One Actor - Another Show

One is always pleased to get positive feedback from one’s work. I know that my plays are not to everyone’s liking, not so much from what they say, they usually don’t, but because I am a realist. It is fairly easy to write "Bravo", "Loved it!", and so forth. But when someone takes the time to write with insight and indicate, directly or indirectly, that the script or performance spoke to them, or made them think about their own situation, then I am ecstatic! Several shorter commentaries have done just that. The following, however, is too long to place in the “Reviews” (What They Said) section of this blog, so I am reproducing it here: “We just finished watching your monologue the other day...we watched over two days. More later on it but for now . I want to watch from start to finish a second time. It was an interesting experience ... first reaction was that I was unsure during the first half that I was really up to it in that moment, at the end of of a rather ...

When one writes a story, be it for print or for viewing on screen or stage, one is always a little anxious about how it will be received. I know full well that my works are not to everyone's taste. However, to date, my four scripts, -some staged, some filmed and some both,- have received quite positive reviews. Now, I also know that those who may not have enjoyed them, could well have been too polite to say so. Desperately Seeking Samuel has only just been released. To date, there have been only a few replies. One couple, who have enjoyed my past works in theatres, lamented that they were on rural dial-up internet and could not view it. Another couple complained that they were luddites and were having trouble figuring out how to view it on their big screen TV. I have had a Well done. Applause, Applause, Applause. Sad though. And so it goes. However, out of the blue, I received an email from someone whom I had not seen or thought of for ten or more years. The link to the film had ...

I did not spend all of our three months in Cuba recently in idle relaxation on a sandy beach by a turquoise sea. I fiddled each morning – the musical kind, although some might question that label – and worked on multiple rewrites of my newest script, then spent hours learning lines, and more hours pondering how in heck I would ever be able to mount this production on stage or on screen! So now, despite challenges, I have spent the past eleven days since our return sequestered in the bathroom – filming this play, and then the more arduous task of editing it. Yes, it takes place in a closet, a broom closet … and a water closet. This is not a flashy, fast action drama. That is not my style. Neither is it an amusing bedroom farce, nor a comedy of any kind. There may be some subtle humour here and there. However, like most monologues that I am aware of, it is a ponderous reflection in the mind of the character. It is a slow unfolding in the memory bank of an old man. It does not happen in...

We are recently back from a three month reprieve from what turned out to be a rather harsh winter at home. While away, I worked on my new play, learning lines but also doing fairly substantial revisions. I think the result is as I wished. “ Desperately Seeking Samuel ” will be a difficult play to produce on stage, and also an equally difficult one to produce on film. This is not only because the production will be one with no budget, and one that is filmed with the most basic of equipment, and edited on the most basic of computer programmes, but also because it is a play that takes place in a confined space. Although memory shots would help to make the play more visually appealing, there is no money available for this purpose. So it will be a “make do” undertaking. However, for me, it is the story that is the most important aspect of any production. If the story is engaging, one should not need flashy   production tools.  Now, someone who has seen a draught of the film ver...