The Bloody Doors Off

And in the blink of an eye, the staged readings are done.

I’m satisfied, and extremely emotional at the same time. This has been an incredible journey, from the first lines of dialogue I wrote:

MARY:You have a healthy glow. My mother smoked a pack a day. The only glow that surrounded her came from a match.

RACHEL:
A healthy glow. (snorts) I like you, Mary.

to the final moments of the Q&A this afternoon.

The best compliments received? I was told the characters felt authentic; despite the mature subject matter, it felt ‘warm’; and the director wanted to block more of the story (usually staged readings involve actors standing and reading from scripts). Constructive criticism? That I need to flesh out the parents; to take things a bit slower off the top (it ramps up pretty quick); there are a couple of ‘inappropriate’ moments (from Robyn, our 10-year old Rachel, who is smart beyond her years); and that, with the proper work, this could be an excellent ensemble piece. There are a few more takeaways for the script to make it better, but I won’t list them here.

Both performances, the actors made me choke up. There were a few moments I had to hold back tears. It became so real for me.

The next while is going to be difficult; I need to redouble my efforts to get my life on track. But the story won’t sit on the sidelines while I do this. There’s more work to be done. And, thanks to Jaclyn and Ron, the director and dramaturge who graciously agreed to help continue this process, A Song for Rachel will live on.