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Becoming a Playwright
There is a small community theater here in New Port Richey, Florida. It happens to be celebrating its 100th birthday this year, 2026.
A young woman named Daisy Thomas spoke at my Rotary Club, providing information about the Richey Suncoast Theater. She noticed that I was an author from my name tag, and suggested that I look into the Playwright Workshop lead by director Robert Grogan.
I felt it was time to try something different. So, I checked it out. The program is comprised of Robert, the director, want-to-be playwrights, and actors.
Following some initial training, I began to create my first play, based on my novel I Am Everett. I soon learned that writing a play is very different than writing a novel. My first few attempts were woefully wanting.
Following several weeks of trying to pound this square peg into a round hole, Director Grogan, suggested that I put the Everett project aside and focus on something more achievable.
So now, I am currently working on coming up with an original 15 minute play. I have learned much at the workshops, and have met some interesting people. I have made progress on this effort, and I've included an excerpt below. (Note: The formatting in the excerpt is not the same as the required formatting for plays, which is very exact.)
EXCERPT
April Fools
ACT I, Scene i
PLACE: A kitchen in an upscale home in Reston, Virginia. There is a kitchen table in front of a counter, cupboards, a stove, and a refrigerator.
TIME: 7:15 AM on Wednesday, April 1st.
AT RISE: PERSEUS, a young man, sits at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of Lucky Charms and reading the back of the cereal box. He wears printed lounge pants and a wrinkled, oversized T-shirt. His longish hair is tousled. His cellphone is on the table, loudly playing Incubus.
(MOTHER enters kitchen SL, meticulously coiffed and dressed in professional business attire.)
MOTHER
Would you please turn off that noise?
PERSEUN
It’s called music, Mother. Incubus. They’re badass.
MOTHER
Off.
(PERSEUS turns the music off.)
MOTHER
Why don’t you eat something sensible for breakfast? You know, something with some actual food value and fewer chemicals?”
PERSEUS
They’re called Lucky Charms, Mother. They’re magically delicious. Says right here on the box: they contain protein, vitamins, and 116 grams of sugar per serving.
(MOTHER makes a huffing sound and puts tea leaves from a tin into a teapot and water in a teakettle.)
MOTHER
There are plenty of better choices to be found in this kitchen, young man.
(PERSEUS looks around at his mother.)
PERSEUS
This cereal tastes a lot better than that crap you’re about to consume.
MOTHER
Do you have to be so vulgar, Perseus? My god. One would think you were raised by wolves the way you talk.
(PERSEUS gets up from the table and takes his bowl to the sink. He leans over to look at what his mother is doing.)
PERSEUS
What is that stuff? It smells like pot.
MOTHER
It is green tea, expensive, top-of-the-line green tea. It enhances brain function, improves heart
and oral health, and much more. And where did you learn what pot smells like?
PERSEUS
That expensive Ivy League university you insisted I attend. All those punk ass preppy trust fund elites smoke pot. That’s how I know.
(FATHER enters kitchen SL. He is wearing a dark suit and tie.)
FATHER
Good morning. Is it safe to enter?
PERSEUS
Mother and I were discussing the importance of proper nutrition and the role of herbal stimulants.
Random Updates
May 2026 - I attended three book festivals in April, where I sold a total of 36 books and met many interesting people. I managed to find time to finish a first draft of my 15 minute play, which I will present to the participants of the workshop on May 9.
April 2026 - I will miss the workshops this month. I have three book shows this month and two of them fall on the second and fourth Saturdays. Those are the two days a month that we meet. I will continue to work on the play, and I plan to ask Mark to review and critique them.
