The Playwright and Cast of OVERTIME

Tim Eckmier, Romeo Ciolfi, Elva Mai Hoover, Andrea Brown, Tufford Kennedy

January 4, 2015, I began writing brainstorming notes for my play OverTime.  This evening, June 30, 2015, I saw the first run-thru of the play that I have lived with for 6 months.  In just 2 days, (July 2 @ 8:15) the cast and crew of OverTime will give birth to this play at the Robert Gill Theatre as part of the 2015 Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival.  These next two days is the final stretch of putting the last bits of details into the show.  The Cast and Crew have been hard at work for several weeks rehearsing this 90 minute drama that deals with the theme of time and whether it is ever too late to face deep, hidden wounds from long ago.  OverTime asks the question:   Can hope be allowed to live in the light of harsh truths and second chances?

It takes a village to put a play on.  Director Eric Benson and Stage Manager Sara Allison have worked diligently with the actors these last few weeks.  There are so many details to attend to and it can get exhausting when it comes down to the last few days with the finish line in sight.  A producer has to put on so many hats and our producer Dave Crawford has been doing a lot of running around in this final stretch.

It was interesting to actually watch the play for the first time this evening.  And it’s hard to put into words what came over me as I observed every move and listened to every line.  For me, because I’ve lived and breathed OverTime for 6 months, I was just hoping to be surprised.  And that’s hard to do when you’re the writer and you know the script like the back of your hand.   I wanted to laugh…or cry…or contemplate what was being said by any given character.  I did all of that this evening, and I really feel it is just the beginning for this cast and crew because once you add on lights, sound and sets (I’ve seen and heard bits of these elements as well and they look and sound great), the whole play becomes this cumulative effort with each part complementing and strengthening the other.

This entire process of putting a play on is like peeling layers of an onion until you get to its core.  It takes months (sometimes years) of readings, re-writes and rehearsing to get to that core.  And yes, there is stress along the way, because to get to the core of a creative piece it involves time, patience, understanding and great amount of focus to see it through.  I know in the days to come as we march to opening night, more of that onion will be exposed and the richness of character and story will be given even more life for an audience to experience.   OverTime plays for 7 performances between July 2-11.  Read all about the details HERE.

And here’s a great quote by writer John Steinbeck which echoes some of what I just spoke about:

“When I face the desolate impossibility of writing five hundred pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day’s work is all I can permit myself to contemplate.”
― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America