On July 30, 2011 Patchogue Artspace will be holding a grand opening; one that will show off the diverse talents of all artists living in the Artspace building at 20 Terry Street. This is going to be a big event for the public and as such, everybody involved is working hard to make it the best opening it can be, including the man who runs Patchogue Village, Mayor Paul Pontieri himself. As one of the tenants of the Artspace building I thought it might be a good idea to participate in the opening so I signed up to write and direct a stage play.
So, what to write about?
Spending five years immersed in a novel that revolves around a fictitious country and a story that uses elements of magical realism and Kafkaesque plot devices, I slowly developed a hankering to do something less exaggerated, a little more concrete-- as in concrete realism.
The first thing I did was look for something with drama; something that hit close to home. And boy oh boy, I had something-- something I dealt with weeks before moving into Artspace and many weeks after: "How do I fit all this stuff I've been saving up over the years into a smaller space? And what can I eliminate, donate, destroy, trash, light on fire, downsize to rid myself of the myriad distractions that come along with relocation? And it wasn't just me who suffered these quandaries, it was my better-half, my next door neighbor, the girl downstairs, and God knows how many other mover and shakers there are across the country... The world for that matter.
I decided the play would be about a couple. A happy yet tormented couple. A couple who needed to get rid of things. A couple who didn't exactly see eye to eye on what to get rid of, but a happy couple nonetheless.
Now that I knew what to write about-- and what the scope of the stage play would be (a one act)-- I set out to write it. And it came in flashes; a few flashes to be precise. Then I was done. Now what?
Next up: What I did with the play once it was written, and how I connected with the right people to make things happen.
Welcome to my author page, a blog that constantly updates and discusses my most recent works in progress. Syrahawk is my latest effort, a dsytopian novel about an undocumented immigrant couple. I am on my final edit.
