"Irreconcilable Differences" takes 2nd prize!

I went to the opening night of my play last night! It was so strange and somewhat amazing to think that those eight people worked on what I wrote for weeks, and then produced it - more or less the way I imagined it. Some of it was a little different, some better, some not so good, but the main thoughts were there. It was a little weird to hear my thoughts coming out of other people's mouths!

Most of the actors did well, especially Helen and Amber in the roles of the two main girls and Paul and Bill as the two main guys. I was glad that they played that characters like "real people". It was important to me that everyone was represented as taking a reasonable position, and no-one turned into a Bible-thumping caricature. (I wa a bit concerned about what a non-Christian director and non-Christian actors might turn it all into.) The girl who played Tanya did even better than I imagined - she turned a bit part into a real comedy piece! Unfortunately, the final speeches by Vivian and Brett let the side down a bit - if I had realized how the actors would play it, I might have cut the last scene. Still, on the whole I was reasonably pleased with the overall effect - though I notice that they did edit me a bit as they went along.

In the final wash-up, I won $150 for 2nd prize! I was pretty pleased with that - first attempt and everything! They play which won first prize was a better script (though I still think I had better substance) but the acting unfortunately sabotaged the performance. The actors had to read the script, since it all happened at such short notice, but one of them looked like she had never even read the script before! Her stumbling and stuttering really ruined what would otherwise have been a very witty dialogue. The others were OK, but reading always lacks spark and movement. It was a real shame, because it would have been great to see it as the author intended. I felt sorry for him to be sitting there watching his script get butchered like that.

Afterwards, someone suggested that I give the script to Christian university students to perform as a piece to stimulate thought and discussion on the topic of homosexuality in the church. I might at that, but the script needs some re-drafting first. Seeing it actually performed on stage made me realize why play scripts need to be workshopped! So many parts I would change around and tweak into better shape now that I have seen it in glorious living colour! It was a great night though, no denying it - I might even do it again next year!