Pandemonium!

I've had nearly a week to absorb the madness of Pandemonium!, Cleveland Public Theatre's phenomenal annual fundraiser which was held last Saturday night.

A leather boy playing the string bass, a twirling fire baton in a darkened corner, a mysterious Mary Kayish cosmetic party being held in an alley, Prometheus setting the Cuyahoga River on fire, masked revelers, belly dancers - performers and musicians appearing on balconies, in garages, churches, on stilts - and literally hanging from the ceiling. Oh, yes..and the idiots more interested in watching the football game being projected on a giant geodome than absorbing the amazement swirling around them.

These were just a few of the many eclectic sights and sounds of the evening. Plus gourmet snack food, too much wine and a fabulous companion who looked sizzling hot.

Then there was my own 10-minute play "Mary Worth Is A Whore" being performed. Who could ask for more?

I was playwright and assistant prop master for the evening, spending Saturday afternoon making a Class Reunion sign and purchasing a corsage for the character of Miss Applewood. I felt a bit harried and nervous by the evening's start. (I should have taken Alfred E. Newman's advice, there was no need to worry.)

The performances of "Mary Worth" went great. If one more actor apologized to me for a slightly miffed line or a half-second late entrance, I might have screamed. You're all professionals folks. No one knew but me and you and Jenna. It was our own "Forbidden Knowledge". (The theme of this year's Pandemonium!)

The audience responded with laughter at the beginning (the audience always laughs at some action or line that surprises me...always) and intent focus at the end. My fabulous companion was a little misty eyed when it was over. That was a high compliment, indeed. What is a playwright trying to do, if not evoke an emotional response?

The show was even mentioned (not by name or author, but by its plot points) on Cleveland Magazine's blog.

Two audience members after the final performance requested to speak to the author. They wanted to know more about the specificities of Miss Applewood's secret. Although I have my own scenario firmly in place, I feel revealing my version of events would be cheating somehow. Why is my version more valid than what they would determine for themselves? Having a little ambiguity is a good thing, I believe.

Most of the time, in a play or story, the audience needs to feel a sense of completion, an understanding of the events they've just witnessed. They've been sticking with the piece (even if it's just for 10 minutes) and they deserve a sense of satisfaction. But if I can accomplish that without answering all the questions, that's ultimately even more satisfying.

The audience member should build his/her own specificity, elaborate in their own imagination about the play. This keeps the play living and breathing in people's minds long after the last lines have been spoken by the actors.

The Character's Inner Life

I witnessed something that took me aback at Wednesday night's rehearsal of "Mary Worth Is A Whore".

The actress Anne McEvoy revealed to me the inner life a character I'd written without saying a word.

The play was an exercise to see if I could write something that sets a comedic tone and then shifts: a secret is revealed, the secret is not what you think it's going to be and the audience is (hopefully) left with a sense of the bittersweet.

The scene is a twenty year high school reunion. We think the play is about three old high school buddies: Phil, Helene and Tibby. The fourth character in the mix is Miss Applewood, their former guidance counselor and teacher. Miss Applewood and Tibby share a secret which they've never discussed. At the end of the play, they are given a moment alone together and - in a roundabout way, since it is a rare thing for people to be completely direct with each other - share what that secret meant to each of them.

Here's what it says in my script:

TIBBY

(Now HE looks at her and says intently:) I'd always hoped...that the two of you...would have gotten together somehow. Been happy.

SHE is surprised by his hope and looks at him. SHE almost says something else, but decides against it, and instead says:

MISS APPLEWOOD

(Sweetly, but not dismissive) No use talking about what wasn't to be.

Here's what happened at rehearsal:

Tibby (John Busser) said his line and Miss Applewood (Anne) looked away and smiled. From her facial expression it was clear to me that she was thinking about what her life would have been like if things had turned out differently: an imagined memory. Then, her face crumpled and fell in on itself. The great disappointment and pain of her life returned. But since she must keep up a front, she pastes a different smile on her face and returns to the social order of obscuring her feelings. She turns back to Tibby and says her next line.

The exactness and depth of the character's inner life brought into focus in just a few seconds.

Can't wait to see the show tonight, hear the audience reaction and be a fly on the wall listening to what people say afterwards.

Kudos to the cast and Jenna the Magnificent.

Mary Worth Is A Whore

My 10-minute play "Mary Worth Is A Whore" will be performed as part of Pandemonium!, Cleveland Public Theatre's Annual Fundraiser this Saturday, September 12th.

It's part of a longer play I'm working on called "The Trials of Tiberius", about a Everyday Joe with the unfortunate name Tiberius (although he's called Tibby). Tibby has a propensity for finding out other people's secrets...and he never tells them to anyone.

It will be an interesting experience to see a crack cast (Liz Conway, Anne McEvoy, John Busser and Josh Brown) pull together this piece in a "by-the-seat-of-their-pants" way.

We have two rehearsals and then...we're on! Jenna Messina is also doing the directing duties for "Mary Worth".

Why is Mary Worth a whore? I'm not telling.