Archive for July, 2007
This Friday I was jubilant for having written the last words of a one-act play I’ve been working on for the past few years.That night, I was on the subway when I overheard someone say the one-act is dead…
I’m here to reassure everyone that the one-act play as a form is indeed alive, well, and thriving!
I am constantly scouting out places to send my work and having emails of listings sent to me.
Did you know that the call for one-act plays is usually double if not more than the call for anything else? (10 min, mid-length, full-length are some of the other lengths theatres look for.)
One-acts are like short stories, meant to give you something more intimate and digestible. And sometimes that’s all you need… Just a quick bite, not a full five course dinner.
Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Eugene O’Neill… they all wrote one-act plays, all of which have been revived in the past few years… Further proof that audiences are not as concerned with length as they are with insight.
The one-act play will always have a place in theatre.
–Sue
July 22nd, 2007
My one act play “Chrysalis” (you can read the first big turning point scene at www.suehodara.com/plays) is very close to my heart. It was inspired by Paul Simon’s “Darling Lorraine.” (A truly gorgeous and haunting song that I had in my head for months at one point!)I wrote it back in 2002, and though on the whole it was wonderful, I needed to fill it in at a few key points. Not by much really, only a few words, but a few words can make a difference. Especially when they are the last words of the play.I finally wrote a last line that I’m satisfied with. “Sit with me, George.”
Millie says this to her husband… a husband she has been married to for the past 40 years.
The play takes them through a very rough patch in their marriage, but in the end, there is LOVE there…
Today for the first time, it hit me that they never say the words “I love you” even once in the play. Yet, there are some very tender moments, like that last line.
When I was done reading/writing it today, I felt like crying…
I was so lost in the moment… Lost in the fact that I had created these people and their world because it was so clearly in front of me.
Hopefully, it will be in front of you in a production in the near future as well.
I’m sending it out again, and I’ll keep you posted!
–Sue
July 20th, 2007
A few scenes from “The Family’s Business” were given a staged reading this past September to an AMAZING audience response.This is the first time I’ve ever made a sample from the work available.
Check it out on my website at www.suehodara.com/plays
Enjoy!
–Sue
July 17th, 2007
Welcome one and all to my blog! No need to push, there’s room for everyone to see!
Yesterday, I read an article by Rob Walker in Fast Company about Mark Twain’s artful self promotion.
I was amused and inspired, and I hope you will be too when you read this blog and read/listen to the rest of my work.
If it’s good enough for Mark Twain, it’s good enough for me!
So, thanks for visiting this blog and my other professional sites:
www.suehodara.com and www.anotherplaceintime.net
–Sue
July 17th, 2007
