Close tells the story of a teenage girl named Madeline who has locked herself in her basement and refuses to leave from there, until she gets answers regarding the turmoil her family is going through.  When the play opens, she has been in the basement for three days straight and her mother begins to worry about her well-being.   Madeline is hearing voices and seeing images.   Is she merely dreaming, having visions or losing her mind?   Close explores the premise that courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness, despite the fear, to stand firm and be counted.

Rehearsals for Close are in full swing.  It was most gratifying to sit through the first reading and hearing the words come to life.   For several weeks, these words were banging around in my head and it is a great relief to finally share it with others.  Opening night is March 27 and a poster will soon be on this site.

I am still reading and sketching out my new spec screenplay.  I have yet to write one single scene as fear seems to have stalled my starting.  The blank page can be intimating.  I tend to avoid it as much as possible.  Inspiration rarely is the thing to get a project going.  It’s usually just getting your butt in the chair and keeping it there.  Once you get past the doubt, the hard work begins and the voice of fear dissipates.

“It is defeat that turns bone to flint; it is defeat that turns gristle to muscle; it is defeat that makes men invincible. Do not then be afraid of defeat. You are never so near to victory as when defeated in a good cause.”
– Henry Ward Beecher