Received a nice letter today from the esteemed theatrical publisher Samuel French acknowledging receipt of the copy of H&M I sent them last week.
The letter says that consideration is not usually given to plays which haven't been produced professionally but as an exception, they will assess H&M and report back soon.
That's great news, and whilst not necessarily expecting them to take it on, it is also a delight to receive such a pleasant note.
Thanks to the wonders of Web 2.0, you can now purchase a copy of Hearts & Minds here.
By "you", I obviously mean my Mum.
Whilst not the ISBN-bearing motherlode, it was free to do and it's fun to think that a copy of H&M is only a few clicks away from anyone's grasp.
In the real world, I emailed Sir Alan Ayckbourn's agent today. This was plainly a ridiculous thing to do - but that's the great thing about Lulu. Now, the process of having a tangible, professionally-produced book in your hands is no longer reliant on anyone else.
This will do for now.
I'm delighted to report that after having done so much for our initial production, Confetti are back on board and will be helping us with our presentation at the LTG New Writing Seminar.
Our friend Juliette's kindness and enthusiasm continue to delight and humble me, and I'm sure that her help will enable us to make H&M give a good account of itself.
Back in April I blogged about what I then considered the final script. Since then, we got a cast together, rehearsed and performed the show. This has allowed me to revisit the script and make a few changes, both in terms of adding things which emerged through rehearsal and with regards to getting rid of some jokes which four full houses revealed weren't actually as funny as the voices in my head would have had me believe.
Two notable casualties are the lines "I'm going to kick that indie witch in the tits" (sorry, Georgie) and a rather brilliant joke which I will at least preserve here...
Boom-tish! Ahem.
I will soon start to tout this final final script around to literary agents and potential publishers, and my newly-acquired copy of the Writer's Handbook 2008 will help with that. This isn't an egotistical attempt at world domination, but with such a commercial and popular success, it would seem sensible to send a few copies off.
In addition, I'm also going to publish it myself and make it available here soon - which should at least prove useful for my own Christmas shopping...
So far, the call has gone unheeded, and we're still looking for someone to play Jack at the forthcoming LTG New Writing Seminar.
So, if you're reading this and fancy joining us, please let me know!
I have just received a copy of the information pack that is being sent out to the 100-or-so delegates attending the forthcoming Little Theatre Guild New Writing Seminar where Team H&M will be at the Barn Theatre to perform an extract from the play.
We're in some very esteemed company with, amongst others, groups from Questors and the Richmond Shakespeare Society - whose "All-Seeing Eye" was judged as the best entry in the Roy Purdue Playwriting Festival in March - also in attendance. In all, nine pieces will be performed or read, and we're the last in a day that starts at 9.30am.
Whilst almost everyone is back on board - for which I am hugely thankful - sadly, Team H&M is down two members, with TLPA and Roger unable to make the day. This means we need a new Jack to come on board, and the call has gone out to Crescent members via the theatre's monthly newsletter which is hitting letterboxes today.
So, I'm hopeful someone will respond soon and join us for an event which offers the chance to promote the theatre on a national level.
My thoughts are also turning to how we're actually going to stage our excerpt. Whilst we won't be able to enjoy the same production values as the original run - especially in terms of costumes - I still hope to add a subtle sense of occasion.
Even though it's only a little one - this is still a wedding after all(!)
The Crescent has just announced that FourPlay - of which H&M was a part - has been deemed a success and that it will be repeated next year - offering four new Directors the chance to stage a play for the first time.
However, a couple of entry criteria state...
• Plays should be short or a one act
• Maximum of 8 cast
...both of which mean that H&M wouldn't be eligible(!)
There is list of other limitations, which is of course understandable, but part of what FourPlay should offer is the chance to use new ideas to break the theatre's established conventions - not abide by them.
It's been a while. How are you?
Tonight, those involved in bringing it together attended the post-production meeting for not just H&M but FourPlay overall. A lot of unrelated stuff has happened since the show's last night, but bringing it back into focus made me a little emotional.
The purpose of the meeting was to find out what went right and what went wrong. As this blog testifies, there is very little that went wrong for us and we (as you will no doubt know by now) sold out all four nights and gave lots of people a lot of fun.
Despite that, however, I was shocked to hear that, combined, the four plays failed to reach their sales target - albeit by just a couple of hundred pounds.
Having directed for the first time, the idea of getting feedback from audience members and the Crescent's more-experienced directors was mooted, but my learning was through doing, not detached analysis. To this end, we were asked about a next time - whether we would direct again. My answer was non-committal as, in truth, it is the writing that appeals more than the directing.
It seems there will be more FourPlay next year so I'm glad we set a worthwhile precedent and I hope there will be plenty of people who will see what we achieved and be inspired to have a go and continue the buzz.
Finally, I was pleased to be assured about the Crescent's support of our invite to the LTG Showcase in September, so that should be good and reinforces the notion that things aren't quite over yet.
However, not all of Team H&M will be able to make it, and the chance to say the immortal words "raving" and "quinner" awaits some lucky person...
