Reading Murielle…

Stephanie Schulz is my favorite actress right now. Hands down, she’s the tops. And as a person, she’s just about as wonderful as you can possibly be.

Here’s the thing. We got together at this week’s OCPA (Orange County Playwright’s Alliance) meeting with the intent of reading my new play, Murielle’s Big Date. Steph was reading Murielle and I was in there with comic relief. She’s been working on so many shows lately, she didn’t really have a chance to prepare – but she totally nailed it. Totally! She made my little comedy pop like something from the Marx Brothers (Karl, Emile, Franklin, and Zeek).

Meanwhile, the members of OCPA mostly looked at us with all the excitement we would have elicited from a bunch of Masons. If we’d read it for a crowd of cloaked and hooded Illuminati, we would have received more enthusiasm.

The problem? Apparently, laughs aren’t as important in a comedy as I’d figured. While non-members (and a few members, I have to say) were laughing fiercely (and, yes, even Vicky laughed!), members complained, “It just goes from one laugh to another.” Heaven forbid.

I don’t mind. To me, the most important thing in a comedy is that people are laughing and having a good time, which counts for the audience, too. That happened.

Now, it’s time to start sending it to folks. (Wish me luck.)