Another day, another play

As the title of the blog indicates, another day...another play almost finished. In playwriting 'almost' is a tricky term since endings are usually hard to come by.

"So give us an update on your playwriting efforts in general these days, Eleanor."

As mentioned ad nauseum here, finished "Old Soldiers" and entered it in this year's edition of the BBC International Playwriting Competition. Now comes the really hard part in waiting to hear back one way or the other. Being in this mental and physical state of being means a slight case of nausea when opening my e-mail in anticipation of receiving "the" word. Suffice it to say that waiting is not half the fun.

I'm "that" close to finishing my latest project, "Neighbors", which is turning into a great two-act play. As my mom used to say, "close" is only good when playing horse shoes. It had its origins as a short play and over the years as is my habit, it has been tweaked to death and  sort-of atrophied in my filing (or none-filing) system. Recently, after reading it over for the zillionth time, I decided that it has the meat and bones (can a play have meat and bones one wonders...) for expansion. The story line, which is loosely based on facts, focuses on a row of shrubs that separate the back gardens of two neighbors, one of which believes that their placement encroaches on to his property. The end result is that it has caused a feud that has lingered and grown over the years. The dialogue is entertaining and the story is moving along to a natural conclusion, following which it will be put to bed for a while and re-read at a later date for changes. There are always changes in my world.

Interesting how the creative process works. As an artist in addition to being a writer, it seems that my best work is done at the cost of the other. To be more precise, when I'm in the midst of creating a new writing piece, my artistic output tapers off and vice-versa.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking about but not yet in the writing mode of my next play focusing on a young girl's experiences growing up after moving into a new neighborhood.. Not sure whether it will be a one act or full play but then I never know how it will work until consulting with the characters. Meanwhile, my blank canvases are calling me.