I am in the last week of rehearsals for Coffee & Cake and am currently into tech week. We had a scare last weekend when one of our actors got into a serious accident, totaled his van but he escaped with barely a scratch. He was on crutches for one day of rehearsals and then limping for the ones that followed. To say the least, I am extremely happy he is okay. The play is acted out and sung by volunteers and deals with the true meaning of the Christmasseason as well as themes of prejudice and tolerance. Please check out the STAGE link for info on the play.

The Tree of Life film script has consumed most of my time in November. I received some positive feedback from those who read it and was able to spend two weeks on re-writes and a lot of re-reading the script. On November 30 I sent the script off to the Karios Prizes out in California and pray for good things. As with every script I finish, I feel a sense of accomplishment and believe that The Tree of Life will do well in the Karios Prizes. Semi-finalists will be posted mid January so stay tuned. The logline for The Tree of Life goes like this: James Morven has helped others all his life but when he develops Alzheimer’s, the one person he can’t help is himself, particularly as he prepares to give what could be his last and most important sermon.

Blue did not advance to the finalists in the Writemovies International Writing Contest. Yeah, I was disappointed…for about 5 minutes, then brushed myself off and moved on. I’ve sent Blue off to another competition called the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Competition. Results come out April 1.

A quote from actor Brian Dennehy who recently played in Hughie – a Eugene O’Neil one act play:

“…everything O’Neill said in all of his plays is delivered in Hughie in capsule form – the necessity for every human being to create an illusion about him or herself and his or her life. And to find a way to sustain that illusion that allows you to get up in the morning and get through the day and live your life – Hickey in Iceman, for example, or Mary Tyrone and her morphine in Long Day’s Journey. It’s the only way you can survive. It’s how O’Neill felt about everybody.”

It’s a sobering point of view and although my writings and the characters I create often inhibit these ideas, I strive to make their lives more than just about survival. Redemption…hope…these are the themes my works reflect most.