“He died in this chair.”  This is the first line uttered in my new play called THE ROCKER.  Three brothers gather in the childhood home they grew up in.  The play takes place in an attic the brothers are cleaning up as they get ready to sell the house after the passing of their father – a preacher.   The three brothers represent different facets of life: the oldest brother, the responsible one with the responsible job is in a not-so-happy responsible marriage with his quietly reserved wife who navigate raising a wild child with a bizarre sense of humor; the middle brother, single, a photographer who’s always looking for the next best picture to get him through the day; and the youngest brother, a free-spirit, who has disappeared on the family over the years, has never really held a steady job, but shows up at the attic newly married to a young cheeky lady who’s always ready to have a good laugh and a great time.

Picture it:  the opening of the play is a FLASH IN THE DARK.  The lights fade up and we see the middle brother holding a camera and he’s just taken a photo of the rocking chair as the older brother rummages through junk in the attic.  The middle brother takes in the rocker, considers and then utters that opening line:  “He died in this chair.”

When I brainstorm ideas, I usually don’t start writing something new with an opening image or line of dialogue.   But that’s what happened this time around. The canvas is usually much bigger, broader with an idea about themes.  With this idea, I really don’t have a firm grasp as to where I’m going which is a bit scary because it feels like I have no net. When I went for a walk one day recently, I passed by a rocking chair sitting out at the front of a house.  I took that as a sign that maybe I’m on the right track with this new play.  And then I came across this quote by C.S. Lewis that sort of just freed me from the constraints that I often put myself in:

I’m trying to do that with THE ROCKER.  Just let the writing flow.  Don’t try to figure it all out from page one onward.  I’m a notorious planner when it comes to mapping out a script.  I am not sure what this play is about, but the rocker is going to stand for something more than just a rocking chair.  Perhaps it will be a metaphor on life, death, happiness, laughter mystery and wisdom.  And when these six characters gather in this attic space, the rocker will become a seventh character amongst them.  Looking forward to exploring where this story will take me and tapping back into that flow that science fiction writer Isaac Asimov alludes to:

Life has been busy these past few months, including a nasty bout with a flu/cough that has kept me sidelined.  I haven’t been able to write much during this time, nor have I had the energy or focus to do so. My play WAVES is out to several theatre companies/play competitions at this writing. I’m also exploring the idea of producing the play myself.

I never stop learning as a writer.  Each script I write or re-visit (like I did recently with my screenplays WHO IS MOLLY STEELE? and THE GREAT SURRENDER), I come away feeling that the work is better today than it was yesterday.  And I know that will be true for THE ROCKER as I dive into a new adventure.  Here’s hoping for new adventures on this day in wherever life takes you.  Til next time, keep hope alive.