[Al] Here Comes the Sun

The first time I wrote a play, I’d never really seen one. Hadn’t gone to highschool productions, and though I lived close to NYC in my early childhood, I never went to any play, except a musical called “Your Arms are to Short to Box with God”, but I’d never seen “Death of A Salesman” or any of the prerequisite drama productions to consider yourself a lover of theatre. But I wrote it because I had to. Later I went out and did a crash course on theatre and have been writing for the stage ever since. I had no idea what I was doing at first, it was all instinctual, but the fire that drove me to write has served me well. I didn’t know what I was getting into at all. How crazy it was for a neophyte to pick up and decide to be a dramatist? For me it was exciting, overwhelming, and beautiful. On the night of the opening of my first major production I was scared, happy, and tired. Most importantly I did it.

That is exactly how I feel today. I wrote a post a week ago, but after a death in the family, I needed to rethink, and rewrite. I think the last post I never post was a lot about being tired, and how overwhelmed I was feeling. And that would still be true today. The difference? I’ve got that fire back in my belly. My adviser, Taki and I have been listening to the material I got in DC, and we feel really good about the shape of the show. I think if I’d known how much work all of this would be, I’m not sure if the vision of the show would be different. I’m glad I didn’t know. Because when you dream if you put limitations on the dream, you stop yourself from flying before you even get off the ground. My show is big and there is no way one person or two could do it. But the scope of it, to see a city and people for who they are, is something that is needed. Getting an understanding people is a building block for bring folks back together.

I could not have done the work in DC without the help of WAMU, they lent me one of their reporters, Ms. Katrina Matthews, who did an excellent job. The entire staff of WAMU went out of their way to help make anything I needed a reality. So we’ve got most of the show, the raw footage at least, and I can see how it shapes up, but I still need to go back to DC. Just for a day or two to get some audio I missed the last time.

The deadline looms, but I’m feeling good about getting the product done. Taki has been excellent in helping me navigate the tricky waters of creating a story. So yes, I’m tired, and a little overwhelmed, but more then anything, I’m hopeful. The show is going to be dynamite.

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