that play I wrote…

Spread the love

misthead

… opens at the IndyFringe in a couple of weeks. It might seem strange but I’m more interested than excited to find out how the audience reacts to it. The only reason interest trumps excitement is because I’m still in “writing mode”… or more specifically “tweaking mode” on the piece.

show13The show performed reasonably well at this year’s Rogue Festival. As part of the continuing writing process I watched every performance to spot possible needed tweaks. The show even had a two camera shoot so that I could pore over and pinpoint said tweaks.

I think… O.K. actually I’m pretty sure I know where those tweaks should be. I’m choosing not to embark on them yet though… until after the run at the IndyFringe. The reason being that at the Rogue (and home turf) at least a quarter of the audience knew me personally. So, yeah… I’m looking for a more objective response. (Yep… a re-write is in the works… shhh… don’t tell the actors.)

show10The other challenge with this play is marketing. “Dancing In the Mist” is essentially a fiction based on my experiences dealing with my own mother’s dementia. And that is the challenge right there. The moment “dementia” (or any malady for that matter) is mentioned in promotion, the potential audience thought process automatically veers toward “disease of the week” … cutting down that potential by a third.

The show does feature dementia… but is about so much more than that. The tag line we used when it was first performed was, “A Love Story… Just Not The Kind You Think”… though we half jokingly considered “You’ll Laugh, You’ll Cry… We’ll Pee In Our Pants”. So yeah… we are still in search of an effective marketing thrust.

All that being said… it is a good play. It is something I would pay good money to see. (BTW… that is my criteria when I do undertake the task of creating for stage or screen.)

And yes… I am excited that it is “on the road” with two stellar talents such as Xan Scott and Kurt Fitzpatrick. In more than one way these actors “own” these parts. They worked with me in a very short span of time to bring the piece to life and did so in a stellar fashion. For them… I hope the show does well and they receive the much deserved kudos for their craft.

So, I wait in anticipation. In the meantime… here is a video trailer I created for the show.