The Guardian: Week 1-2

This process so far has been extremely nerve-racking and quite exciting. I've done a few rewrites of the script at this point, and the way I view it knowing now that the characters and area is going to be brought to life on a stage in just a few months makes me look at my work quite different. Trying to figure out ways to simplify the script so that it'll be something easier for my director to work with is a unique challenge, but I think we've been coming up with good ideas and solutions to problems the original script created.

I didn't have any expectations prior regarding working with Nate as a director, but based on what we've done so far I am extremely pumped that he got my script. The Guardian was a strange little tale that leaned more into the weird darker aspects of what I enjoy writing about, and Nate has demonstrated that he's got a solid understanding of what I was hoping to achieve with it. I'm excited to see further what his more developed concepts are; we've found a good wavelength in regards to what some of the visuals of the play will be and curious to see what else he's thinking.

The development of Beschut's character through the rewrites has been the most surprising aspect so far, and one of the trickiest things to figure out and balance in the narrative. I have a very specific vision in my head for how the character should be, and I'm concerned that I personally won't be able to see someone in the auditions portray that character as what I'm hoping for. The child-like innocence of a creature that's been on its own for its whole life, something that doesn't comprehend malice, yet in the pursuit of trying to do a "good" thing does terrible things. Beschut isn't an evil character, and I'm afraid that we won't be able to get an actor who can capture that dimension of them.

I'm also concerned regarding the play's ending. This has been the trickiest point of the whole play. While I personally like the way the ending is now, I realize that it's a very niche style, and that it should be played out more for it to give a more satisfying conclusion. My thoughts right now after chatting with Nate is to explore the option of Ren making an effort towards escape, hint at the idea that she definitely didn't succeed and got caught by the beasts of the wilds, and then let the conclusion fall there. It might be interesting to add an element of Ren getting torn between staying with Beschut just because that might be safer, but her ultimately deciding that would probably doom her so she makes the choice to risk the woods. I'm excited to see what I end up doing, but it's been a long bit of struggling to figure out how to wrap up this story in a way that's throughly unnerving but also satisfying.