Everyone of these four women above, in one way or another, have contributed bringing my play ANIMAL to life. Writing is re-writing and you need to have a strong constitution for it.  Creating art with others and for others who will read, work on it or witness it, can be contentious at times.  Opinions vary.   Constructive criticism (even when it makes total sense) is hard to take.  But if what you’re creating is important, then press on and be open.   Quite often the person you do battle with the most is yourself.

ANIMAL began as a seed of an idea in the summer of 2008.  This idea was to show the effects of mental illness on one woman and her family.  The original title of ANIMAL was Circus, because in that first draft, the feel of a circus-type atmosphere was prominent.  Although that feeling remains, much of those initial elements needed focusing and refining.

JANE MILLER

Enter Jane Miller – she has been with the project the longest.  Shortly after our initial collaboration on BLUE (a beautiful little play about a family of three who meet at the family’s cottage for one tumultuous weekend following the publication of one of the sibling’s autobiographical book), I gave ANIMAL for Jane to read.  Jane has shepherded several drafts of the play and has gathered actors to read drafts aloud.   We would sit around and discuss the script after each reading.   Much of the script’s shaping took place with these actors and Jane’s perceptive guidance.  There were long stretches of time during these first years that I walked away from ANIMAL, only to find myself drawn back in.  The play has been rejected by theatre companies, playwriting competitions, Summerworks, Fringe Festival…the list is endless.  But I would just keep re-writing until someone gave me a chance with it.

LIZ BEST

That chance came when I received a phone call in Oct of 2017 from the Alumnae Theatre who informed me that they wanted to include ANIMAL in their New Ideas Festival where it would receive a public reading.  Enter Liz Best.  I interviewed a slew of directors for the ANIMAL reading and Liz and I just clicked.  Liz has made some keen observations along the way as we cast the reading and began working on the script.   I went to every rehearsal during this process and when we staged the reading in March 2018, it became a pivotal moment for me.  When the reading was performed, I barely watched the actors and took in the audience.  Between their reactions and working with Liz, I knew that after the reading there was still work to be done.  And I wasn’t looking forward to it.

JOAN BURROWS

The good news was in April 2018, I got another call from the Alumnae Theatre who wanted to include ANIMAL in their Fireworks Festival where the play was to receive a production.  Enter Joan Burrows.  Joan would be the second dramaturge (after Jane) I would work with.  We had lots of talks between us in terms of re-structuring the play.  And although some re-structuring did happen, the biggest contribution Joan brought to the table was to remove and/or tone down some of the harshness of the script, humanizing the characters more and thereby giving them more of a dramatic arc.  I was also able to add a few more lighter elements.  The play now has some dance and music in spots which helps to contrast the tougher, but necessary tragic moments.  It was during this re-writing period I realized I had to re-look at the ending of the play as it wasn’t quite adding up (this became abundantly clear to me after the public reading).  The focus was wrong.  The new ending now gets the focus right.  And it’s a better play for it.

EVELYN LONG

ANIMAL was ready to go…sort of….we needed a director.  Enter Evelyn Long.  Evelyn entered the project in June 2018 and within a month we had our first reading of the script with actors Liz brought together.  This reading was the newest draft Joan had contributed on.  Following that reading, I realized that the play felt long, clunky, overly wordy.  So before auditions began, I cut out 10 pages from the script and this is the draft which will be presented to the public at the Fireworks Festival happening November 21-25.   When Evelyn and I went through the audition process/callbacks, we had the same actors in mind for the parts which was gratifying and confirming for me.  I’ve enjoyed getting to know Evelyn, who has an abundance of rich energy, is eager to learn and take direction herself.  Her creative juices are constantly flowing.  The cast is deep into rehearsals as you can see from the photos below where Craig Martin (Cliff) and Pat Pariselli (Mercedes) are learning dance steps thanks to choreographer Paige Pidwerbeski.

ALBERINA CIOLFI

There is one final woman I want to add to the women above.  And although she was not part of the creative process of bringing ANIMAL to life, it was her life that inspired the story.  Enter Alberina Ciolfi – my mother. ANIMAL exists because of her struggle with mental illness.  And I would go so far as to say that the writer I am today and what I write about (the struggle of the human condition) is because of this woman.  She has inspired me, angered me, has made me nervous/even scared, she makes me laugh, is a damn good cook, a wicked personality, not afraid to speak her truth and battles for courage daily.  She is life.  Embrace it for all its unpredictability, passions, disappointments and joys.  And go create some art.

Come see ANIMAL playing at the Alumnae Theatre starting November 21.   For dates, times, where to buy tickets, theatre location, etc.. please visit HERE.