I Wrote A Play

I wrote a play some time ago. Its been sitting in my computer fro quite a few years now. Its short. I always felt it needed something more. So I recently added a bit more, made some adjustments, tightened it a bit. And then I did something really scary. I invited some friends over to read it.

I hosted a reading in my apartment and cast friends of mine in the various roles. I was nervous. Oh, who am I kidding? I was scared. Really scared. What if it wasn't any good? What if no one got any of the jokes? Or if they thought my story was lame? I mean it is somewhat semi-autobiographical. It reflects my own thoughts and some of my own experiences. What if they laughed at that and therefore laughed at me? I couldn't take it. That's why it was sitting on my computer for so long with our anyone seeing it.

So, they came over. I gave them a brief rundown of the script and the characters they were about to read and they read it. And it was funny.  They all laughed in the right places. And appreciated the heart of the story. It was a great relief to me. I mean this was me. I was putting myself out there so to speak. Putting my life on the line, in a way. Its scared me. You see, its difficult for me to share my writing, my thoughts, my ideas, my acting, etc. I'm so scared of rejection, so sure no one gets me. So her it was. Once again, I was proven wrong.

I got nothing but positive feedback. Everyone loved it. Liked my writing. It was fun. But then, of course, once we got past all the positives, I did get some notes. And I have taken them all to heart and done some re-writes. I still have more to do. I've added a couple of scenes to develop the main relationship more. I've given one of the supporting characters a speech at the end where he tells off the bad guys. I've given one of the villains more of an arc to get to their decision to turn on the lead.

So now, I have booked a theater and invited people to come and see a staged reading. All the actors are back. I'm replacing two with actors who are more age appropriate for their roles.   I've invited many people. I need to invite meow., I'm scared again. Not sure the re-writes will work. Well, some of them do, but I'm not sure about all the new scenes. Of course, it makes it longer. But it was really short to begin with.

So here we go again. June 19th at 7pm at The Attic Theatre on Washington Blvd. in Los Angeles. The jury will be out. Will it go any further from that? I don't know. It may be a film. Maybe continue as a play. That's what this is for. Hopefully, the right people will come and see this and maybe someone will champion this. And I can develop to even further and get up a full production.

If you're in Los Angeles on June 19 and are looking for something to do, come see it. There will be wine and cheese and a talk back after.

BTW...I should be writing right now. Bye! See you on the 19th.

Why Sharing My Writing Scares Me

I have been an actor for many, many years. My whole adult life in fact. It is not something I have always made a living at, but it has been a constant in my life.

In pursuing an acting career professionally, many suggest writing and performing your own material while you wait for the paying gigs to come in. And also so showcase your talent and what you can so that they (Casting Directions, Directors, Producers, etc) know what to do with you.

Over the years, I have had many ideas for plays, sketches, short films, etc. But I am always hesitant to go forward with any or to even start at all. Yes, I belonged to a sketch comedy group for a few years here in LA. I also write and produced my own comedy web series. Yet, it is still hard for me to share. I feel that my writing is not good enough, not funny enough, not compelling. No one will "get me" or my humor. It's scary. And I am very insecure about it.

Tonight, I took a leap of faith. I took a play that I wrote for myself (beginning over a decade ago) and invited some actor friends over to my house and asked them to play the parts in a play reading. It was scary. After all, this character was initially based on me. His words and thoughts are mine.  The bad first dates he talks about are actual first dates that I had.

But would this subject matter mean anything to anyone? Is my idea interesting or clever enough for anyone other than me? Can I write a joke line?  This scares me because this means that not only can I not write something that speaks to other people, but maybe I shouldn't be writing at all.

So. Guess what happened? It worked. The lines flowed. The dialogue was real and natural. The laughs came where I wanted them. There's a real heart to the story and the romance at the center of it. And everyone involved liked it.

Oh My God! Can this be? My writing is good. No. Not mine. The voices in my head have been telling me for years that I am no good at this. I suck. Sharing this script will reveal things about my personal life that will lead others to think I'm sad and pathetic. Yes, that is what goes through my head.

It's time to tell those voices "Be Gone!" This is a good idea for a story. It is funny and heart warming too. These characters are funny and interesting and I did a good job of writing this. Why did I wait so long to share this? I'm an idiot!

Now, its not perfect. I got some good notes on things that could be added or tightened up a bit. But basically it moves along at a good clip and there's not too much extra happening. I get right to it.

And all I can say is thank you to all my wonderful friends who came and did such a great job of bringing these characters off the page and to life. You brought the funny and you brought the heart. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You've given me a new hope. Hey! That should be the title of a movie. A New Hope. Hmmm. Has anyone ever though of that?