Panto and Publications

The last couple of days have been hectic – which appears to par for the course for me. Sometimes I wish for a quiet life, but I know that I would go mad if that were ever to happen!

Last night we held the preview night of our pantomime, Cinderella. Over 100 OAPs attended and turned out to be a wild, engaging and appreciative audience. They understood the minimal set, loved the characterisation and went mad for the dames!

All in all, it was a great night – we’ve just got the four real performances to get through and obviously I will keep you updated.

But I also managed to publish Error of Comedies: Occupations. So that’s book number 5 available at the storefront.

If you’ve been worried about staging a JaysPlay before (what with me being a relative unknown), this could well be the play that will give you the confidence to stage something then stage another. As this play is a collection of ten interconnected comic shorts, you could stage just one or two shorts to a small audience and then see the reaction my writing gets.

To prove the point, I had a number of the audience who attended the panto preview last night that remembered me for staging Prime Directive and Mark of a Gentleman at our theatre. The repeated question was ‘when are you putting another of your plays on here again? They were so funny!’

More on the panto tomorrow

Ding Dong Merrily On High

Okay, I admit it! I’ve been silent for too long now. But here’s why:

- I’ve been made the Entertainments Officer in the Mess that I live in. As you can probably imagine, the Christmas Season means that I’ve organised loads of socials – some formal and some informal. We’ve had Christmas dinners, Senior Non-Commissioned Officers Christmas drinks in our Mess (and after that event, you realise why we call it a Mess) and today we have the Officers serving drinks to our staff. You’d never believe how much organising that takes.

- Panto is now only a month away. We’ve just had our new lighting rig put in place and we’re in the process of hanging curtains and trying to put the lights in the right places. We’ve still got to build the set (as the materials we ordered are still not here!) and we’ve still to get all of the company in the theatre at the same time.

- Steven has given me the most impressive edit of the Error of Comedies: Occupations script I have ever received. I have now reviewed the script after his input and now have to reformat it so that I can publish it at Lulu.

- I start a Masters degree in January – with the first residential element starting Saturday 6 January 2008. When I saw the reading list, I nearly fainted! But thankfully I have been reading for just under a month and am taking extensive notes.

- My wife and I still haven’t finished our Christmas Shopping. Indeed, we were out yesterday and realised that we haven’t bought anything for each other!

So, not exactly the calmest of times. But who would expect anything less at this time of year. I can’t wait for the Christmas Holidays to come, just to have the chance to sit down with my wife and children and be a family. There isn’t the slightest chance of me getting any writing done over that period, but hell… It’s Christmas.

It just means that I have to get Error of Comedies: Occupations reformatted during the evening this week. If things go to plan (and if all the socials I have planned turn out well) it should be available by the end of the week.

That. That? That! THAT!

Sometimes things happen to a writer which makes them stop dead and look at what they are doing. Sometimes this reflection leaves you cold and wondering if you are as good as you think you are.

That happened to me last night.

One of my readers, Steve, sent me his very detailed comments regarding Error of Comedies: Occupations. He picked up unintentional spelling mistakes, made excellent comments regarding voice… and then highlighted the word ‘that’.

A wet fish hit me in the face. It was everywhere. So much of my dialogue was passive. So little of my dialogue had any passion. Nearly every instance of the word ‘that’ was redundant.

Steve had highlighted every redundant ‘that’ in green, so that the manuscript looked like an alien version of measles. I opened the original manuscript and did a global search for, what I now call, the word that shall not be named.

The strange part for me was the way it changed my mood. At first I was disappointed I was so reliant on the word. Then I became angry that I was so lazy to employ it so frequently. Then I saw my dialogue anew.

This was damned good stuff. When I read it aloud with all the words that shall not be named, it came over well and sounded real. When I re-read it losing the offending word, suddenly it came alive, had energy and pace.

But worst, was when I realised I had gone through this about 2 years ago. I recalled how I had opened all of my manuscripts and did a global search for the word that shall not be named. And again, I removed nearly every instance. So why had I forgotten that I over used it? Why hadn’t I searched for it before I sent it out to my readers?

But then again, what does it matter? Steve has put me back to where I need to be to develop my work. Gill didn’t spot it, but Steve did.

And thank goodness, as it means that Error of Comedies: Occupations is going to be better than I first thought.

But I don’t think that I’ll have it published by Christmas now… But who knows?

I Like Change

I’ve had a few days to look back at what I have done with my writing career and spend more time than I thought I would writing.

I’ve also been lucky enough to have some feedback from people that I never thought would comment on my work: My father was telling me to push my work more as he thought it should reach a wider audience. And this is the man that would never tell me to do anything that would jeopardise my career in the Navy or the safety of my family. Then my wife’s Aunt spent a couple of evening reading one of my books laughing herself silly – and was all praise.

So, I went back to my publishing contract and have revised it slightly. You can now get a full copy of the scripts I have published a lot cheaper. How? Because I have made them available as electronic downloads.

That way, you can have the entire script in a matter of seconds, rather than wait for delivery, for less than half the cover price.

I have also started writing a new set of scripts, which have an interconnecting theme. So stand by for a new script to appear on my website and on my publishing page for Error of Comedies: Occupation.

Not mush more I can tell you about that now, but I’ll leave a teaser… This is going to be the first of a series!

Re-inventing the wheel

So, now I’ve got four books available to buy: Each of the produced two-act plays and a compendium of all three in one book (the bonus here is that you can save a bundle – and don’t forget to use the ‘standard’ delivery option).

But over the weekend I got a call from the director of the production of Denim that is due this October.

She had a problem… And that problem was language… More to the point, the language that I had used in Denim (in a few areas) was a little to graphic.

Now I have to stress that it was not a request to remove all the swear words in the script. I was a concern that some of the imagery that certain line evoke are a little graphic – especially when they are delivered by female members of the cast.

Normally I would have told the director that they have to stick with what they are presented. But this director had a very interesting point.

This is an amateur production. An amateur production that is going to be performed in a fairly secluded theatre. A theatre that depends on it’s regular audience. A regular audience that is becoming advancing in years but retiring in what they find acceptable.

So when a young woman on the stage makes references to oral sex as a put down, the director was worried that this could turn her audience against her.

And I could see her point.

So I’ve sent a couple of toned down alternatives to certain lines that were causing her and the committee a few raised eyebrows.

From the response… All of my suggestions have been accepted… By the director… Let’s see what the committee think.

I’m glad that it was me that did it though (and until I see the production, they’re not going into the master script – I like pushing an audience, unless the modifications are actually funnier!). The main advantage of me writing these alternatives is that I can do one of two things: 1. Keep the flow and not change the meaning of that extract. 2. Point out that it’s not always necessary to change a line or a scene, but it may require an additional line that enables the audience to feel more comfortable with what’s just happened, by getting someone on stage to complain (in context) on their behalf.

But it’s rather odd going back to a play that you wrote some time ago and alter lines that you have heard delivered.

I just hope I haven’t re-treaded a perfectly good wheel and turned it into an automotive 50p piece.

Buy more books!

Okay, so I’ve gone publishing mad. Mark of a Gentleman and Prime Directive are now available to buy.

A top tip though (from bitter experience) do not use the ‘Express’ delivery option.

The only flaw that I can find in the company that I am using to publish the scripts is that it is based in America. Not that there is anything wrong with America, it’s just that the scripts have to be posted from there.

If you use the ‘Express’ option (as I did – as I forgot that there was more than one delivery option) you end up paying about £10 for P&P.

However, if you use the ‘Standard’ delivery option it will only set you back £2.18 P&P! Sure you’ll wait a little longer, but I’d sooner that you got the play and thought about buying another, rather than being put off by the price.

I would love to hear from anyone that buys a script! So comment here, or send me an email to the usual address.

Take care.

Jay

Fancy something new?

Check it out people. The JaysPlays.Net has changed. So has the blog.

But there is more!

Denim is now under contract for performance! That’s right, you have the chance to see the show! View the ‘What’s On Now’ section of the website for more details.

And it doesn’t stop there! (Getting tired of the exclamation marks yet?)

I am now published. You can buy your own copy of Denim – TODAY! Just click here to go to the store and buy your own copy.

And there are plans for Mark of a Gentleman, Prime Directive, a book of one-act plays and a book of shorts.

Keep coming back – and enjoy the ride!