I just had a deja vu where a play I wrote two years ago has taken on its own life.
In 2007 I wrote a little play called The Playwright's Nightmare. It was widely produced and later published. Done deal. The beginning dialogue has:
ROB: (wheeling-dealing producer): "You're okay with the changes right? I never heard back from you so I figured they would be okay ...... I e-mailed you some of the things we had to fix. It's a new play so I knew it wasn't perfect ...."
And so the fictional playwright's nightmare begins...
In 2009, I wrote a little baseball play where a manic sports fan quotes Yeats. It's sort of important. Things are not always what they seem. And it stops my play from being a silly sit-com and predictable.
The little baseball play was accepted into this baseball-themed evening of ten-minute plays - to coincide with the new Twins Stadium opening. Could be fun?
Changes? Well, of course I make changes - for clarification, simplicity, tightening of script, character arc.
In real life, I receive a phone call from the wheeling-dealing producer. Who is named Rob.
ROB: The readers really liked your play. They loved everything - you're really very funny. The only thing they were concerned about was the poetry. Can you take that out?
ME: No.
ROB: Why not?
ME: I think it's integral to the play.
ROB: Oh, okay - it's really a good play, if you think the poetry is necessary - but I must tell you that the readers - well - it sort of lost them. But they liked the rest of the play.
ME: I think it's necessary.
ROB: Okay.
And we talked about this, that and the other thing and I thought it was a done deal. The play stays as is.
E-mail received, November 2nd
ROB: Would you be available tomorrow to have a conversation about your work? I want to go over some evaluator comments.
ME: Yes, I'm available Thursday afternoon. But I'm not changing the play.
ROB: We'll talk.
We didn't"talk." I withdrew the play.