Oh my God! I wrote a hit play!
…yells Max Fischer in the movie Rushmore.
It’s my favorite of Wes Anderson’s films (and I love them all). And that particular scene is a classic. Anyway my point is: I wrote a play, I wrote four plays! And none of them are hits.
Lark Eden has had multiple productions but the other two were one-hit wonders, or rather one-production wonders. The Buffalo Kings was pretty successful when freeFall produced it, but after it closed I never did much – or anything for that matter – to get the script out there in the world. Naming True, both the writing of and the world premier of, was a learning experience. I’ll just say this: two-handers (two character plays) are a master-class in playwriting – or any narrative writing for that matter.
Now, as of a week ago, I have a draft of my newest play, titled The People Downstairs. It’s a father-daughter drama that also takes place in my hometown of Buffalo. American Stage is partnering with me in the 2018/19 season to develop it. I look forward to the collaborative process. Collaboration is a delicate art form, as it takes a thick skin and sensitive insight to work with other artists to breathe life into your story.
I’m aware that these posts have had rather little to do with my process as a playwright. I don’t have much to say about it I’m afraid. I just write. I write plays.
And someday just maybe I’ll write a hit play.
