Thursday, October 13, 2005

Playwright's Heaven

Watching my play in performance last weekend put me right into playwright’s heaven. The cast did a marvelous job. Many of my friends sent me comments that highlighted the excellence of the actors.

  • We really enjoyed the play last night. Thought it was very, very good and well cast. –Jane and Jim

  • The actors were so believable that I couldn't believe Maya jumped up for a curtain call. –Cheryl

  • And I thought the actors were excellent. –Janice

  • The actors seemed to "feel" their parts...giving us your words and powerful emotions with such poignant beautiful realism. –Sarah

  • I didn’t realize that the Volunteers were played by the same actress until the curtain call! – Rita

It was gratifying to get kudos of my own, of course. I am not shy, so here they are!

  • We really enjoyed the play last night. – Jane and Jim

  • We all simply adored the play. We all wept (I had brought abox of tissues) and we all laughed. I am so glad you are my friend, and that we can be ourselves with each other, and I am gratified to know that there is a Mr. Mott lurking somewhere in my brain to take care of me whenI need him. – Cheryl

  • --just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your play. My college room-mate died last September of breast cancer, after at least 20 years of fighting it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to spend time with her before she died, but I have been thinking about her since then. She died a week before her daughter's wedding. I hope that the play goes on to win a many awards and that larger audiences have a chance to see it--it is truly wonderful. – Linda

  • Sorry I was so inarticulate after your wonderful play, but it was the most moving play I've seen. It deserves to be seen by a wide audience. I'll look forward to saying "I knew her when" after your name goes up in lights. Best of luck! – Geoff

  • Loved the play, Lane. Mr. Mott and the dance was a very creative device – and beautifully effective. You must feel very proud of the production. – Janice

  • I thought it was a wonderful production.... Thank you for sharing your talent with us. – Sarah

  • The play meant so much to me, I had to back and see it again. And my friend did, too. – Lexi

There were many other wonderful comments during the intermissions and after the performances. Strangers came up and hugged me, thanking me for addressing these issues. During the talkbacks, people commented on the realism and authenticity of the play and the deep friendship it portrays. I attended three of the six performances, so I got the opportunity to bask in this wonderful experience several times.

I also got to work out some of my tears. I always cry when I read the play. I cried when I wrote the play. I cried when I rewrote the play. I cried during the rehearsals I attended. However, by the time I saw the third full production, I was only dabbing my eyes – down to a two-tissue event! Maybe I am getting this experience under my belt.

It pleased me to hear the audience relate to the work as a play about friendship and reconciliation rather than just about breast caner. That is what I think it is about, too. During the talkbacks, some of the descriptive words people suggested for the play were passion, friendship, loyalty, trust, pain, caring, commitment, honesty, resolution, faith, and catharsis. A nice list.

Now my task is to find other places to send the play, to see if I can get it produced in other cities. Or get it published. I would really like to see this play have a long life. It seemed to give such a gift to the audience.  

Another thing I really liked is that men responded positively to it as well as women, young people as well as older people, and black people as well as white people. It just seemed to tap into a universal human experience.

I know this is self-congratulatory, but I think I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams in conveying the profound experience I had when I spent those three days with Drem in 1991. It makes me feel proud. It also makes me thankful for a terrific director and actors who could invest the roles with such vitality.

Blessed be!

Ciao.

No comments: