EXCITING NEWS: AN ACCEPTANCE!
Yes, not only am I posting for the second time in one day, an unprecedented event, but I am posting with good news: one of my plays just got accepted into a local play festival! My 10-minute play, "Peanut Butter Sandwiches," the one I had basically given up on (or had, in fact, given up on, at least as a 10-minute work), was accepted by Theatre One in Middleboro, MA for their "Slice of Life Festival" in February. It's a pretty intense play about an unhappy 12-year-old girl and her somewhat out of touch mother, and I had been given feedback that too much happens in too little time and that the dialogue didn't really ring true. Whether or not that's the case, this festival wants to give the play a chance. Happily, I will be back from Florida in time for their festival--I would have been so disappointed if it had a week earlier--and A. should be back from Florida, where she's caring for her dad, as well, so we can both go. YAY!
This, my friends, is the email I desperately needed. I don't care what anyone says (or I do, but it doesn't work for me), external validation is at least occasionally needed, and acceptances feel one million times better than rejections. That's rather an obvious comment, but it's amazing how much better I felt after getting the email. There was, indeed, a spring to my step, and I was eager to share my good news with A., the playwrights binge group (who were very gracious in congratulating me), and my sister in Florida and parents, all of whom were very excited. I am rather shocked (my sister and mother were both surprised that I was, and my mother pointed out that when I hang in with things, they often pan out, so I just need to be patient) and extremely pleased, b/c producer Peg Holzmer noted that she "loved" the play, and that means so much to me. It's a play that I really care about (of course, it's sad, but it ends on a hopeful note, just as my longer play, "Uncharted Territory," does), and I had hoped it would strike a chord with someone (well, A. always liked it, though she felt it could be longer, and maybe it still can be). Now I see that it has, and for that, I'm very grateful.
As I noted earlier today, I needed something to bring back my enthusiasm for writing, and perhaps this news will help motivate me. (I still don't know what to do with my Santa play, and hope people have specific ideas at my playwrighting group on Wednesday.) But I left the house, in order to grab a bite and usher for a play at Boston Playwrights Theatre, a lot happier than I would have been without the news--again, I had written both the festival and the play off, neither with good reason, I suppose--and I just feel good inside. I'm not sure I should need this external validation to feel good about my writing--I probably should feel confident enough in my writing ability to do fine without it--but the truth is that I don't, at least not yet, and I need some happy news sprinkled amongst the bad. So thank you, Theatre One, and let's hope I get to a point where I really do enjoy writing simply because the process is gratifying (which it clearly is, but I still need a positive end result). Now I can't wait to see it performed. :-)
This, my friends, is the email I desperately needed. I don't care what anyone says (or I do, but it doesn't work for me), external validation is at least occasionally needed, and acceptances feel one million times better than rejections. That's rather an obvious comment, but it's amazing how much better I felt after getting the email. There was, indeed, a spring to my step, and I was eager to share my good news with A., the playwrights binge group (who were very gracious in congratulating me), and my sister in Florida and parents, all of whom were very excited. I am rather shocked (my sister and mother were both surprised that I was, and my mother pointed out that when I hang in with things, they often pan out, so I just need to be patient) and extremely pleased, b/c producer Peg Holzmer noted that she "loved" the play, and that means so much to me. It's a play that I really care about (of course, it's sad, but it ends on a hopeful note, just as my longer play, "Uncharted Territory," does), and I had hoped it would strike a chord with someone (well, A. always liked it, though she felt it could be longer, and maybe it still can be). Now I see that it has, and for that, I'm very grateful.
As I noted earlier today, I needed something to bring back my enthusiasm for writing, and perhaps this news will help motivate me. (I still don't know what to do with my Santa play, and hope people have specific ideas at my playwrighting group on Wednesday.) But I left the house, in order to grab a bite and usher for a play at Boston Playwrights Theatre, a lot happier than I would have been without the news--again, I had written both the festival and the play off, neither with good reason, I suppose--and I just feel good inside. I'm not sure I should need this external validation to feel good about my writing--I probably should feel confident enough in my writing ability to do fine without it--but the truth is that I don't, at least not yet, and I need some happy news sprinkled amongst the bad. So thank you, Theatre One, and let's hope I get to a point where I really do enjoy writing simply because the process is gratifying (which it clearly is, but I still need a positive end result). Now I can't wait to see it performed. :-)
posted by Sue B at 4:07 PM
2 Comments:
CONGRATS Sue!!! Yay!!
External validation does matter, of course! If it didn't, then we wouldn't need to put these thoughts of ours down on paper and show them to the rest of the world. Yes, you have to please yourself first and foremost--I genuinely believe that--but getting the nod from someone who doesn't know you from a hole in the ground is superb validation as well.
Next comes the other great validation: audience response. Enjoy!
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