Last weekend I had a play open in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To my delight, audiences loved the play. For myself, I found myself both comfortable and excited to step forward as a playwright. For two decades, ever since the publication of The Artist's Way in 1992, I had achieved recognition as a "helper," a support for other people and their art. Now I was stepping forward to claim my own position as an artist. It was thrilling to step out from the shadows.
A reviewer called the play a "masterpiece" and me a "genius." I couldn't have asked for a more positive response. The actors, Josh Heard and Catharine Pilafas, fully inhabited their roles under the deft direction of my longtime friend Daniel Region. I found myself thinking, "I wouldn't change a thing." Quite a kudo for our creative team. Our producer, Vivan Nesbitt, worked smoothly and seamlessly, choosing the precise right elements for set decor, lighting and costumes.
Seated in a back row at three performances, I marveled at the emotional depth of the materials. After the show, the actors thanked me for giving me such "grown up" material to work from. After each performance, we did a "talkback," inviting questions and comments from the audience. There is one comment I will always cherish: "I admired the muscularity of your prose."
