In 1922, an unknown composer who supported his family by working as an insurance man, did something audacious. He self-published a collection of songs he'd been writing over several years and proceeded to mail out complimentary copies to practically everyone of some importance he could think of. His name was Charles Ives and today, thanks to the efforts of another composer of a younger generation who championed his work, he is widely regarded as one of American music's greatest composers.
It would be easy to take this little anecdote as evidence that all we need in order to succeed is perseverance and a touch of audacity but the sobering truth is that of the hundreds of copies of Mr. Ives' 114 Songs that he sent out, most sat on desks and languished unopened for years, if not decades. Had it not been for the passion of the young composer Henry Cowell who made it his personal mission to get the establishment to recognize the great leaps of imagination made by the older man, we might never have heard much of this groundbreaking music.
Those of us who write for the stage do so in an environment in which the discovery of something wonderful and new is well on its way to becoming nothing short of miraculous. With virtually no meaningful governmental support of our theaters, there is no place really to which a playwright can send his or her script and be assured of a thoughtful read.
The sad truth is when you send your full-length play or screenplay to the literary department of a target theatre or the development department of an independent film production company the odds are stacked against you.
Consider for a moment that with few exceptions, the primary purpose of these offices is not to find the next wonderful project but to find a justification for saying "no" to 99% of submissions. In this context, then, the staffing choice makes more sense.
But consider for a moment that you've somehow managed to get your script into the hands and onto the desk of an actual producer or artistic director, someone who actually does sometimes get to make a choice about a project moving forward. It is certainly to your advantage to have managed to position your script this way but make no mistake. Most of the people reading and choosing projects based on scripts are barely able to sit quietly and bring your scenes to life in their mind's eye as they read. It's a simple fact of life. Reading scripts and imagining them as finished films or plays is a skill which requires a certain combination of professional know-how, imagination, curiosity, patience and a mind in a space which allows it to quiet itself enough to focus and play the thing through. The person with the talent and ability to bring a script to life for an audience does not necessarily posses the same ability when it comes to sitting quietly and imagining it all at once start to finish.
Early in my career I was given a reading of a new play at a somewhat prestigious theatre. As I bumped into the artistic director in the lobby at the end of the evening, he patted me on the shoulder and exclaimed with some serious surprise: This piece really works! Wow. At the time I found the comment so odd. I remember thinking to myself: Well how could you not know that having programmed the script in your series. It took me years to understand that most working professionals in the theatre, many of them brilliant artists themselves do not have the ability to read a script and imagine how it will play.
The only hope for those of us who do take care to wright our scripts until they will play is to have our work play in front of audiences as widely and as frequently as possible. Because it is only when experiencing a script in the mouths and bodies of actors performed before an audience that 99% of people in this world can accurately judge its quality. That is one of the main reasons why I feel it's so important that we keep the Hear Me Out Monologues programs going even as we seem to be finding our way to a CoVid Coda. While it may take months or years to polish a full length to production-ready level, a clever talented scriptwriter can finish an excellent stand-alone monologue in 7-10 days, give or take. And the moment your monologue is being performed on a series such as Some1Speaking or at the Hear Me Out Monologues Labor Day Festival & Awards Ceremony, you're getting to witness one more audience in contact with one of your scripts. You and all those gathered will have a little sharper sense of what you can do in your scriptwriting at the end of the evening.
The hundreds of copies of 114 Songs that sat languishing in the offices of Music Departments at colleges and conservatories all across the country did nothing to advance Mr. Ives' career. It was only when Henry Cowell started organizing symposia and recitals aimed at exploring the depths while expanding the reach of this music that musicians and conductors started to take a closer look. An entire generation of musicians were inspired to explore the entire Ives' cannon once they were given an opportunity to hear some of this remarkable music with their own ears.
The more groundbreaking any new work is, the more necessary it becomes for the culture to see and hear it performed before hazarding a guess as to its longterm value and significance.
We should do everything within our power to help work that has never been seen and heard see the light of day. If for no other reason than to open a path for the possibility of something yet unimaginable waiting in the wings of our culture.
Registration is now open for Roland Tec's Advanced Monologue, a 3-day intensive for the scriptwriter eager to sharpen their ability to create unforgettable characters through active stand-alone monologue. May 6th, 7th and 14th. Space is limited. Early Bird Deadline (25% discount) is this Wednesday, April 27th at Noon. Visit Roland Tec Teaching dot com for registration info.
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