Thursday, July 10, 2008

You can take the really fat guy out of the theater but…. what was I saying?…

It seems like forever since I’ve said this but I get to say it again: I finished Act 1, Scene 1 of the new play. It’s an amazing feeling because I’ve begun to doubt if I’ll ever be back on stage in any capacity. I mean, honestly, school and work and married life – who has the time? (And then, there is the issue of my ever-increasing size. I mean, seriously, I could be in the stage adaptation of Free Willy but where would I find a tank large enough?)

So, what is this new play about, anyway? Those who saw my previous plays probably think they know what to look for: ham-handed drama, bad jokes, and uncomfortable parallels with my own life.

This play should be a little different. Oh, sure. It’s filled with bad jokes.

… and the main story is about a couple who have been trying far too long to have their first child..

… um… but I promise to try and steer far from the ham-handed drama!

In fact, one of the nice things about this show is that rather than being about the “pain of love” it’s more about the “irritation of annoyance”. I’ve decided to write about friends who annoy each other, rather than lovers who hurt each other. Maybe it’ll come across as trite but I’ve had it with the heavy stuff, at least for this show.

In Everything Changes, a lonely man watched his ghosts turn their back on him.

In Atheists, a woman cheated to keep the man she loved away from him.

In Whatever Happened to Me, a father and son fought and bickered because it was easier than telling the truth.

In my new play, one character refuses to go in for all that. Instead, he decides to go on with life as best he can and cut himself a little slack, “because that’s how we heal.” I like that sentiment. There are no miracle cures that end pain; pain is just a part of life

Mind you, I’m only 15 pages in… let’s see how the other 60 or so go…

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