Post summer cleanup

This morning, not usually part of my condo cleaning routine, I decided to clear out the hard copies of my writing output. Why? Really don't know. Included in the clean up were printed columns and articles amassed over the years, which had turned yellow and were collecting dust in a large cardboard box stored on a shelf. Combing through the plethora of paper (plethora of paper - these three words have a certain ring to them) were plays that had been tossed in with the rest of the stuff for lack of space.

Amongst them were a few new short-short 10-minute play-ettes written with the intent of having them performed in front of an audience (a familiar theme) but somehow ended up in the "have to think about this further" state,  a plethora of copies of "A Wedding!" a.k.a. 'Make me a Wedding', one of two full plays. Can't remember the reason behind printing 12 copies of 120 pages but most likely given the time period of the printing, it had to do with an opportunity to self-produce the play.

Thinking back, there had been an attempt at producing it on my own on less than a shoestring budget. However - hate the 'howevers' in life - many problems arose from the onset not the least of which, was the inability to acquire actors or people with acting experience that felt confident enough to memorize lines. They came, they left. They came, they left, to the point where the play was no longer viable. It was obvious when chunks of the play had to be cut along with characters to make up for the lack of actors. The "actors" who did stay didn't always show up for rehearsals having bowling or weekly mah-jong commitments while others went on extended vacations, or so they told me. The experience was akin to the play, "Noises Off" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105017/).

At the bottom of the pile were stacks of copies (again) of "Gin..." my other play that has yet to see the light of day. Both plays are comedies and in my opinion, they're funny. At least I laugh every time I read them.

So now the dilemma is should they stay or should they go since I've updated them both at least a dozen times over the years. It's always interesting to read them over and evaluate the progression of the story line to their current incarnation. Alternatively, I could return them to their former storage place, think things over  and wait until the cleaning fever passes. Definitely a better option.

The plan is sketch-y

"So, Eleanor - what have you been up to lately? Started any new plays, one hopes?"

Regretfully, no, but I did finish my final re-write of "A Thief on the Beach" and am satisfied with the end result.

"But Eleanor - that's not a play! It's a story! It's time you started on a new play or at least finish those that are languishing in cyber never-never land and waiting for an ending!"

True.. but my philosophy (major cop-out) is that a literary completion is a completion is... In as far as a new play(s) project is concerned, haven't come up with a burning idea or concept that moves me enough to explore.

"How about the one-act play that you submitted recently?"

Still waiting to hear back as to its fate, if at all. Hope springs eternal and all that.

"Is there anything new to report?"

Actually, yes. Maybe. Plans are in the works to produce and present an evening of sketch comedy. Proposed the idea to our writing group and to this end printed up a sampling of comedy sketches for all to read. They (sketches) were enthusiastically received and some of the people expressed the desire to be part of the project. I'm in the process of narrowing down the plausible sketches or those that will please a wide variety of tastes and ages. They will be distributed and we'll evaluate who will fit which sketch. Hopefully, the people that do commit to the project realize that there is a lot of rehearsal time involved.

Comedy, as anyone who has attempted it will attest, is a difficult challenge with timing plus delivery being everything. This is a concern. A number of the potential sketches have been shared here in this blog over time in addition to others actually performed a while back.

Meanwhile, we'll have to evaluate the comedy potential of the potential performers, which will be done next week, hopefully. To be continued...