A character that came into my head and wouldn’t leave easily. Salvador; a soldier. So I wrote a play about him.
He isn’t actually in the play. But everyone in the play loves him, and that is their bond.
Sometimes the most important character is the one who is missing, whose absence carves away at the ones who love them, until they grow crooked, like trees who have had the best branches pruned away. This play is about that, and other things.
I submitted the play to a competition.
It won
The play will be produced for a theater festival in May. A spring bloom.
The characters that I created will walk on to the stage – real people. This makes my stomach rise like a bird trapped under a blanket; giddy and panicked at once.
Salvador, my guy, won’t be onstage, but perhaps he’ll sit next to me in the theater.
Being a writer is a lot like being crazy, only the people in your head can come out, get on the page, even get onto a stage, and live. Sometimes letting them out is painful and exhausting; sometimes strangely exhilarating.
For today, I am happy I am a writer, and gave birth to this little play.
Salvador will be at the 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa. It is a one act play that will be shown with five other winning plays. Opening night is May 15. Hope to see you there. The contest was held by the Redwood Writers Club, and yesterday they announced the winners and gave me a lovely plaque. I appreciate their encouragement and support.
http://www.6thstreetplayhouse.com/home/
Joanell Writes 