As I weaved through Part II of this Dental Adventure (RE: “PULPECTOMY and Jesus on the Beach”), my new friend, Donna Hoffman, was having shoulder surgery in Northern Kentucky. And I was still waiting for my suitcase to arrive, after bouncing around the universe. [That piece of luggage was full of dirty clothes but, since you can’t carry liquids aboard an aircraft, it also had my shampoo, lotions, make up, razor, and shoes in it. Suddenly, I needed some item or another that was lost in suitcase “space” somewhere.]
This morning, instead of having Jesus brush my hair to take my mind off of the literal drilling that was going on inside my head, I thought of Donna and the fun we had this week, preparing my full-length play, GLIDERS (Copyright © 2013), for the Saturday performance (7:30 p.m. August 16th at Women Writing for (a) Change in Ohio). Here’s the logline (one-sentence synopsis) of the play: “A family secret explodes when a mother realizes that the sins of the father have spread to the next generation and she’s finally threatened enough to break the silence.” In essence, it’s a story of “She who doesn’t know history is condemned to repeat it.”
In the month prior to my arrival—and after email correspondence with me—Donna had cast the show, arranged the venue, and met twice with the actors to read through and discuss the script.
Initially, we had planned to present the play in classic staged reading style: the actors would dress in black and speak from the script behind music stands, standing and sitting only to show entrances and exits, but the cast responded so well that Donna and I were able to add more dimension. The final product was more of a hybrid Readers’ Theatre performance with some props, blocking, and costumes—all of which had been accomplished in five rehearsals!
Performing GLIDERS through WIT was a perfect fit. As Donna Hoffman explains it, the mission of WIT (Women In Theatre) is to create art “by, for, and about women,” and GLIDERS, which has a cast of 6 (5W, 1M), follows three generations of women who are trapped by time and space. Set in 1969 during the nine days of the Apollo moon landing mission, the play uses the historical event as a backdrop for what it feels like to be lost in space as the women glide into and out of reality and the present. [So, I guess it makes sense that my suitcase would get lost, in similar fashion, after a project about this topic.]
Creating theatre is always fun, but it is that much more enjoyable when actors bring lots of talent and no attitude to the table, or as the actor who played our play’s matriarch, “MADGE,” said in her post-performance correspondence with the cast, “It is so nice to work with a cast where there is NO DIVA.” Yes, Judy, No Divas Allowed! It is a pleasure to work with professionals and those who have strong work ethics and dedication.
(Doorbell.)
RITA
Who is it?
DELIVERYMAN
Your luggage is here.
Halleluiah! The suitcase made it home, and it doesn’t look too banged up, despite its added, solo adventures. Time to empty it and start laundry, ugh, a woman’s life! Warm thoughts and prayers for Donna as she heals.
(Stay tuned to tomorrow’s tale: “TABLE WORK”)