for better or worse, for the time being), make some changes (e.g., I set "Accept This!" in a bar, b/c two places wanted a play set in a bar, and it worked just fine, I think), and then get the plays out the door. I'm not sitting still--hence writing a play yesterday--but I'm also able to move on (though keeping each submission in a folder, so I don't send multiple submissions to the same place).
I had the biggest high yesterday after finishing the new play. I went to the gym and had more energy on the elliptical than I've had in a long time. I just felt USEFUL or something akin to that, and rather proud of myself, too. I hope some theatre likes it, but I am pleased with the results, and I actually enjoyed the process, which is just as if not more important. Having Fridays off this semester is making such a difference. I can do errands the first day and write the second or vice versa, but I don't feel rushed or too tired to write, and I also feel like I'm actually getting a weekend in, and so I can also read, pay bills, clean (a little ;-)), see a friend, watch the Patriots or Red Sox (who are now in the playoffs, yay), and not dread going back to work on Monday. Along with the 90-minute yoga class on Sundays, regular exercise the other days, and (hopefully) the cognitive behavioral therapy sessions (next one this Thursday, before I head off to Florida to see my niece, nephew, and sister), I hope to really keep my emotions in check and get through the change from summer to fall to winter without as much anxiety and depression as usual (though I do feel some effects of SAD already, since the earlier dusk and the sometime-brisk weather is bothering me, and it's only the second day of October after a pretty mild September).
I don't know when I'll audition again, and I can't say I don't think about it (probably more than is healthy), but writing is such a buzz, and getting produced will feel MARVELOUS. I'm also getting to make some great contacts with listserv members, which is fun and interesting (I've read a few new plays, for example, and had others read mine). It's time very well spent, and I do feel as if I can say "I'm a writer" with some degree of confidence and authenticity, b/c I'm actually WRITING. The idea of doing improv now seems impossible, but I don't miss it anymore, and maybe in time I won't really miss acting, either (or I'll be able to do it, b/c I won't put so much pressure on myself during auditions). I can also go to plays, b/c I haven't tried out for them, so there's no residual bitterness. :-) It's all win-win, and I only wonder why it took so long for me to seriously pursue writing again. But as Shannon, my yoga instructor, says, You can't change the past and you can't control the future, so you live in the present moment. It might sound trite, but it couldn't be more accurate.
Anyway, it was remarkably easy to compose--I'd be thinking about the theme a bit, and it also integrates ideas of interest (like 38-year old single women, which I was, not long ago, and their male co-horts), so it wasn't like it was this out-of-the-blue topic. I rarely am able to just sit and write and like the results--"Peanut Butter Sandwiches," for example, another 10-minute play, was about 20x harder to write (and I'm still not sure if it works, though I think it's a lot stronger than it once was after a lot of rewrites)--but this one really did just come out, and with a bit of tweaking, I think it's pretty much done, and I've already submitted it to the Savage Tree Festival and plan to send it out to Heartland Theatre Company, the theatre hosting the "20 years" theme, tonight or tomorrow (I think the play is done, but I'm not 100 percent sure). I realize that I'll probably make changes to it over time, as I've done with my other plays, so I should just get it over with and send it out.
This binge has been incredibly motivating, and I couldn't be more grateful to Patrick, the Founder, and to Kathleen, who manages the En Avant playwrighting site, and the other wonderful playwrights on the listserv. I am really inspired to write, edit, and submit, and I can't say this has always been the case. And the more I get out there, the better my chances, of course. I'm VERY anti-playwrighting fees, for the record, and have only paid twice to submit, one to Perishable Theatre in R.I., for an inexplicable reason (they like women-driven plays, and now I have another one, and I can't send it without paying again...oh, well), and one to another company that took the first submission for free and the second for $3.00 (I can swing $3.00). I won't pay $10, $15, or $20, however, no matter how prestigious the company or festival and matter the prize money (assuming there is some, and there generally isn't), b/c I really can't afford AND b/c I don't think I should have to! The actors don't pay to play, nor do the directors pay to do their thing, so why should the playwrights? Are we wealthier than the other participants? I think not.
I find it frustrating and unfair and I'm also not confident enough that my work is strong enough (so much of this is out of the writer's hands, anyway, and has nothing to do with the play but more with the company's needs, as is the case with acting and directing). But there are enough places that don't require submission fees that I've had plenty of opportunities to send or (preferably) email my work, and it's forced me to revisit the plays (except "Uncharted Territory," which is done, for better or worse, for the time being), make some changes (e.g., I set "Accept This!" in a bar, b/c two places wanted a play set in a bar, and it worked just fine, I think), and then get the plays out the door. I'm not sitting still--hence writing a play yesterday--but I'm also able to move on (though keeping each submission in a folder, so I don't send multiple submissions to the same place).
I had the biggest high yesterday after finishing the new play. I went to the gym and had more energy on the elliptical than I've had in a long time. I just felt USEFUL or something akin to that, and rather proud of myself, too. I hope some theatre likes it, but I am pleased with the results, and I actually enjoyed the process, which is just as if not more important. Having Fridays off this semester is making such a difference. I can do errands the first day and write the second or vice versa, but I don't feel rushed or too tired to write, and I also feel like I'm actually getting a weekend in, and so I can also read, pay bills, clean (a little ;-)), see a friend, watch the Patriots or Red Sox (who are now in the playoffs, yay), and not dread going back to work on Monday. Along with the 90-minute yoga class on Sundays, regular exercise the other days, and (hopefully) the cognitive behavioral therapy sessions (next one this Thursday, before I head off to Florida to see my niece, nephew, and sister), I hope to really keep my emotions in check and get through the change from summer to fall to winter without as much anxiety and depression as usual (though I do feel some effects of SAD already, since the earlier dusk and the sometime-brisk weather is bothering me, and it's only the second day of October after a pretty mild September).
I don't know when I'll audition again, and I can't say I don't think about it (probably more than is healthy), but writing is such a buzz, and getting produced will feel MARVELOUS. I'm also getting to make some great contacts with listserv members, which is fun and interesting (I've read a few new plays, for example, and had others read mine). It's time very well spent, and I do feel as if I can say "I'm a writer" with some degree of confidence and authenticity, b/c I'm actually WRITING. The idea of doing improv now seems impossible, but I don't miss it anymore, and maybe in time I won't really miss acting, either (or I'll be able to do it, b/c I won't put so much pressure on myself during auditions). I can also go to plays, b/c I haven't tried out for them, so there's no residual bitterness. :-) It's all win-win, and I only wonder why it took so long for me to seriously pursue writing again. But as Shannon, my yoga instructor, says, You can't change the past and you can't control the future, so you live in the present moment. It might sound trite, but it couldn't be more accurate.
posted by Sue B at 4:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home