Soap and education*

I wanted to write for the stage, but I didn't think I had the skill.

I wrote screenplays for a number of years.  Sold one, which will never be made.  Did well in a couple of contests, but no wins.

More and more I found myself gravitating toward small casts and limited location works.  I wrote a screenplay, The Small Platoon, which had only five locations and a very tiny cast and I knew when I was done that I could turn this into a play... and I did.  It has too many characters and too many sets for the stage.  Oh, well.

One of my initial interests as a teen as I dreamed of being a writer was the works of Beckett.  Read 'em all.  Studied them in college.

I was also a fan of Aristophanes, but they don't do theatre like that anymore, but I love it.

So I wrote a play in the style of Aristophanes.  An Old Comedy called Beavers. He often named his plays after the characters in the chorus.  I have a chorus of Beavers.  It's a broad comedy with, as one character says, "a journey of self discovery"... to the underworld.

I believe this is the best thing I have ever written.  One location, but... too many characters.  Thirteen to be exact.  Eight is generally the accepted max in this day and age, unless your very lucky or well known.  No luck yet and nobody knows me yet.  Six characters is the preferred max.

Onward and upward.

Currently, I have been working on a ten minute play about "Gun Control."  It's for a contest.  Yes, I submit to contests.  Who knows.  I don't mind working to a required idea.  This one has been interesting and changed my views.

More next week.  Off to the beach this afternoon and maybe I won't even think about writing... but probably I will.

Oh, yea, follow me on Twitter.



* Samuel L. Clemens, Mark Twain's Sketches, New and Old