Well, dear readers, just two more days before I leave for New York, New York. Today is the day I try to wrap up everything that I need to do, so that tomorrow all I have to do is pack some clothing and the computer and get my beauty sleep. So, today will be quite busy, but I’m hoping that tonight I’ll get to relax and watch a DVD or two. Yesterday was another busy, busy day. I got up at eight-thirty and immediately had to deal with a bunch of New York calls and details. We seem to be in okay shape in terms of the contract, which hopefully will be signed no later than tomorrow. I then wrote a page or two, then went back into the top of act two and made a few small additions and fixes, because it became my intention to read what I had finished of act two (I’m only about five or six pages from the end of act). Tammy had an actor booked to read with her, but I wanted a second actor there, since I was planning to read the second act. That became difficult, but I finally enlisted the aid of Mr. Kevin Spirtas. That gave us our cast until Tammy’s friend, who is doing extra work on some film, called to say that even though they’d told him he’d definitely be out by six-thirty, he was now being told it was going to be more like nine. So, we had to scramble around, and finally my pal Miss Barbara Deutsch had someone at her house that wasn’t exactly right for the part but who could at least read it. So, he came over with Kevin. But, I’m getting ahead of myself, which is, I suppose, better than getting afoot of myself. First I had lunch with Miss Juliana A. Hansen. We had a high old time. I then picked up a very heavy package, a complete collection of Theatre World books. Most are in jacket, and many are in excellent condition, but I was dismayed that three or four are little better than tattered. I can always try to replace those at a later date. It’s great to have the collection, and now I can bring back our Unseemly Trivia Contest on a regular basis, maybe twice a month. Then, my friend who I had supper with last night came by and dropped off some research books for Tammy to peruse. I went out for a drink with her and then it was time to prepare for our little home-grown reading.
So, instead of watching a motion picture on DVD, we read a new play by my very own self. As I said, the second act still has five or six pages to go but I know exactly what they are and I should be able to write them over the next few days. We convened in the den environment. Now, my real purpose in doing this reading was not to see if the play was great, or even how well it worked – it was specifically to see how long the acts were, given the short page count because of the Final Draft play script format. The first act, I’m happy to say, ran about forty minutes. I’m happy to say that because we automatically add ten minutes or more onto that number for the staging of the last ten minutes of the act, and for other moments which will play longer than they read off the page. So, I’m completely comfortable with a fifty to fifty-five minute act one. Act two ran about twenty-five minutes, and when you add in the missing six pages, plus the couple of moments where the staging will take longer than just reading the stage directions, then the act will run about thirty-five to forty minutes, and I’m comfortable with that. That said, I’m still adding and fixing stuff early in the act, and that will add another page or two. Most importantly, nothing felt short or abbreviated and the play seemed to flow very well and very naturally and very logically. Beyond that, I must say I was very pleased with how it read, even in a cold reading. There were lots of laughs, and in the places where it goes in a different direction, everything seemed to really work well. The characters seem well-defined, and they have interesting levels. There is ample opportunity for interesting staging, and some interesting uses of onstage music coming from a CD player. All in all, it did what I set out to do, so that made me very happy indeed. I’m sure there will be things to smooth out in the rehearsal process, and even in the reading something marvelous happened between Kevin and the other actor that was quite unexpected (it would never have occurred to me to write it the way they played it), and it was so right that I’m adding it in. That’s what happens when you have good actors who know their stuff. I’m sure we’ll find quite a few of those moments during rehearsals. For now, I shall finish it up, have one more reading in the next couple of weeks, and then we’ll try and finish raising the money for it. We’d like to do it in August or September. We shall see. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Well, why don’t we call click on the Unseemly Button below because the day is young (which is more than I can say), and there is much to do.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I finally decided on the name for the play, which I’ll reveal here in the next few weeks. In fact, I will be revealing a lot in the next few weeks. Yes, Virginia, the next few weeks will be very revealing here at haineshisway.com
Did you know that dear reader Iris has taken on the position of my assistant in New York for these two things I’m recording? Jonathan, who has been my assistant for quite some time, really dropped the ball recently, and I had no choice but to seek another person. He’s been sick, that much I understand. But, not to return phone calls, and not to ever check his e-mails I don’t understand. He also has no answering machine or voice mail on his phone, and he’s never given me a new cell phone number. I finally got him on the phone one night, and told him what had to be done. He said he’d attend to those things immediately. I never heard back from him and still haven’t. I do know he called the studio for Kerry’s duet, after I’d already had to call them and book it myself. I wrote him an e-mail telling him of my frustration – as of this date, he has not read it. So, bye bye birdie, I’m afraid.
Now wait just a darned minute. Quick, we’d all better put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, we’d all better break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, we’d all better dance the Hora and the Can Can because today is the birthday of dear reader Francois de Paris. So, why don’t we give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer loud enough to reach Paris, France. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO DEAR READER FRANCOIS DE PARIS LOUD ENOUGH TO REACH PARIS, FRANCE!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must write, I must do errands, I must make phone calls, I must finish routining the recording script, I must eat, I must pick up a package or three, and I must think of more things to reveal. Today’s topic of discussion: Is there anything you’ve always wanted to do but have never done? If so, what was it, why haven’t you done it, and why do you want to do it? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we? In fact, let’s have some revealing postings.