Strictly Playwriting #7

Renewal Period.

So I’m fucking up this month when it comes to playwriting shit. Last post felt like I was going to get my playwriting life together, but I don’t know what happen.

My first fuck up was that I made an unrealistic deadline for myself to finish a draft of a short film. The deadline was set for April 1st, but I guess the joke was on me. Then I told myself April 15th would be my next deadline for that first draft, but Tax day came and went, and so did my integrity.

Then I thought about dropping a post about some exciting playwriting updates, or a post about my analysis and insights from reading Death of a Salesman, or a post about watching Kim’s Convenience at the Ahmanson, or finally coming around to draft, record, and post those mini lecture series on “Intro to Theatre” that I was so excited for, but none of that ever happened.

April kept compounding. Life kept life-ing, and I kept wanting to write something. I guess that “Year of the Fire Horse” I kept seeing on my Instagram feed back in February really came to bite me in the ass huh?

Anyway, not only have I been dealing with my own personal family matters this month, but work at Center Theatre Group really rapt up with the new 26/27 season announcement that dropped on March 30th. Endless menial tasks began to flood my work inbox, and I began drowning in subscription questions, concerns, and requests. I even started dream about those damn subscriptions. But the mantra that has kept me afloat during this renewal period has been “Stay grounded, Stay solid, Stay focused”. And for the most part, it’s been holding me down.

Then, this past Saturday, while I was on my lunch break, I went on a search for a plate and fork to eat my left over arepa. My department is housed in a back bungalow behind the actual CTG administrative building, and there are usually extra utensils in one of the rehearsal rooms for actors to use. Rehearsal Room A is currently occupied by the cast and team of Primary Trust, so I headed for Rehearsal Room C to get what I needed. As I rounded the corner of the hallway, I noticed a paper taped to the doors. Walking closer to the room, I could hear actor’s voices. Then on that paper taped to the door, I could see times, titles, and names evenly spaced out in Times New Roman font. One of those names I recognized was a Playwright’s name that’s been all over the festivals and workshops in southern California, then I realized what was happening in Rehearsal Room C. This was the closed reading session of new plays the artistic team put together for CTG’s writers workshop.

There was a slim space where the doors closed. I could kinda see through it and make out bodies. I had the urge to put my ear next to the door to listen in, but I thought better of it and slowly walked away. I walked back to my departments bungalow and warmed up my food in the plastic container I brought it in. I went to go eat lunch at my normal spot: the back of the campus that overlooks the traffic flowing up and down the 101. As I ate my warmish arepa with my hands, and as I stared out at the river of concrete and cars, I wondered what those playwrights were doing that I’m not. I wondered what I have to do to be on the other side of those doors of Rehearsal Room C.

Then I realized, I have access to Rehearsal Room C most days. There’s nothing special about that room, that’s just where I get my utensils. I finished my arepa and went back to work.