Phew! I was a bit behind on my commission for Esparta High School. I’m writing a holiday show called CHRISTMAS REUNITED for them, based on an idea from their drama coach. He gave me a fairly detailed idea, and then let me run with it. This is the kind of play I excel at, and I actually thought I would breeze through this first draft in about two weeks. Ha! All the best intentions, blah blah blah… Sometimes it just doesn’t come out, and you have to give yourself time to stare at the blank page, and more importantly, NOT stare at the blank page, and just wait for inspiration to hit.
For this play, I was stuck on, literally, the last five pages. I knew what I wanted to do, but every time I started, it just seemed so…ordinary. Blah. So I put it aside for what I assumed would be the entire trip to Chicago I started last week. (Working on a show here). But then, on the last day of the trip, inspiration struck and I locked myself in the house of a friend and three hours later – done! Again – phew! Childbirth is always such a struggle…
So it’s off to the drama coach for notes, and then we’re back for the second draft. For now I’m hoping he’ll be cool with me changing the title to WE WISH YOU A MERRY SPENDMAS! (Which will make more sense after you read the play. You’re going to read the play, right?)