I’ve been working with this group of volunteers for the past month and a half.   It is the cast of Thirsty, a production that will be staged at The Stone Church, Dec 6 & 7 for 3 performances. It is a play that combines drama with song. The music is original and is composed by James MacKnight. We have recently finished blocking the play and are now moving onto acting.

(front row, from left to right): Ruth Roblin, Stuart Jantzen, Rebecca Jantzen, (back row): Ashley Alagurajah, Scott Malloch, Ryan Mackinnon, Amber Hickson, Charnelle Magumbe, Gianni Murphy

Thirsty tells the story of Travis Weir, a teenager, who feels different from all the other kids his age.   His favorite place to be is in the forest behind his house because it is there he retreats into his imaginary world.  But while in the forest he meets a girl and is given insight about how living in the truth makes you a remarkable person.  With his birthday just 2 days before Christmas, the present he seeks most this year is to unearth the truth behind his unusual life.   Click here for more details.

In between rehearsals, I am writing another screenplay which I plan to enter into the Chronos Prize for Screenwriting.   The script is called Who is Molly Steele? and I am nearly finished typing my hand-written copy of the script.  At this point, it is still a rough draft but I am changing/refining plot points and characters as I type.   Whenever creating a script, it’s important that each character has an arc – a journey they are going through.  If a character dosesn’t really change much from beginning to end, then as writer, you have to look at how you can make that character more interesting.  Who is Molly Steele? is about the character of Molly Steele, but there are two supporting characters who journey with Molly in her story.  I am struggling somewhat with the supporting characters and trying to flesh them out – give them more of a purpose and ultimately, an arc.  This will be my focus as I finish typing the script.

I’ve been in contact several times with producer Pat Patterson who has optioned my screenplay Play Ball.  Pat has given me updates and is in the process of putting together a solid pitch she can take to investors.   She also plans to have a live reading of Play Ball to get a better sense of the script and the themes explored.  Although this is early on in the process, I am encouraged by Pat’s enthusiasm and dogged determination regarding Play Ball.  I believe good things are in store.

And finally, my brother Adam has just finished a 10 minute animated film which he has been working on for this past year.   It’s a dark little tale and you can watch the film here.