Last night I saw something, or was inspired, or had a revelation, a moment along those lines. It was about a play I started years ago, and have always wanted to return to, but hadn't gotten back to yet. It's about four generations of women living together; the oldest is slipping into dementia; her daughter, in whose house the play takes place, is trying to hold the family together; her daughter is angrily bitter from a recent divorce; her daughter is recklessly throwing herself into the future. I love love love this play, at least what it might be.
I hadn't gone searching for this inspiration. I hadn't (consciously at least) been thinking about this play. The moment came from the magical mire of my imagination. But all in that moment, I saw that the play belongs to the two older women; the other two are subsidiary characters who show up in the oldest woman's moment of clarity; I need to know their stories, but only tell bits of them. I saw a new possible structure for the play, that it needs to take place in stages, and what those stages should be. I even saw a complete scene unfold, one that made my heart feel sore and soft.
Also unbidden came the thought "This is the one. This is the play I will finally get right. This is the one which will get noticed." I suppose I've had the same thought about other plays; I don't actually remember if I have. But the thought was strong and terribly exciting.
Now, of course, comes actually having to write the darned thing, choose each word one at a time, in the hope of being able to fulfill on that thrill of promise and possibility which came to me all in a flash.
WORDING FEEDBACK: In the first pgh I found myself struggling to keep track of who's who, given the stacked descriptions. I suggest something along the lines of the following illustrative edit:
ReplyDeleteIt's about four generations of women living together; the oldest (Gen 1) is slipping into dementia; her daughter (Gen 2), in whose house the play takes place, is trying to hold the family together; her daughter (Gen 3) is angrily bitter from a recent divorce; her daughter (Gen 4) is recklessly throwing herself into the future.
Once I read it over a couple times, I got the changing "her daughter" references, but that first time through I kept thinking is always referred to "the oldest" as a reference for "her".
I love this idea and how it came to you! Sometimes (not that often) that happens with a poem for me.
ReplyDeleteThis grabbed me: "one that made my heart feel sore and soft." Go for it, Babs! xoA -> waiting eagerly to see the production!