It's nearly 1 a.m. on a Monday night in August, and I find that insomnia is yet again winning the nightly battle that is my quest for sleep. Although much of its power is derived from my physical situation (back pain beyond words), the real power of insomnia is self-doubt. Used against a perfectionist, self-doubt crushes the spirit and causes emotional paralysis.
It was about two hours ago that I realized I needed to reboot my writing. It was time to accept what I've been denying for a couple of weeks: I need to hit pause on writing any new stage plays and devote more energy to the other unfinished works in my life. And, if I do feel the need to start a new project, it should be a screenplay, a short story, or something other than a stage play.
Theater was good to me this year, with three full productions locally. The shows have been good, and the actors, crews, and house teams put everything into making the shows successful. The audiences seemed pleased, even when a critic wasn't. (And one critic not liking the shows isn't too bad, when ticket sales were okay, especially for one show.)
But, I only enjoyed the process sporadically. I haven't loved what I'm doing — and that's a problem. My health, my schedule, and not being more assertive earlier with the shows left me feeling disconnected from my words and the shows. Stretching myself too thin, and not just for theatrical projects (I did too many things, period), and pushing my body too hard was a problem this summer.
Theater is a collaborative medium, especially the development of new works. When that collaboration feels "off" in some way, it is like a relationship you know isn't working out and won't be saved. You realize you were better off as friends rather than teammates on a production. I share the blame for not being a constant presence during new show development, something I should have made a clear, non-negotiable aspect of developing new works.
If I cannot be present for the majority of development, working to fix issues with the script and to improve it, the process isn't fulfilling for me. This is something I feel about theater, exclusively, because of the nature of the medium.
I'm not abandoning theater, nor will I stop trying to get my existing works staged, but I'm going to follow a different path. And because that path won't be easy or likely to lead to many stagings of my works, I'm going to invest my writing energies elsewhere.
Film, I can handle the idea that you sell the script and that's life. Theater shouldn't feel that way. At least historically, it's a writer's medium. You listen to actors and directors, and you might take their suggestions, but the script is yours, as a playwright. You have the final say.
I'm not a great playwright. I'm good. My works need to be workshopped and revised. But, time and energy haven't really permitted that process. Short of directing or co-directing my own works, and self-producing, the limits of local theater aren't going to give me the development process I want or need.
Over the next few years, I'm going to finish and revise some play scripts. I'll send them to contests and theaters, hoping for productions. With more than 30 unproduced works, it isn't as if I lack for scripts to submit. Some are pretty good, and they should be produced. Ideally, I'll get to develop them and make them what they can be.
New works, though? No more plays until other projects are complete and my passion returns. If it isn't at least started, as little as an idea on a piece of paper or in a computer file, it isn't going to be a stage play.
And I do owe the actors, directors, and theatrical companies that staged my works a great deal. They liked my words enough to present them to audiences. That's really an honor and I am thankful. I learned much this summer, and that's a great thing.
It merely happens that one thing I learned about myself is that I need more control as a playwright. That reflects more on my creative needs and process than on the people producing my works for stage.
Screenplays are not stage works, as I mentioned above. You sell the script, and move on. You have to accept that it isn't "your" work. I've written screenplays and had two that production companies asked to read. Then, I stopped writing screenplays and focused on other projects. It is time to get some more screenplays out there and maybe update the ones that didn't make it to the next step.
When I was in college, I would fill a 70-page spiral notebook with poetry every year. I have nearly 1500 poems in those journals. The last journal was filled in 1998. That bothers me, since it isn't that I lost interest in poetry. I have tried, every year or two, to get back to the journals. Something hasn't felt right in 16 years, though.
I have novels started, lots of them, and need to select one and finish it. Just finishing one would be a good thing. I have outlines dating back to fourth grade that were good then and aren't bad now. It bothers me to see the half-written manuscripts, waiting for some attention.
A friend said that just as I stop writing new plays, the existing ones will start to find homes. I'd be okay with that, as long as I remember to assert more control. A lot of my difficulties with new works would be avoided if I had a more assertive personality up front… instead of waiting until I feel sick about things.
Now, I'm off to write some bad poetry.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Negative Reviews
"Doesn't the review bother you?" I was asked following a rather harsh criticism of a musical play that premiered this summer (2014). "It didn't even explain what the critic disliked very well."
Yes, the review bothered me, and I certainly agreed with my theater colleague that the review could have been more helpful, but every review is helpful to some extent. Some are simply more helpful than others.
A negative review tell you that something might be wrong with a work. It might not be, but critics at regional and national publications tend to know something about their specialties. In this instance, the reviewer is a playwright, so ignoring his views would be shortsighted. However, critics also have biases, and this critic hasn't demonstrated the greatest understanding of new work development in our small city. Shoestring theater seldom enables perfection, and even less often provides active development processes.
When you read a review, skip the snark. Reviewers seem to love demonstrating how smart they are, and how cynical they've become. Ignore the ego behind the review and focus on a list of concrete positives and negatives. Don't get lost in the flourishes of someone trying to impress his or her readers.
In this instance, the concrete claims appear to be:
1. Some of the musical numbers (tune and lyrics) were good.
2. The play was too long.
3. The three-act structure was problematic.
4. Direction lacked energy.
5. The play had little new to say.
As a playwright, I can't do much about any acting or directing issues, even with a new work. Things simply happen. Therefore, item four is beyond my control. Direction can also affect item five because a slow play without energy has no message, no passion. That means item five is likely a mix of problems with the script and the direction.
The length of the work and the structure are a problem. Reducing the snark to the core claim, that the play was long and oddly structured, I would agree that a new work usually needs more editing. As a writer, I tend to overwrite first drafts. Therefore, I can set aside the snark and admit the play needs another revision pass (or more).
I'm not sure I agree that the three-act structure is a problem, but it is if there are two intermissions in a modern play. Audiences want one intermission and quick scene pacing. The structure I wrote was applied literally by the director. I need to change the script — that's definitely my fault as a writer.
Learning to list the concrete claims made by reviewers is a skill writers and artists need. My final works are better because of this approach to "listening" to the critics.
Yes, the review bothered me, and I certainly agreed with my theater colleague that the review could have been more helpful, but every review is helpful to some extent. Some are simply more helpful than others.
A negative review tell you that something might be wrong with a work. It might not be, but critics at regional and national publications tend to know something about their specialties. In this instance, the reviewer is a playwright, so ignoring his views would be shortsighted. However, critics also have biases, and this critic hasn't demonstrated the greatest understanding of new work development in our small city. Shoestring theater seldom enables perfection, and even less often provides active development processes.
When you read a review, skip the snark. Reviewers seem to love demonstrating how smart they are, and how cynical they've become. Ignore the ego behind the review and focus on a list of concrete positives and negatives. Don't get lost in the flourishes of someone trying to impress his or her readers.
In this instance, the concrete claims appear to be:
1. Some of the musical numbers (tune and lyrics) were good.
2. The play was too long.
3. The three-act structure was problematic.
4. Direction lacked energy.
5. The play had little new to say.
As a playwright, I can't do much about any acting or directing issues, even with a new work. Things simply happen. Therefore, item four is beyond my control. Direction can also affect item five because a slow play without energy has no message, no passion. That means item five is likely a mix of problems with the script and the direction.
The length of the work and the structure are a problem. Reducing the snark to the core claim, that the play was long and oddly structured, I would agree that a new work usually needs more editing. As a writer, I tend to overwrite first drafts. Therefore, I can set aside the snark and admit the play needs another revision pass (or more).
I'm not sure I agree that the three-act structure is a problem, but it is if there are two intermissions in a modern play. Audiences want one intermission and quick scene pacing. The structure I wrote was applied literally by the director. I need to change the script — that's definitely my fault as a writer.
Learning to list the concrete claims made by reviewers is a skill writers and artists need. My final works are better because of this approach to "listening" to the critics.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Toilet Tanks and Books
Toilet tank lids should be flat. Perfectly flat, not merely sort of, kind of flat.
The tanks in our house appear to have flat lids. This is deceptive, a trick of the bright white color and lighting of the bathrooms. Closer inspection reveals a slight convex curvature, a bump in the middle of the lids.
You place a book, a cellphone, almost anything you decide not to hold and do not wish to set on the floor, on the lid of the water tank. The item slowly, imperceptibly, slides from the bump. It finally crashes to the floor, precisely the location you sought to avoid.
We don't yet have shelves in the powder rooms and they don't have sink counters; the first floor has a pedestal sink. There is no good place for items, because the one surface that should be flat (and safe) is not.
After we get around to painting and finishing the baths, I'm adding some shelves. We can place candles and decor on the shelves, but I'm making sure there's room for a book or two, as well.
The tanks in our house appear to have flat lids. This is deceptive, a trick of the bright white color and lighting of the bathrooms. Closer inspection reveals a slight convex curvature, a bump in the middle of the lids.
You place a book, a cellphone, almost anything you decide not to hold and do not wish to set on the floor, on the lid of the water tank. The item slowly, imperceptibly, slides from the bump. It finally crashes to the floor, precisely the location you sought to avoid.
We don't yet have shelves in the powder rooms and they don't have sink counters; the first floor has a pedestal sink. There is no good place for items, because the one surface that should be flat (and safe) is not.
After we get around to painting and finishing the baths, I'm adding some shelves. We can place candles and decor on the shelves, but I'm making sure there's room for a book or two, as well.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Reviews and Writing
Writers, and any other artists, have to be ready to accept the judgments of critics. I was sent a couple of nice notes regarding a negative review, from audience members (and friends) who liked the particular show reviewed, but I have to also consider the power of critics to make or break a work.
Pittsburgh City Paper: New Death... Airless and Deadly
How much do critics influence an artist? For me, that depends on the critic and his or her biases. If a critic has a history of liking a particular genre or a particular set of writers — and disliking others — then I have to ask if I fall into Column A or Column B.
Even when an artist is in Column B, and approval is a long-shot at best, I would still suggest listening and asking what the nuggets of truth are in the review and how to address those. A negative review is valuable, if you're willing to learn what you can and ignore the rest.
From the review above, I am reminded that opening nights aren't easy. Seldom does an opening occur without dropped lines, missed cues, and a nervousness that feels unnatural. That is simply the nature of new shows. Add in a new, untested script, and there's more reason for unease and mistakes.
As a playwright, I have to ask what I can do to help a cast and crew make the best of their talents. Did I tighten the dialogue enough? Did I balance the action with exposition? Did I make the most of the medium, especially as stages have serious limitations. Did I balance humor with whatever else I'm trying to convey?
I don't write farce or sitcoms. I don't aim for a joke or two a page. I write serious plays with lighter moments. When the audience starts to consider the work a comedy, that's a failing on my part to balance the early pages well.
As this production winds down, I'll look at the script and compare my notes with reviews, audience feedback, cast and crew notes, and whatever else is available. All my plays undergo endless revisions. A negative review, or a positive review, can influence the choices I make revising.
A fellow playwright say, "Not every play is for every audience." That's also something to keep in mind.
Never let negative marks (grades, reviews, audiences) stop you from taking chances. Take the feedback and move forward with the next idea. What you shouldn't do is try to please the negative voices, item by item, because then you aren't creating your own vision.
Pittsburgh City Paper: New Death... Airless and Deadly
How much do critics influence an artist? For me, that depends on the critic and his or her biases. If a critic has a history of liking a particular genre or a particular set of writers — and disliking others — then I have to ask if I fall into Column A or Column B.
Even when an artist is in Column B, and approval is a long-shot at best, I would still suggest listening and asking what the nuggets of truth are in the review and how to address those. A negative review is valuable, if you're willing to learn what you can and ignore the rest.
From the review above, I am reminded that opening nights aren't easy. Seldom does an opening occur without dropped lines, missed cues, and a nervousness that feels unnatural. That is simply the nature of new shows. Add in a new, untested script, and there's more reason for unease and mistakes.
As a playwright, I have to ask what I can do to help a cast and crew make the best of their talents. Did I tighten the dialogue enough? Did I balance the action with exposition? Did I make the most of the medium, especially as stages have serious limitations. Did I balance humor with whatever else I'm trying to convey?
I don't write farce or sitcoms. I don't aim for a joke or two a page. I write serious plays with lighter moments. When the audience starts to consider the work a comedy, that's a failing on my part to balance the early pages well.
As this production winds down, I'll look at the script and compare my notes with reviews, audience feedback, cast and crew notes, and whatever else is available. All my plays undergo endless revisions. A negative review, or a positive review, can influence the choices I make revising.
A fellow playwright say, "Not every play is for every audience." That's also something to keep in mind.
Never let negative marks (grades, reviews, audiences) stop you from taking chances. Take the feedback and move forward with the next idea. What you shouldn't do is try to please the negative voices, item by item, because then you aren't creating your own vision.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
A Musical Play Needs Your Support
The LAB Project, a new Pittsburgh, PA, theatrical company, is producing my musical play The Gospel Singer this August. The producer hopes to raise an additional $4000 for community outreach and education efforts. The play is about a gay gospel singer and his partner, during the 1980s. It's based loosely on real people. The play was awarded a development slot by Bricolage Production Company last year, as part their annual "In The Raw" festival.
Some people ask if a play about a gay couple arguing about faith and community is still relevant in 2014. Yes, it is. Laws are changing, and society is changing, but understanding the struggles are incomplete — especially within religious communities — is a valuable lesson.
Please consider supporting The LAB Project.
Some people ask if a play about a gay couple arguing about faith and community is still relevant in 2014. Yes, it is. Laws are changing, and society is changing, but understanding the struggles are incomplete — especially within religious communities — is a valuable lesson.
Please consider supporting The LAB Project.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
New Play: A New Death World Premier
This is why I haven't been blogging a lot this summer. I've been working on several new plays…
A NEW DEATH
A World Premiere
By C.S. Wyatt
Directed By Kaitlin Kerr
Assistant Directed By Sarah McPartland
Presented by Throughline Theatre Company
July 18 - July 26
The Grey Box Theatre
3595 Butler St, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201
TICKETS:
Featuring:
Andy Coleman
Chelsea Faber
Hazel Carr Leroy
Eric Leslie
Tonya Lynn
Sarah McPartland
Jared King Rombold
John Henry Steelman
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Politics isn't Fun. Facebook Should be Fun.
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| christmas cookie making for 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
 |
| Kitten (Photo credit: Moyan_Brenn) |
Kitties = Good. Kitties with cookies. Or maybe kitties, with cookies, with pun captions. Those work.
Breaking Rules
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| P writing blue (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
"You can break the rules after you master the rules," I respond. "And then, only break them when you can defend the choice."
Imagine my frustration when a play was rejected because it lacked the "journey" of the main character.
When I decided to write a play without a complete Hero's journey, it was an intentional act (pun), a choice to parody a genre. There are characters in myth and legend that do not change. They don't mature. Mocking that notion of the invariable being seemed promising.
One of the readers providing coverage clearly didn't get the joke. The comments on the coverage sheet indicated the story needed a clear journey and transformation. Oops. My choice must not have been obvious.
There are two lesson: 1) breaking the formula is risky; 2) if the reader doesn't know the original story, parody doesn't work.
The other reader did like the script and scored it "highly recommended," but you need to run the gauntlet to be produced.
Both reviewers liked the dialogue, the wit, yet only one got the joke. That isn't good. I'm not sure following the traditional formula would have helped.
Will I break the rules again? Of course. But I also understand the risks.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Media and Stories
Stage is not screen, and screen is not stage. Telling the same story in both media means thinking about the story in different ways. I could tell the same "story" (major plot line) in poetry, song, short story, novel, movie, and play… and it would be different in each.
The "tools available" aren't the same from one medium to the next, so the results cannot be the same.
The "tools available" aren't the same from one medium to the next, so the results cannot be the same.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Writing More than 'Necessary'
My wife commented that I'm always writing several new scripts, adding to the pile of un-produced works. Her question was why I keep writing more than will ever see the stage (or screen), and all I can say is that maybe the sheer quantity of works increases the odds of production.
If I write four to six scripts a year, maybe one or two will move forward. Plus, writing is what I do, so I might as well write things that could end up produced.
If I write four to six scripts a year, maybe one or two will move forward. Plus, writing is what I do, so I might as well write things that could end up produced.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Women Say F*ck, Too!
This is what I've been up to…
Women Say F*ck, Too! introduces Dani, Kitty, and Stephanie, young women from Western PA trying to escape a struggling Beaver County township in the early 1990s. The first play in a quartet, Women Say… addresses poverty, gender and more. The series follows these women from graduation to motherhood.
Women Say F*ck, Too!
by C. S. Wyatt
Directed by M. Reagle
Steel City Improv
5950 Ellsworth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Friday, May 9, 6:40pm-8pm
Saturday, May 10, 7pm-8:20pm
Sunday, May 11, 2pm-3:20pm
Buy tickets!
http://pghfringe.ticketleap.com/women-say-fck-too/
Produced by The LAB Project
Monteze Freeland, Artistic Director / Founder
Cast:
Cassidy Adkins as Kitty
Jackie Baker as Stephanie
Linda Kanyarusoke as Dani
Developed with Cindy "C.J." Jackson, Hazel Leroy, and Mysti Wyatt
Set Design and Concepts by P. Milo
Women Say F*ck, Too! introduces Dani, Kitty, and Stephanie, young women from Western PA trying to escape a struggling Beaver County township in the early 1990s. The first play in a quartet, Women Say… addresses poverty, gender and more. The series follows these women from graduation to motherhood.
Women Say F*ck, Too!
by C. S. Wyatt
Directed by M. Reagle
Steel City Improv
5950 Ellsworth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Friday, May 9, 6:40pm-8pm
Saturday, May 10, 7pm-8:20pm
Sunday, May 11, 2pm-3:20pm
Buy tickets!
http://pghfringe.ticketleap.com/women-say-fck-too/
Produced by The LAB Project
Monteze Freeland, Artistic Director / Founder
Cast:
Cassidy Adkins as Kitty
Jackie Baker as Stephanie
Linda Kanyarusoke as Dani
Developed with Cindy "C.J." Jackson, Hazel Leroy, and Mysti Wyatt
Set Design and Concepts by P. Milo
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Writing is Planning
As I finished the draft of a short play, a colleague sent me a message asking how many new manuscripts or adaptations I have written in the last twelve months or so. It seems best to list them:
That would be six new works, with another two or three outlined. My goal is to complete seven new works in the 20-minute or longer range during 2014. Most of my plays run 70 to 80 minutes, not counting intermissions.
Friends say it seems like I've done more. That's because older works that had been collecting dust are now finding homes as I dedicate myself to completing them, too. Older plays that have been revised or rewritten in the past year:
I have at least ten scripts I hope to revive by 2015.
These counts do not include scripts I edited, revised, or completely wrote for other individuals as a consultant.
I don't sit around waiting for ideas and I've stopped trying to perfect my old ideas. Now, I aim to get as many good scripts to producers and directors as possible. A good scripts becomes better, or even great, during the development process. Trying to perfect plays by editing alone for ten years was an ineffective approach to writing scripts.
Writers write. It's that simple. Some of what I write will never be produced, some of it will be. You can't write one or two manuscripts and then spend years and years trying to craft perfection. Write, and write some more. You never know when a script will find a home.
- Billie's Girlfriend, written in early 2014 and submitted to Acting Out! Pittsburgh Pride for consideration. It might not be selected, of course, but it is a new play.
- Twists of Choice, written in early 2014 for The LAB Project, premiering in 2015.
- Women Say F*ck, Too! written in late 2013 and premiering during the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival in May, 2014.
- The Fertility Dance, written in 2013 and submitted to a regional contest. The company passed on the script, but it found a home for 2015.
- The Cat Lady, written in 2014, about to be submitted to a regional contest.
- Under Development, written in 2013, received a staged reading by Organic Theater Pittsburgh.
That would be six new works, with another two or three outlined. My goal is to complete seven new works in the 20-minute or longer range during 2014. Most of my plays run 70 to 80 minutes, not counting intermissions.
Friends say it seems like I've done more. That's because older works that had been collecting dust are now finding homes as I dedicate myself to completing them, too. Older plays that have been revised or rewritten in the past year:
- A New Death, my oldest unproduced script was rewritten and submitted to Throughline Theatre and will be premiering in July 2014.
- The Gospel Singer, premiering in August, 2014, received as staged reading in 2013 as part of the "In the Raw" festival of Bricolage Production Company.
- Clown and Mime, revised in 2013.
- The Garden, which was produced in 2012, has been revised for a future production. (I can dream.)
I have at least ten scripts I hope to revive by 2015.
These counts do not include scripts I edited, revised, or completely wrote for other individuals as a consultant.
I don't sit around waiting for ideas and I've stopped trying to perfect my old ideas. Now, I aim to get as many good scripts to producers and directors as possible. A good scripts becomes better, or even great, during the development process. Trying to perfect plays by editing alone for ten years was an ineffective approach to writing scripts.
Writers write. It's that simple. Some of what I write will never be produced, some of it will be. You can't write one or two manuscripts and then spend years and years trying to craft perfection. Write, and write some more. You never know when a script will find a home.
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