I've returned!

I've returned! And with so much more to say! Forgive the absence. Concert weeks are here and for those non-musicians out there, that simply means I'm never home and I sleep a little less. It's almost over though.

We've also managed to make quite a bit of progress on "Answer Me" since I last posted. Just today we had a full run through that managed to work! True, there are some technicalities that still need to be ironed out and lines aren't perfect, but the end is in sight! What does this mean for me as the writer? It means that the changes I want to make probably shouldn't be made at this point. I knew this day was coming, but I didn't realize how hard it would be. Each time we run through a scene, I think of a better word or a better phrase or a way to elaborate on one of the play's central themes. Never have I been so acutely aware of the concept that the piece is never complete in the eyes of the creator. I refrain myself, mostly to save the actors from any added stress of memorizing lines and then relearning them, but also to remind myself that this is no longer mine to adjust. True, my name is on it and I sit in rehearsal and if a technicality calls for a line or word to be changed, I comply. But in hearing it aloud and watching it performed, I constantly find myself wanting to change, to develop, to delete, to enhance, and a whole manner of other things. I suppose this isn't a feeling I'll ever get rid of for any piece I write, but I've already begun to formulate methods of revision that will help with this process. Until then, I'll just have to live with what I have and be grateful its worth presenting.

Toodles,

Amanda