The Treachery of Images

I am very happy to report back that the reading of "The Treachery of Images" in New York went better than I could have hoped for. The actors, Randy Noojin and Amanda Ladd, under the sensitive direction of Marisa Viola, gave brave, fearless performances in a play that asks much of them emotionally. Their willingness to give such raw, emotionally honest performances was quite humbling and I am so grateful to them. The audience seemed very absorbed and moved by the play, and their comments in the Q&A after the reading were all very positive and insightful. Though the play is quite harsh and emotionally raw, the word I heard used most frequently afterwards was "cathartic" - just as I'd hoped.

My other concern for this play was its length. On paper it comes in at just over 50 pages, which concerned me, as it doesn't seem like a full evening of theatre by that count. But the nature of the play necessitates quite a number of silences and pauses, and I was hoping that these would translate to a more appropriate running time. Thankfully they did, and it came in at around 75 minutes. In fact, I heard several people mention that the play ended at just the right time, and I agree. The intensity level of the play would be hard for an audience to bear for much longer than its current running time.

It's a play about, grief, loss, coping and forgiveness, and of the very different ways we process pain. Above all, it's an examination of the basic instinct to survive, and that despite surface appearances, not everything is always as it seems.

I'm so grateful to Heiress Productions for giving me the opportunity to see this play come to life. All of the people involved in the company were so very kind and welcoming and they gave me one of the nicest experiences I've ever had as a playwright.

My heartfelt thanks to all of them.