Tuesday, August 21, 2007

My 3 R's: Relief, Regret & Reinvigoration

the 10x10 is over and i feel a great amount of relief. as always, i stressed out a good deal and my nerves seriously kick my ass working up to any performance. but i have to say - i was pleased with how it went.

was it exactly what i was hoping for? no.... but it was not anywhere near as horribly awful as last year. my director was excited and involved. my actors gave it their all. it wasn't exactly my vision but it was close.

i'm perhaps spoiled by the earlier productions of my longer plays where i had a lot of creative control. but i have to learn to let go and trust the talent that has taken over my writing. the audience was pleased - i came in second once all the audience votes for "best play" were tallied. the play that won clearly deserved it. well written.... perfectly executed. my envy was palpable.

my regrets are few but they are there. i still feel the play was overwritten.... a bit too preachy. i don't think my director and actors' instincts to play up the melodrama of the piece helped any. most nights i felt the play came across as described by this snippet on theatreport.com:

"Commit for Life" by [e.] is so preachy that I thought the only thing missing from the set was the pulpit. Well directed by John Kaiser, and well acted by Larry Hermes and John Dunn, like Kaiser's written piece this point could've been driven home a LOT quicker and to greater effect. About a gay man that wants to give blood for his injured mother, but is denied because gays can't give blood according to the blood bank by laws. What could've been a shorter, play with more impact, feels like beating a dead horse. It's not that the idea of how the blood bank discriminates isn't heinous, but the point is hammered home so many times in this piece the audience finds itself feeling like a collective nail, and the "twist" at the end of this one is so predictable the entire audience could've written it on their program midway thru the play.

so - i'm not the only one that found it preachy. but maybe that's because i'm so close to the material and know all the information i talk about. i do think this review is a bit harsh... i know the piece isn't perfect but i think the second half is more powerful - less preachy.

now, having said all this.....i must have connected with the audience to come in second, right? obviously - they felt something other than being preached to. and i have to admit - at some point each night i looked around the audience to see if i had lost them.... if they were looking through their programs or around the theatre. they were not. they were watching the action on stage. i had several people each night ask if it were true. one person had gone to the website to see for herself. so a conversation has begun. maybe one day the discrimination will end...?

and i saw some people crying... and i was told about others. about a person whispering "oh god" when she realized the ending. so the piece connected and that's what i wanted. and i'll take a write up like this any day (also a post on theatreport.com):

COMMIT FOR LIFE – Next up, Hermes père shows us how it’s done (no pun intended), as a TV-style cop grilling gay madcap John Dunn about his bad behavior at a hospital blood bank. Both actors deftly alienate us then win us over (especially Dunn), and [e.] has crafted a quietly shattering script. In his 10X10 directing debut, Kaiser wisely stands aside and lets his cast probe the material, with Norelia Reed eloquently presiding like a moon in eclipse.
"quietly shattering" ---who wouldn't take that?!?

i'm not really sure i'll enter the 10x10 again. i've never been truly pleased with the experience and i'm not sure my work connects with most of the members (who average about 20-30 years older than me). but we'll see... should inspiration hit for another 10 minute play, i might.

the one good thing about the whole experience is that it's reinvigorated me and my desire to really set aside the time i need to write. i've had too many obstacles over the past several years (mostly no privacy with roommates and no time to write) - but that's no longer an excuse. i have several plays in the work and i should finish one soon. my goal is by year-end to finish my next full-length play.

where it goes from there..... i can only hope.

but at least i had something out there this past weekend. it was only 10 minutes, yes.... but it is 10 minutes that keep me going, encouraging me to follow my dreams.

e.

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