The Autobiographical Playwright Performer

Sue is a lovely enthusiastic woman. She is my dental hygienist who likes to "engage,"so there are always provocative questions such as "What's new?" Her perkiness and affability, sadly, sends me to a dark, grumpy place. It's always been this way I am ashamed to say. But after a while, I always warm up because Sue, and other extroverts, are very often the nicest and most welcoming of people.

So I told her about my play at Presentation House because we were on the North Shore where my dentist is and Sue lives on the North Shore where the play is to be produced. She had a predictably giddy response. But then, when I mentioned the screenplay, it was like she was de-plaquing the teeth of Jesus Christ. I am truly excited about what is going on with my writing but when others get excited about it, I get quite uncomfortable.

Then I remember when I was young and when I had big dreams and exciting ambitions that disappeared as I became a harder and harder working bee. Now, in retirement, I am living those dreams at a lovely modest scale so it is easy to imagine how my current projects light fires in the minds of other bees who are still working. I love to think of myself as a role model retiree, re-igniting long neglected embers of youthful dreams.

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I had a great meeting with Kim Selody at Presentation House: Our first "production" meeting, and so practical details are emerging:

• Script-lock day is April 20th. ("Script-lock day" is the day after which no further changes can be made to the script so that I can memorize my lines.)
• Rehearsals start May 19th and I will be off-book.
• Opening is June 4th.
• First workshop: Likely during the last two weeks of September or the first week of October, based on the availability of the actors.
• Kim is directing.

I am clearly, Mr. I-Don't -Want-To-Do-That-Again. I am a starter, not a maintainer and I like change, that is clear. That is why I cannot re-write Artist Survival Skills even though there's been an offer and why I could't face re-doing my first play. But re-doing things is going backwards for me. I love the learning that comes with the new. For example: I will get paid as an actor and my rate-of-pay is laid out in the International Theatre Agreement. (I am an Actors' Equity member) and I get paid as the playwright by percentage of box-office. (I knew that.) 

But I have never experienced a "Side Agreement" (SA) that creator/performers need. I had never heard of this, but the SA protects both parties in the afterlife of the production. Because Presentation House will own the production, but the production is about me and involves me, the SA lays out how we can work together in the future with the property if there is an afterlife.

What am I doing exactly? For my friends in the biz, here is what Kim sent me today: "Robert is going to put the show in our 'season' brochure as a special event." So there you have it: it's a special event. I like that because it sounds like something a critic would not attend.  I think doing this show is going to be a hoot and a critic could ruin everything.