FURTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT MY PLAYS...I like them

Sometimes it takes people dropping by this blog to read my plays that renew my confidence in my capacity to write plays. In particular I'm referring to the 'shorts' - 10 minutes and under -some of which are showing up in the page-view count. That's nice. There are thousands if not millions of blogs being written and shared, in the hope of attracting the interest of readers. Plays are a bigger challenge because they fall into a certain niche, which is not everybody's cup of tea so to speak.

Although I've written two full plays, the short plays and short-short play-ettes are fun to write. They take a comedic route and for whatever reason bring out the cynical, sarcastic side of my personality. Further examination of recent visits by virtual strangers in the true sense of the word, reveals that "Waiting for Roach", written in 2008, piqued the interest of a couple of people. Maybe more, even. I've always felt it had potential but then I get that feeling for most of my plays, but this one in particular since it has only two characters from different age groups. Unfortunately (how I loathe that word) and after sending it out/submitting it to share with the theatre world, it has yet to be performed. However, reading it over thanks to bloggers, I have a new appreciation for the content as I do all the other plays that have surfaced. Keep reading them, people! It inspires me!

Then there are the fun "Barbie and Ken" sagas focusing on the adventures of the plastic fashionista and her circle of vinyl friends, which were popular when first written a few years ago. Although I planned to return to continue their adventures, for one reason or another - laziness comes to mind - I haven't as yet. For those people reading this who are waiting, more updates are forthcoming as long as their "parent" doesn't threaten to sue. Barbie is bored with Ken...again and this could mean trouble.

Many of the plays are based on personal experience and "The Teabag" is an account of a trying to get a tea refill at McDonalds. There - I wrote it. McDonalds offers free coffee refills but not tea refills. There is an injustice in that but I digress. This short-short is a personal favorite as are all of them, actually, especially "The Bra" that helped me get over a negative encounter attempting to return a bra. But I digress - again.

It's always gratifying as an aspiring playwright - although how long one can retain the "aspiring" status is worth a ponder or two - and writer to know that people read one's literary output and it gives one the impetus to continue in the hope that one day somebody, somewhere, will acknowledge their greatness and produce one of them. To paraphrase that famous line from "Sunset Boulevard": they're ready for their close-ups... You get the idea.

So I'm thinking here...given the success or lack thereof, of any of my plays produced so far, some new strategy is required. To date and as I've shared in this blog, I've written two full i.e. two-act, plays, one-1 act play and approximately a dozen short-short plays and skits over the years. Given the reality of today's economy, the future of having them making their debut on stage looks somewhat doubtful, hence the change of direction.


I've decided to write short pieces of dialogue on a daily or at least a regular basis that may or may not end up as a play down the line. They may be snippets of conversations overhead in a mall, or perhaps conversations with friends or personal experiences that would normally fall into the rant'n'rave category in one of my other blogs. Or maybe the embryonic beginning of a play. Just...stuff.


As always comments are welcome be they good or bad and I will respond accordingly but spammers will be deleted. Playwriting is angsting enough without having to deal with spammers. so stay away and you have been warned!


Meanwhile - on with the show!

THE PLAY IS NOT THE THING

It's been a while since I submitted one of my two full length plays...anywhere, actually. One of the reasons is somehow I misplaced/deleted/filed-in-unknown-folder, the list of theatres who were fortunate enough to be the recipient of, but didn't realize it, plays. Being organized is not one of my strong points.

So this is leading me once again as it has on numerous occasions in the past, to search my soul as to whether the plays are stage-worthy. In reading them over to evaluate whether they need a gazillionth re-write, they still entertain me and make me laugh. This, at least to me, is a good sign. The problem is that nobody else seems to feel the same way or at least feel they would be embraced by theatre-goers. It took me years to get the words down on paper and then more years to get the right "feel" and flow - the two big 'F"s - before allowing them to leave home.

It's not that I don't enjoy writing plays or at least 'short-short'-10 minute plays these days, but there comes a point where one has to evaluate whether the effort is worth the search given the end result. Perhaps and although I'm loathe to admit it, they aren't stage-worthy. Even writing this sentence is like an arrow piercing my heart. So where does this leave me? Should I give up the ghost so to speak and leave them in my will as part of my legacy to future generations in the hope that they will see merit it them, and carry on the search? Or, should I continue to check out potential theatres and competitions and submit my plays in the hope that they were never the recipients of my literary gems?

Meanwhile, if a theatre producer reading this is interested in taking a chance on an unknown-but-talented playwright with two very entertaining comedy plays waiting for their chance to be exposed to the world, you know where to reach me. Maybe not depending if I remembered to add my contact information. Go know!