BY CANDLELIGHT: The diary and development of a play

In January 2006 I wrote one of those fractured-fairy tale plays. Thought it up in one day and wrote like a speed demon until it was done. I was just coming off of a play about young people connecting in the days following 9/11 and I needed some silliness. The result? THE PRINCESSES, THE BAD FAIRY AND THE PEA which premiered at the Tea Tree Players in St. Agnes, Australia and was picked up by Eldridge Publishing Company - and now titled: RESCUE AT DREAMWOOD.

This is not usual. What is usual (for me) is to think about a play for years. To read, jot down notes, hear snippets of dialogue in my head and when sufficiently prepped, sit down to write. That's how it was with BY CANDLELLIGHT. AFter 9/11, I knew I would write about it someday - years away. In July 2005, I started making notes. I spoke with young people about 9/11 in Minnesota and in New York and had an outline. And then a script - of sorts. By January 2006, I was immersed. Obsessed - in the same way I was after 9/11. I decided it would be a good play for Lakeshore Players Summer Youth Project (I write one play a year for them.) The play must have 26 characters and there was a wealth of students at my disposal. A school where I substitute teach allowed me class time in Religion and Language Arts for development. I continued reading, talking to kids and developing contacts in my home state of New York.


In July 2006, I had a 26-character play titled BY CANDLELIGHT. I started keeping a diary of our rehearsals. Below are a few excerpts. The summer with the play was astonishing. The past few years we had discipline issues that were heightening. The summer during BY CANDLELIGHT - there were none. In the past, we have always done large-cast comedies - summer fun for the students. Yes, there were themes appropriate for young people, curriculum inserted into the plays but BY CANDLELIGHT was our first drama. I learned that the tone of the play truly sets the tone of the program. With no cartoon characters, no roles that require scenery-chewing and a play that included frequent references to the Holocaust as well as the theme of young people connecting after 9/11 - the summer was respectful, creative and heartfelt.



DIARY OF By Candlelight

Thursday, June 15, 2006

2nd day of the Project. We cast it. Happily we have a very strong group because as I reread the play again, I realized that all the actors have a specific reason for being, a strong presence and particular needs and wants. It will be up to these young actors to make those decisions and they are up to the task. The youngest and newest all have a vitality that is necessary for the play.

Monday, June 18, 2006

We had our first read-through today. There was some spontaneous applause at the end of the play which has never happened before. I was taken aback but gratified that the students … maybe … believe they are working on a meaningful production. The story is so personal, I never know if what I created only has meaning for me or if it will resonate with others.

After the read-through we had the students get in their groups so they can know who their counterpart is (we work with two casts) and also to get to know the students who will be their "scene partners" throughout the play. There was much talk and most of it on target. And of course questions, because the kids know they are playing real people.

We are going to be a part of OPERATION IRAQI CHILDREN. Over the course of the summer we will be collecting items as requested and dropping them off at a drop site for lift to Iraq on August 1, 2006. It fits with one of the themes of the play - changing the world by changing just one small corner of it at a time. As I look back at the play, I realize that one of the gifts that the character Lanie gives Dorrie and was given me - was the ability to see through a "number" (six million Jewish people killed in Holocaust, 3,000 people died at World Trade Center). What I see and hear are "six million wishes, six million dreams, six million of hours of laughter, etc." killed by hate. The numbers are meaningless to me. The humanity of the victims and the inhumanity of hate overwhelm me.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006
We did 25 pages of entrances and exits today. It is a bit hard on the kids as some are waiting until page 20 to get on stage. They also started character work.

I did not anticipate (and this was silly of me) the effect the play would have on me. Sometimes as the kids go through the early scenes, waves of memories
overwhelm me. Once in a while one of the kids playing Lanie or Dorrie will make a movement or a gesture that is so reminiscent of my past, I am startled and moved. Today, I am grateful for these memories that have been pushed back for so many years and doubly grateful for the staff and students that are pursuing this play with so much heart. I could not honor this past friendship without the trust of the entire company.

Monday, June 26
Since the exits and entrances are all blocked, we started fill in. Working separately, Mik and I managed to block 1/3 of the play and include everyone in the blocking. There is still some sitting around but that should be done in a few days when all is blocked. Friday eve, I sat with the character sheets that the students filled out. They were creative and fascinating and very moving. Some of the students developed monologues for their characters describing what were milestones in their lives. Being the dramatic sort, students did choose "dramatic" lives. Deaths, divorces and revelations. But because this play deals with the Holocaust in a small way and 9/11 in a large way, these choices are appropriate to the play.

I asked the students to write down why they are entering. (Hint: it is not because the director said "enter.") One student playing Adult Dorrie wrote: I am making my first entrance to give the audience the gift of Lanie." Perfect.

I saw a copy of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK with one student. Another student looked up all my 1960's musical references on the web and brought it in. Another student is searching for a "Kid's Helping Kids" website that I used in developing the play. Watching the kids fully-engaged is a wonderful smile.

4th of July Week
We are missing so many kids we cannot do a proper run-through - but we can work scenes. And in many cases we were able to stop and think of what we were saying. There are more "transitions" this year because we did have the time - so I am thinking it is extremely worthwhile to have a week where we can just work small aspects of the play.

Because it is the 4th of July week (only two days), we tried to make it fun. We had contests and gave away chocolates, watermelons and popsicles. It is silly stuff but I think with the serious tone of the play, we have to make sure there is laughter and sillies.

July 10, 2006
We started run-throughs today. We will not get through the play. The play should run about 80-85 minutes. It's running over three hours! We do not have all of our props - also usual. (Why did I put so many props in it?) Today is the first day the two casts split. We will meet again during tech!

July 11, 2006
We cannot do true run-throughs because the play is going on too long. So we pick up and start wherever we left off. It is tempting to always start from the beginning but then we will never get to the end! And the early scenes will be much stronger. Of course, what you want is for the production to stay strong - or if anything get stronger as the play goes on so we keep the audience engaged.

July 20
I wonder if I made a private break-through in my writing letting the audience and cast members see me for the exposed nerve that I am. The summer play is a "Project." I now know that there is a play somewhere hidden in BY CANDLELIGHT. I also know that it does not require 26 characters. The rest of the summer will be spent looking at what role each character "plays" in the play and cut away the excess. It will be a different play with more than half the characters gone but it will have the same heart.

August 2006
BY CANDLELIGHT took 3rd Place in the Jackie White Memorial Play Writing Contest. I was immensely gratified as I send to them yearly and have not placed since 2001 when THE HAUNTING OF SHAKESPEARE took first place. A few of the plays had been semi-finalists. Another part of me wished I had sent them the play a year later after the Summer Project - when it was more specific and the excess was cut away. And that is what I am doing now.

I have been working on the play solidly for a little over a year now and in a way I feel as if the process is just beginning. When I started this play I had no idea it would fully consume two years of my life. And the process continues. TOMORROW: Year 2 of BY CANDLELIGHT.
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