A Rush of Ink to the Pad

A couple of years ago I had a short play of mine included in a festival put on by a group in Southern California. The theme of the festival focused on plays that broke with theatrical convention. I very much liked the concept of the show, and on top of that they were terrific people to deal with. Last year when they put out a submission call I was busy on another project. This year, however, I was not (well, in truth I was taking a little break from my long goodbye with "The Treachery of Images" - yes, it's still going on...I thought taking a break from it for a few days would be a good idea, giving me a fresher perspective when making my final pass on it). Anyway, I digress (something I'm quite prone to doing).

So I decided I would see if I could put something together to submit to them. Late afternoon on Monday I came up with an idea. A few hours later I'd all but finished the first draft. Yesterday I did a few rewrites and revisions, came up with a title I was happy with ("The Skewed Picture"), and sent it out into the big wide world via what used to be quaintly referred to as the "Information Superhighway." That's a very fast turnaround indeed. If only I were able to write every play so quickly - I'd be frighteningly prolific. It has happened before - every once in a while a play will just sort of pop out, as it were. But ususally it's a very long, involved process.

I must say, it was also nice to write something in my more absurdist/heightened reality style. I hadn't done that in a while, my more recent work being firmly rooted in realism/naturalism. I felt like a kid let loose in a toy shop.

Of course, whether the group in California will will want to include it in their festival remains to be seen. But in any event, I think this little play will have legs beyond that, as it's simple to stage, quirky and offbeat, and the age range for its two characters is wide open. We'll see.

I believe the actresses who'll be performing theatre on board a cruise ship fly out to New Zealand this weekend to meet up with the ship. I do hope their captive audience enjoys "A Familiar Face." If they don't, it's not exactly the ideal place to have that sinking feeling.

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