Close was an extremely rewarding experience. It’s been two weeks since the production wrapped and I am grateful for every volunteer who sacrificed an ounce of their time and energy towards the play. It was both a challenge and joy to work with the actors, many of whom have very limited experience on the stage. For all three performances, I sat in the audience and watched not only the play, but the audience watch the play. Many times, I wanted to jump out of my skin. When you know every line, every gesture and movement, every lighting que and sound bite, by performance end, you are spent like a runner after a marathon (okay, maybe not that spent, but you get my drift).
The creation process is one of endurance. It not only keeps you sharp and focused, but it wills you to keep fighting for the best possible outcome. And then, when you think you’ve got it, it’s time then to let it go and share it with others. These two synergetic forces coming together (art and spectator) creates a bond that is unpredictable yet wholly satisfying. For the most part, I have a sense of what an audience feels, but I certainly do not know the pulse of every person. So please, tell me what you think of Close. I am all ears.
The week following the play, I was not motivated much to write as I felt emotionally drained. However, I did get back to my screenplay Twig and began typing my hand-written copy. It’s been a slow process, but I hope to have a 2nd draft by months end and then onto the re-write of Circus.
Picture This played at the Ozark Foothills FilmFest back on March 27 (same day Close opened). My screenplay Home was in competition there, but it did not place. It was disappointing but part of wherever this journey is taking me. I continue to send out Home (to a producer in New York recently) and also shop around my plays Blue and Circus.
In the meantime…back to writing or is it re-writing – one in the same. John Updike puts it best:
“Writing and rewriting are a constant search for what it is one is saying.”
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