Waiting for Godot Interviews

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmiYSBJ54Io - The original Stewart/McKellen cast speaks pure Godot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktSU8As66LE - Some clips from the Stewart/McKellen performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAr1nLcmqeQ - McKellen says a bit about Godot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdfkkncYDbs - McKellen says a bit about Godot.
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10380 - Nathan Lane, John Goodman and Co. speak pure Godot.

In Progress: Regina vs. Milton

A bench on stage left seating SIMON. He is eating lunch. Enter MILTON and REGINA from opposite ends of the stage. When they meet, they stop. There is an air of acidity between them.

MILTON: Well, Regina. We meet again.

REGINA: Correct, Milton. Correct indeed.

MILTON: You will have noticed by now Regina that I no longer attend the Monday-Wednesday-Friday Grammar class at 2pm in which we were forced to sit together.

REGINA: I have. Last class period, it was noted by most of the students that the air was much more breathable without you.

MILTON: Very funny, Regina, but I happen to know you are lying, because I asked Professor Chubbins about the class’s response to my absence when I went to his office later that afternoon… for work.

REGINA: And he told you we sobbed uncontrollably?

MILTON: No, but when I went to his office, for work, he did say that you stared at my empty desk for a curious accumulation of seconds.

REGINA: You asked him specifically about me?

MILTON: Missing me already, Regina?

REGINA: Someone had written a sentence on your desk.

MILTON: Of course. A sentence.

REGINA: I was reading it.

MILTON: Of course you were.

REGINA: It was in your handwriting.

MILTON: Of course it wa—no!

REGINA: It said, “Regina Fitzwelter, I love you beyond all the reverberations of the atomic realm…”

MILTON: (speaking over REGINA) I am—I am—I am not interested in words written on desks. My purpose in speaking to you is to gloat over my recent exalted position as Professor Xavier Eleanor Chubbins’ new Teacher’s Assistant! If you are filled with awe and wonder, it is understandable.

REGINA: Your desired effect has failed to take hold.

MILTON: Incorrect, because shock and fear are the effects I desired, and I can see them now, plain as day, written on your face. You comprehend the threat I pose. Instead of dilly-dallying away the days in grammar class, writing paper after paper on participial principles, I will be reading those papers while wielding a pen of crimson ink. The fate of your grade rests entirely in my hands!

REGINA: Not that the class has any papers to grade.

MILTON: The point is I’m a TA! It is, of course, to be expected that someone like you, Regina, who pretends to celebrate underachievement because of your own large propensity for failure, would be hopelessly jealous of my formidable accomplishments.

REGINA: monologue. Mention the desk-letter; she SAYS she interprets it as mockery.

MILTON: You just don’t want to admit becoming a TA is a significant achievement.

REGINA: ‘Significant achievement’? Simon LaRoda works as a TA. (She points at SIMON, who sneezes on other side of stage.) If Simon can get in, a pimple could get in. Like you.

(Up to this point, SIMON has been engaging in odd activities like kissing his thumbs and pressing them to the ground. This preoccupation of his should be understated, but present—the actor shouldn’t be doing anything so absurd that he draws all attention to himself, but it should be clear that whoever is over on that end of the stage is weird. After sneezing, however, he should calm down and just sit with his food patiently, as though waiting for something.)

MILTON: Oh, how I hate you, Regina! One day I will RULE the UNIVERSE, and the first person I’ll force to carry it on their shoulders, like Atlas, the cursed demigod, will be YOU.

REGINA: That’s not threatening at all. (Exits)

MILTON: Good luck on not getting sucked into a black hole when there are 500 MILLION of them pressing against the nape of your neck!

Milton eventually goes over to Simon’s side of the stage, venting his frustrations, and Simon’s first full line is an absurd offering to help Milton:

SIMON: I know how to kill a man just by looking at him.

MILTON: Just "A man", or more than one?

SIMON: Men. Women. Children.

MILTON: Do you?

SIMON: Yeah. Want to see?

MILTON: Not on me.

SIMON: That’s okay. I’ll do it to that squirrel up there.

MILTON: Where?

There’s an electric surge, a flash from above, and a furry thing falls from the catwalks onto the stage, smoking slightly.

SIMON: There.

MILTON: You murdered a squirrel. Should we call someone?

SIMON: No.

MILTON: You are very powerful.

SIMON: You want me to teach you?

MILTON: (nods)

SIMON: ‘Kay. You start by squinting. Then you drop your jaw, not like you’re yawning, but like you’re filled with a surprising feeling.

MILTON: Should I look at someone?

SIMON: Of course not! I’m the only other person here. Then you raise your shoulders high and stiff and spread your fingers long and straight and take a long deep breath and then…

MILTON: (looks over)

SIMON: …breathe it out. If you’re sitting stand up, if you’re standing sit down, and think of the happiest, prettiest, most delicate and soothing thing in the world.

MILTON: (confused) Soothing?

SIMON: It’s a branch of reverse psychology. Then you take off one shoe, throw it over your shoulder, kiss one your thumbs, press it to the ground, take a long, deep breath and then…

MILTON: (looks over, SIMON shakes head, they hold breath for a long time)

SIMON: … let it out.

MILTON: Are we almost done?

SIMON: Getting there. Then

One more cycle of things, then on the last exhale BOOM! Simon downs another squirrel, Milton his first leaf.

MILTON: Thank you for showing me this power. I want to use it immediately, and I know exactly whom to use it on. Have you used the power against many?

SIMON: Oh, yes. All of my enemies. Squirrels, mostly.

HOW IT ENDS: Simon somehow convinces Milton he’s overdramatic, wanting to find a reason to dislike people (Milton calls Simon jealous), and that sometimes people like REGINA are just being themselves and mean no harm. Play ends with REGINA returning for a forgotten book, and Milton handing it to him and offering the proverbial olive branch (maybe the book is called that—“The Proverbial Olive Branch”). Consider the possibility of Regina having a similar or contrasting power. Also consider Milton or Regina becoming evil and killing the other, or Simon. Something like that.

What is Regina's need? Why does she put up with Milton? Maybe she's partnered with him in another class and her grade depends on their work together.

This Week's Notes

Thoughts from Omar:
-Perfectionism is a frozen form of idealism.
-First draft downdraft; second draft updraft.
-Writing is not rapturous. The only way I can write well is to write really, really crappy first drafts.
-You’ve gotta have a problem in your play. To take people to a dark place, you have to have a bad problem.
-Theatre is about people learning how to suffer.
-Make your characters flawed.
-Write a monologue. What would your character say to convince. Expose who they are.
-Dialectic: argument.
-Write about your greatest fears.

Secret closet/Secret vacuum should be the custodial prompt. IMPORTANT QUESTION: Should I combine Secret Vacuum with Regina Vs. Milton as a full-length play? I could definitely fit the “vacuuming with a soul” idea into this. The secret closet is full of cleaning devices containing people’s souls. Is there a guardian of the closet/souls? If the guard of the souls fails, his soul is added, and the next person to open the closet has the lot fall to them. Play could end with the next person opening the door. Portal, alternate universe? Household objects, each holds the soul of a deceased person--the objects have personality. Maybe they don't find out--everyone knows about it but one person? Really common, stupid item that they treat as the holy grail. Being passionate about little things. These are just a few ideas.

“I feel that formality in the workplace engenders professionalism.”

Monologue. You can always tell men from women by what they do at a stop sign. Women are cautious. I’m not generalizing here, just telling you what I’ve observed. You can always place a man by what he does at a four-way stop.

Monologue. 1 TB of memory on a hard drive monologue. I don’t enough in me to fill that up. But maybe I’ll come up with something. Mom or Dad memory; character feels that have little in them because of an early comment that built a perception of smallness.

A Dialogue:
You are trying to get me to confess according to my obligations.
You are only obligated to tell things that you know to be true.
But you do not care about truth right now. You just want to hear all is well.
It would be good if all was well.
(pause) All is well.
But all is not.
You were trying to get me to confess according to my obligation.
You were not obligated, as it was not true, so your confession does not count.

I need to illuminate the need of each of Well Ends' characters. Also, Sonja is a perfect name, but maybe I need to discuss her difference as a daughter more.

Dig up “Cowboys & Indians”.

Dentist in the window.

I have an old idea for two hitchhikers on a road. Here goes nothing:
This is the story of Dennis, who hitchhikes in escape from prison, and after someone recognizes him, Dennis buys him breakfast.

This is the story of Dennis, who is escaping from prison, and after he meets his attractive female prosecutor on the road, they fall in love.

Hatch play. “Will you stop bringing him up? He dumped me, yeah, but I’m married now.” “What’s wrong with you? That guy is a tool. He’s asking to be ridiculed.” “Will you just have some respect and let it go?” “’Have some respect’? Respect for wha—“ “Respect for me!” “You? Why would I ever respect you? Look at you. You don’t deserve respect….” Lead woman’s marital relationship is ambivalent; a both-sides potentiality that mirrors what the “dumper” fiancé wanted to avoid; it looks like it’s happening anyway.

This is the story of Maddie, who seeks to avenge her father’s death, and after her circumstances and the opinions of others tell her its impossible, she does it.

This is the story of Megamind, who wants to make his life meaningful, and after trying to make it meaningful by being bad, he finds happiness in becoming good.

Monologue Assignment

Omar commanded us to write a monologue A) based on something we were afraid of, and B) that told who the character was (without telling). Here's my first two.

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Zits. My face is covered with them. I have used various creams and combinations of solutions to subdue them, but they remain. Steadfast and true. Now and then they’ll subside a little bit, but they never go away. They are part of my identity, I guess. I guess that’s why they stay. Which means, my affliction with acne is not an accident, it’s not something I don’t deserve. It’s who I am. Flagrantly imperfect. Innately blemished. That’s just how it is. Despite whatever else I may do or be, there is this distracting, visible evidence of things not quite right. I want to believe the real me has nothing to do with what I look like. They say you can never judge a book by its cover. Well I don’t believe that. I saw some 20/20 special when I was seven years old, and they talked about generalizations; how, even though people like to think generalizing is unfair, in reality it’s usually accurate. A man they interviewed, he worked at a bar. “I have to judge people,” he said. “I have to trust my instincts about whether this person is going to cause trouble, how far to let that person go with their drinking, whether this kid’s ID is valid or not. And usually,” he said, “usually I’m right. You can judge a book by its cover, and sometimes you need to.” That’s what he said. Like I said, I was seven at the time, but it confirmed my suspicions of the time, and continues to do so for me today. I am sick. I am not right in the head, and no matter how long I have waited or what kind of thinking I have adopted or lotions I have applied, my head has just persisted in being not right.

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Vacuuming is the purpose of life. Consider this. Christ the Lord said: “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” Now if we apply that principle to the world around us, we notice people, everywhere, everyone, who are trying to find themselves. They’re looking for who they are, they’re trying to find their place, what makes them happy. In searching for themselves they collect all sorts of stuff by which they are hoping to define themselves. I am a scholar, I am a handyman, I am a womanizer, I am a dog trainer. I am also a singer, I am also a person who knits scarves, I am also a movie buff. I am passionate about whales, I am passionate about idealism, I am trying to save the world from sin. We collect all kinds of different people hoping that one of them is the one that has our name written on the inside of the collar. When we put it on it fits perfectly, tailor-made. Everyone is a collector of selves. We’re hoarders, we’re dragons protecting our troves, vacuums stuffed full. It’s a lot of work and it’s heavy on us, and so we get protective over what we think we got. But here’s the thing: We're meant to collect--it's how we find out who we are, BUT we’re also meant to give it all up. Empty ourselves. Why? Because, from the day we were born, we’ve been sucking down as much as we can at all times, whatever’s in front of us, we take it in. We’re so full there’s no room left for who we are, and if we have ourselves in there, we’re too full to distinguish it from everything else. In order to progress forward, we need to throw out the entire collection. We’re not meant to keep; we’re meant to sift. It’s hard to do. Put in a new bag, prepare for more. We can be selective, now, about what we suck in. So it’s not a bad thing to suck—we’re meant to do it. But we’ve got to be willing to set it aside. Or we’ll get so full we won’t be able to hold any more, move anywhere, do anything. Keep vacuuming.

Structure Formula Activity

Below are play ideas written in Omar's formula*, along with their resultant variants/deviants. Its fun to see how ideas evolve. I like this exercise because my ideas have been refined to a more serviceable (though often a completely different) form. Essentially this gives me at least 2 good ideas for the price of one; from my initial guy-escaping-from-prison idea, I get the guy-facing-the-warden idea. In the future, when I have moved past my emphasis on ten-minute-plays, these "additional ideas" will more likely be known as "other parts of the plot". For now, I'm trying to come up with simple, manageable vignettes, and many of these will work well. The ones I like the best are in bold type.

*THIS IS THE STORY OF 1.__________ WHO 2._________ AND AFTER 3._________, 4.__________.

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This is the story of Tyrell, who discovers a secret closet holding the souls of dead folks in household items, and after he loses one of the souls, he puts himself into the household object.

This is the story of Tyrell, who is tasked with guarding the souls living in a secret closet, and after he loses one of the souls, his little brother volunteers, in good humor, to have his soul put in there.

This is the story of Tyrell, who discovers a secret closet holding the souls of dead folks in household items, and after discovering his little brother is trapped in a hand vacuum, Tyrell returns his brother to a human body.

This is the story of Tyrell, who is tasked with cleaning a room with a possessed vacuum, and after trying to clean the room, sets the vacuum's soul free.

SECRET CLOSET PLAY: IDEA FOR STRUCTURE

ACT ONE: This is the story of Tyrell, who is tasked with cleaning a room with a possessed vacuum, and after trying to clean the room with it, sets the vacuum's soul free.

ACT TWO: Linearly before ACT ONE. This is the story of Tyrell, who learns that a secret closet holds the vacuum he needs, and after trying to gain entrance to the secret vacuum, has to clock out and go home for the night.

ACT THREE: Linearly before ACT TWO. This is the story of Tyrell’s brother, who learns that a secret closet holds the vacuum he needs, and after trying to gain entrance to the secret closet, his soul becomes trapped in a vacuum.

This is the story of Dennis, who, while hitchhiking, bumps into the man whose testimony landed him in prison, and after they argue about whether he was guilty, Dennis takes the man’s hat.

This is the story of Dennis, who is escaping from the police, and after Dennis bumps into the man whose testimony landed him in prison, he escapes.

This is the story of Dennis, who has escaped from prison to return to his wife, and after bumping into the man whose testimony landed him in prison, Dennis bargains his freedom.

This is the story of Dennis, who wants to return to his wife, and after negotiating with the warden of his prison, Dennis bargains his freedom.

This is the story of Wanda, who digs outside of an outhouse for buried treasure, and after trying to avoid detection, is arrested. Maybe Wanda is Dennis's wife? She wants money to break him out of prison rather than paying bail. Sort-of storyline.

This is the story of Wanda, who wants to be a good mother and a loyal wife, and after her husband tries to escape from the prison she is warden over, she lets him go. OR she refuses to let him go. I like the second one better.

This is the story of Waldo and Figaro, who each want to listen to a different song on their dying ipod, and after reneging on their agreement to bury it, wrestle themselves into dehydrated exhaustion. Man’s Search for Meaning sentiments?

This is the story of Jacob and Liz, who disagree on home decor, and after having their imaginary butler Horace mediate for them, they burn the house down.

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In the future, try to be more specific with #3. Look at Raising Arizona as an example:

THIS IS THE STORY OF that one married pair, WHO kidnap the baby Arizona so that they can raise a child of their own, AND AFTER a bounty hunter hired by Arizona's parents tries to retrieve her, the married couple returns Arizona to her parents.

#3 is incredibly specific and is used to its utmost potential. It is an unexpected choice, but a specific one. We could phrase #3 "Arizona's parents try to get her back" and leave out the "by sending a bounty hunter to hunt the kidnappers down" part. So even if I do have something general, it can work; I can pick something bizarre and fun to carry it out.

Class Notes So Far

For the past two weeks of class I have kept notes in a stream-of-consciousness mode with little or no context; I'm hoping beyond hope to remember what ambiguous things like "I was an honorable murderer--THERE'S NO SUCH THING!" mean. Much of these scribblings are Omar quotes that struck me importantly, and others are ideas for plays. I'm pasting everything I have thus far below, and additionally garnishing it with this important reminder: with your ideas, also come up with an ending! Have a direction to go! Omar's formula for this will be invaluable:

THIS IS THE STORY OF 1._______________ WHO 2._______________ AND AFTER 3._______________ 4._________________.

Think about Hamlet. It's a dense, wonderful play, but it boils down to Omar's formula this way:

THIS IS THE STORY OF Hamlet, WHO is charged by his father's ghost to kill king Claudius, AND AFTER Hamlet deliberates back and forth about what he should do, he kills Claudius.

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French kiss. Not a part of something anymore. Husband either has affairs or has lost interest in some ways. Woman begins to fill her home with nature, beginning with a beehive. “Of the same mind.”

“Nnnnnnnneeuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu… aaaaaaaaaannnncccccccccccccccce.” (serenely resumes eating)

“If people didn’t care about your character, it’s because you didn’t illuminate the need.”

Don’t use theatrical convention as a crutch.

Secret closet. It’s a garden? It’s a “room of requirement”? Anyway, it’s a trio of partners and only one doesn’t know about the secret closet. Other people come and go who know about it. The one partner: “HE knows about the secret closet?” (“Well sure; I’m mean it’s not like an actual secret or anything.”) “I don’t understand why everybody knows about this but me. Do people think I’m not relevant to the company? I BUILT this company! Why shouldn’t I know what’s going on in my OWN company?! You’re fired.”

The old “British”? guy in the current Secret Closet. He should be either in his own play or be the main protagonist in Secret Closet. The scene I wrote is his nephew, he’s pushing people away at the beginning. Has this experience and then tries to connect to nephew.

Could I combine “Cowboys and Indians” with “Secret Closet”? Is it Brit Guy as a boy?
Maybe it should be about the janitor, with the Brit guy being also very prominent, and the fact that he’s on the same level of the janitor adding to the frustration.

“Raise the stakes.” Don’t think in film or television fashion.

The attempt to create is always good.

Don’t get too obsessed with one piece; if it’s not working, move on and work on something else; come back later.

MOMENTS TO REMEMBER AND REACH FOR
HP5; the three laughing together.
Pride and Prejudice; Darcy comes and awkwardly stands. More.

Ed and Dolores post-salesman in "The Man Who Wasn't There".
“Mama” in 1776. Learn it play it. The delivery boy’s story is told late in first act; knowing his story helps what happens later. So; could I combine “Cowboys and Indians” with “Secret Closet”? Is it Brit Guy as a boy?
African beat to a song about selling slaves; human or commodity. The scene makes you wonder: would you allow slavery to create a union? In three minutes, he creates a picture of both sides. Simple is always better; if you lose the thought of the complexity of it, it becomes empty.

My yearning came up with the sun, and my energies have been reaching to it all day.

“The Dumb Waiter,” by Pinter

Well Play, daughter leaves before both get to well, when she returns she has to choose which her father is.

My wife, my grandfather, my dog, my horse, what is going on, Lindsay! How do you know my daughter’s name?

Wife comes out. “What are you doing here?” Boy comes out. “Where’s your mother?” Daughter comes back.

Make theatrical choices.

Make your story something people need to hear.

“You can’t make a living in the theatre, but you can make a killing.”

Never underestimate the use of a minor character in the use of emphasizing a thematic idea.

Omar disagrees with The Playwriter’s Guidebook, that narrators are not useful.

A man comes to a well, meets himself, and kills himself.

I might need to do an entirely different play.

two characters, two extremes: 1 rarely keeps an opinion, changes based on the person; Another never changes opinion and alienates people because of it.

I think the play as it is DOES make way for understanding after some thought. Even if it's unclear now, I think the themes make something bigger later on.

Did he know what/who he was going to meet at the well? Did he come here to do this?

"You take Lindsey." Welcome chooses to die. Why? What will the Man provide for her that Welcome believes he himself cannot.

Action needs to fit the need: "my need is to kill you I am so angry with you" or "I am not angry with you but you are this and I need this out of my life."

Replace Lindsey's name. Sonya?
An outhouse. Two characters come to dig for gold at the outhouse. People come out to use it? The two hide. Yadda.

How do I get the play from here to here without it looking clumsy?

Find a structure you like and imitate it. In getting to the end, what do they lose? What are the complications?

If you want to be a writer, YOU CAN GET PUBLISHED.

If it's important, it's worth waiting. Something will happen to make it worthwhile.

What is the overarching thing you want people wondering when they leave the play? The theme is question, not an answer.

How should we respond to bigotry?

What is the sum total of a man?

This is a play about… faith?

How do we keep or make a covenant? What does it mean.

There should be some kind of discussion about why WELCOME feels MAN is who he needs to be. DOWNPLAY the killing---it is the death, the sacrifice, that matters. The daughter matters because she's all WELCOME has to perpetuate the covenant. Do I become a father by passing fatherhood on???!!!

I was an honorable murderer. THERE'S NO SUCH THING.

You can't have superfluous characters.

"Well Ends" Classmate Feedback 1

I had the first draft of my first play of the semester--Well Ends--read in class this week. I wrote it quickly and was proud of the result, but more on that in another post. This post collects the comments I received after the reading and discussion that followed. Students were asked to respond to 5 aspects of the play, which are outlined and then answered. My thoughts about the comments and the direction I should go with the play are at the bottom of this post.

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1) Reaction to the play

--Interesting, playful; good dialogue

--WOAH. Wonderfully written.

--Intriguing. Dialogue--well crafted; somewhat dreamlike. Built well. Throwing man into well somewhat abrupt; need deeper understanding of intent perhaps.

--End could be a little clearer on what audience needs to get from the theme. Theme slightly unclear.

--It was great! The dialogue was amazing.

--Liked the concept of duality and inner conflict manifest in the play

--Entertaining, somewhat philosophical. Moreso as the play moves on.

2) Reaction to the theme of the play

--Interesting, story of identity maybe?; what's this about?

--WHAT IS IT?

--I liked the mystery of it. It was as if someone had come from a parallel world.

--It would be insanity (?) to meet yourself!

--Seems at first to be long lost brothers. Then seems to be talking to himself.

3) Reaction to the main character

--Interesting, kind; did he kill himself?; Battling other half of himself maybe?

--Well crafted, great depth, great story of his life that was presented, nice surprises.

--Strongly depicted--He bloviates (sic) a little--but interesting. :) Question: is the father duplistic with his daughter?

--I liked how the main character was trying to prove to the man that he wasn't crazy.

--Man/Welcome had a medieval feel, they were very superstitious in those days, and would have suspected the worst.

--Interesting character. Water attaches well to character's personality.

4) Reaction to other characters

--Lindsey thinks both men are her father

--I see Man & Welcome as the Main, Lyndsey was good support. How old was she? What's her bit? Can the actress just present that?

--The Man was a great character. He was very convincing in saying that he was Welcome.

--Is the daughter necessary? (he could have sold stuff at the fair)

--Lindsay is a flat character, necessarily so. Man is obviously VERY similar to main character.

5) Most interesting scene

--When Welcome tells the man he's going the wrong way

--The conversation just before the Man drops Welcome in the well--that depth was hugely interesting.

--Reflections of Welcome sharing memories of water pitcher skills

--Directional argument

--Overlapped memories

--When they called each other crazy.

--It was interesting that Welcome stopped struggling and let the other man kill him, and also when the two men were going over the memories of their father.

--I liked the getting shoved down the well and the serenity it brought his mind.

--Just before realization of who the other is. More segue to the murder/killing.

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I intended for this play to have a lot of connections to make, and I do not expect everyone to catch them with only one exposure. The plays that I enjoy have always taken repeat readings in order for me to start piecing them together--figure out The Meaning. For someone to recognize "water" as a recurring image of some significance tells me I am on the right track. Or they are.

Still, many people vocalized their confusion about the theme. While I strove to make it clear--to have it "said aloud", as Omar suggested ("the water runs with you"--though cryptic, still noticeable)--I do think the play should be lengthened, thus furnishing more space for the images to repeat. The Man should have a monologue before the end of the play; he and Welcome's argument about location should be extended; the problem of who gets Lindsey should be more involved; and, as an aside to myself, the issue of Welcome realizing that the Man possesses the better/more fatherly attributes and thus allowing himself to be dominated--the "losing your life to save it/to save others" idea--should be involved. With that said, two thoughts come to mind: 1) should my spoken-statement-of-theme be the "losing your life to save it/others"?, and 2) should Lindsey's life be threatened in some way? Raise the stakes there? Welcome somehow needs to see his inadequacy. Maybe the spoken-statement should be what it takes to be the father one should be. Maybe.

To make Lindsey matter, her parallel to Welcome should be more obvious. The covenant is one that Welcome is making to be a better father, to take upon the responsibility, the consequence of the daughter's deeds. The parent-child relationship as a covenant. Perhaps Welcome is cynical about the daughter, and gives her up for that reason. There's a darkness there. I dunno how that sits with me right now, but I'll give it audience and hear its case.

All in all, to the urgency that fills me regarding finishing this play, I say Patience. Let it sit. Be okay with a slow pace. Move on to other things, keep working and practicing, and all will be well.

Embarking

I hope this becomes a journey, this class. I want adventure and discovery and mounds, troves of learning. I want power over my pen.