"Express Tracks" The writing and journey of a new play

Writing a play is a complicated thing.  It is a combination of inspiration, timing, voices, story and character that all come together in the writer's mind and then, on the page to..hopefully..come to life on a stage.  My new play "Express Tracks", will have it's first open to the public staged reading on Monday, July 30th is the combination of all of those elements.  This is a play that was inspired by a trip on a train...one from Camden to Trenton ..as I travelled last winter.  On the train I saw people and heard voices that lent themselves to this story and...inspired me to seek answers to other questions of my own.  Questions of faith and feeling trapped and isolated in a world with open windows and sunlight.  These characters allowed me to dig deeper into their backgrounds and motivations and in doing that..ultimately...my own.  This world is complex and....this ride let me question my own world by exploring the world of strangers...people we see every day and pass by..or ..interact with. I wrote this play in the predawn hours of five mornings in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  As I wrote lightning lit up the cove below me and the constant heat and humidity of June on the Mexican coast surrounded me.  These elements have now become a part of this work.  I invite you to the reading..to be a part of its first breath of life and to offer feedback...should you feel inspired. Director Dan Student has brought together an amazing, stellar cast on this particular Monday evening and we will be witness to their talent as "Express Tracks" comes to life in its earliest form.  SCTC wants to bring you into the process of creating theatre as well as being an audience member.  As we enter our eighth season we want to engage you even more into the process..and ..give you a theatrical home of your own.  Please come.   We begin at 7PM and it's free. 

A tree grows in Provincetown

Sitting on my deck...staring out onto O'Neill's tides and working on a rewrite for this coming season I stopped to take a break and...for a second...looked away from the harbor to see a tree..a very old one..on the lot next to me.  I say old because the top of the tree and all of it's branches were a snowy grey/white...but..below it the tree is as green and vibrant as...I can imagine....decades ago when it first sprung to like not far from the shadow of the Pilgrim's Monument.  I kept watching this tree and...saw the parallel to my own self..and my own life.  The grey on top of this tree did nothing to affect the life going on inside.  The green, heavily leafed branches were swaying in the cool breeze of an early afternoon in July.  The tree still felt the breeze...breathed in the sea air and was growing..just as it was since it's birth on a small hill in this historic cape town.  I thought it was an eerie parallel as I continue to work at my writing..constantly inspired by Tennessee's moon and O'Neill's lighthouse...the same this tree has bore witness to over the generations.  I found myself jealous....though...as this tree is rooted in the place I have grown to love the most in the world..a place where it will only leave by disease or by a tree surgeons saw.  The trees roots are here...and mine are 350 miles away.  So.....the need to lay new roots has become more and more clear to me...even as the gray/silver of my own becomes more visible and has now begun to overpower my hair's former hue.  We both feel the breeze and feel the sun here. We both have seen sunny days and many storms...but...for now...only one of us has permanent roots here.  The tide is changing below me...I see the water rising higher and higher to it's fmailiar spot convering our second deck step.  The tides are changing.

En Avant!

We end as we began...with the genius of Tennessee Williams onstage at SCTC.  I am extremely torn at this moment.  I am elated to end with a sold out house and having over 600 people see our "Night of the Iguana" at the end our our entire season honoring him but also sad that this season of his work has ended.  At our closing party I was presented with my signed, framed poster from the cast [my favorite moment as producer] but this frame also had a rose taped to it. A rose that our Stage Manager, Ashley Chambers, secretly had onstage hidden during each show of the season. A rose to let us all never forget Tenn's beloved sister Rose...to whom so much of his work and life were dedicated.  I almost cried on the spot. And..if that wasn't enough..thanks to my friend and our "Nonno" Tom Juarez...the cast presented me with an autographed, hardcover copy of his book "Memoirs".  When I thanked Tom for his incredible generosity, he said that I "needed" to have it. The emotion that is welling up inside of me is rich and deep...and I have an incredible cast and crew of SCTC family to thank.  I titled this entry into my blog "En Avant!"...the term Tenn ended his correspondence with...roughly..."to the future"..and I now need to end with it.  Because Tennessee Williams is eternal...and his gift to all of us is the characters and plays he left us with.  So...as we began...we now end this season.  But...we will always celebrate the true gift we were given the day Thomas Lanier Williams was born. En Avant!

Final 3 of 7 of Tenn

 3 final shows of "Night of the Iguana"this weekend as our 7th season, "Tenn xTen", brings our season to a close. This season has been a fantastic run as we pay tribute to one of America's greatest writers, Tennessee Williams.  You have ONLY three more chances to experince Tennessee's poetry and full, rich characters up close and personally in our intimate 96 seat theatre.  Please don't wait to get your tickets as Sunday is already getting very full.  go to http://www.southcamdentheatre.org/ now to order.  As Tennessee ended all of his correspondence "En avant!"

The Fantastic Level and the Realistic Level are the two levels upon which we live.

"The Fantastic Level and the Realistic Level are the two levels upon which we live." Tennessee Williams, [through Shannon] plainly explains life as he sees it.  I am proud to say that we at SCTC can tie those two worlds together nicely.  The realistic world that surrounds us in Camden is a world that has gone through trying times.  Times of riots and abandonment, tears and crime.  However, through the art of theatre, the talent of our cast and crew and the generosity of many, this "realistic" level has managed to rise to the "fantastic" level. I can only invite you to come to Waterfront South to see these levels connect.  Come to SCTC and be transported to the Mexican coast in 1940 as Tennessee Williams' "Night of the Iguana" roars to life six more times starting tomorrow night.  Witness the connection of levels as art continues to save us and be the cure for the "realistic" problems we leave at the door at 4th and Jasper when we enter the "Fantastic" world of theatre.  This is an amazing play and Tenn could not have described SCTC's entire existence better.  See you there.

Personal Haven - Safe Harbor

Home from "Night of the Iguana" rehearsal watching actors pour themselves into the poetry of Tennessee Williams realizing it's been a few rough weeks for me, personally. After tonight's rehearsal I felt myself rise up like Shannon during his own storm...hearing God's angry voice in His thunder as my own soul quaked in its wake and...in its majesty..and...in the play...found my own self again. Art is as a basic need as water and sunlight. We need it to feel our hearts and souls. Trust me..don't miss SCTC's "Iguana" as Tennessee Williams' genius roars to life in Waterfront South. We open Friday. www.southcamdentheatre.org for tickets.

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