The staged reading of my play ANIMAL is happening this Saturday March 24 @ 12 Noon as part of Alumnae Theatre’s New Ideas Festival.   Details on the reading, visist HERE.

The above cast – Steven, Alexandra, Michele and Anton are working hard, along with director Liz and stage manager Myriam as we all continue to build this beast of a play for Saturday’s reading.  ANIMAL is stronger having gone through this process.  Working on the text with Liz and input from the group has sharpened the play’s focus.  In many ways, I think staging a play is easier than a reading because you have the advantage of movement, sets, sounds, lights, etc…  A reading forces the playwright (moi) to focus purely on the dialogue (though there will be some movement/gestures from the actors).   Much of my descriptions had to be cut because reading too much narration (ie, telling an audience where an actor is moving) is not terribly interesting and can drag down the reading.  You don’t want to bore an audience.  The dialogue should clip along and grab a viewer.   I’ve come to realize that most of my dialogue speaks of action and does not need to be read.  Action is implicit in the dialogue.

It’s been a real joy to witness the story come to life through the actors’ interpretations.    Many different actors have read these parts over the years (and I hope that some of them can make it out to the reading as I am eager to hear what they have to say).  The script has changed quite a bit since my last reading/
workshop.

Thanks to every actor who has read for Griffin, Raina, Mercedes, Daniel and Dr. Cranshaw (a character who no longer exits in this new draft).  Every opinion and criticism I have received has been duly noted and has shaped what ANIMAL has become today.

When I was interviewing directors for the reading back in November, it was a nerve-raking time.  I was really fortunate to get someone like Liz Best.  Getting along with your director is not necessarily a prerequisite to creating good work, but it helps the experience.  Liz and I hit it off from the start.  I’m grateful for that because life is too short and everyone, in the end, wants to get along and have a good time despite the challenges we sometimes face.  This “beautiful beast” (Liz’s words to describe ANIMAL) has been a good time and I’m feeling more confident as we draw closer to sharing this story with an audience.