Sue’s News

Down Time

April 16th, 2008

I was at a networking event last night and a director said he gets “nervous” during down time, the times in between projects when he doesn’t have a project already waiting in the wings and doesn’t know where he is going to land next.

It was in that moment that what he said made me realize that I carry around a similar fear, that I suspect most writers face… “What are you working on now?” is usually the third question people ask when they find out I’m a playwright. (The first and second being “Wow, how did you get into that?” “Have I seen any of your stuff before?”) (Editor’s Note: Sad but true, Susan has been asked what a playwright does, since the questioner assumed actors made up their own dialogue.)

Luckily, I have something I am currently working on, and I’ve been refining some older pieces to make them a bit sharper… But, the point is, I won’t always have something I’m working on at the moment.

There was a good stretch of time when I was working on my life, and making a life with my husband… And at the end of the day, isn’t that as important as creative output?

Paul Simon had a really great interview with Charlie Rose about a year ago (a little less) where he spoke about his process, and how he finally goes to write a song after he’s lived his life for a while and the urge finally just bubbles up inside. When I heard him say that, I recognized the way I work, and knew that if it’s good enough for someone as prolific and talented as Paul Simon, it’s good enough for me!

So, here and now, I’m embracing those “down times”…

–Sue

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