So here we are, beginning the second week of rehearsals for my play, and I've only been to one of them (the first, where I had to sign Equity papers stuff). It's one of the more nervewracking things for me as a playwright to not be at rehearsals of one of my plays. It's not that I don't trust Laura as a director, she's wonderful (her direction of the workshop that Theatre of the Expendable did last year was great), it's just the not-knowing that's stressful for me. I hear things are going well, though.
A very novel experience for me has been having a dramaturg. None of my plays have ever had one before. Laura, quite rightly, insisted on having one for this very wordy and dense play, and it's been very gratifying to have someone studying my words and researching all the weird little references and things I've put into the piece. The characters are constantly spouting off trivia and information about various pop culture references, from Captain Morgan to Endangered Pandas to the Origins of Santa Claus, not to mention the main references to Buddhist Reincarnation and Yamashita's Gold. It's been neat to have someone keeping track of all that stuff.
So, fingers crossed till I can start attending rehearsals again and not be in the way...
Duncan, Producer/Playwright of Ore, or Or
