We have reached them before.  I recently received a warm email from four students who were assigned THE BOOKS as part of a script analysis course at Cornell College.  The questions were fairly straightforward.  They wanted to know about my personal intentions, about any themes that might not be readily apparent to someone who hadn’t spent years with the project, etc., and I answered as best as I could.  I’ve received other emails recently from friends, as well as strangers, interested in learning more about that play.  Such conversations can be humbling, but also inspiring.   There was a time when it looked as if THE BOOKS was dead.  It had done the submission rounds professionally, and then independently, and it failed to penetrate for reasons I won’t speculate here.  So, when we did our small production at Cherry Pit last summer, my expectations were low.  But the play was subsequently published, and contracted for a screen adaptation.   The play had a life, and still does, in my opinion, because of its ability to connect with readers, and viewers on an emotional level.   It succeeded through word of mouth.  And that gives us faith to carry on.

We recently had the first in what we hope to be a series of organizational meetings to discuss how, over the next ten years, we can slowly expand this small company into something larger.  When Americans return to the arts, we want to be there.   So, we’re currently drafting a new mission statement.   And we’re about to begin the very difficult work of raising money, and planning seasons.  One way we intend to achieve our goal of expansion is to begin incorporating some of the people who have reached out to us over the last decade with respect, and mutual interest.  We are looking for playwrights, directors, designers, grant writers, stage managers, and even people to serve on a board of directors.  If you have an interest in being part of the future of Imperfect People, please email us:  info@imperfectpeople.com.

Thanks so much for visiting us on the web, and see you at the theatre!

A first reading of a new draft is an alternately exhilarating and frustrating experience as a director. In one way, it is the first glance at an embodied version of these characters. It’s the first time the spaces and holes in your imagination get filled with the nuances and choices of an actor.

On the other hand since they are generally cold readings – it can leave you wanting to investigate or shape moments that you won’t come back to for some time. In some cases, a moment may never return in a future draft – and an unrealized zygote of an idea may get mistaken for a weak moment in the script.

These moments get minimized when you work with a pool of actors already familiar with the style of your young playwright – which Imperfect People is lucky enough to enjoy.

I hope we get the chance to work on this script again soon. In the meantime, we’ve got other scripts to dust off and see what’s there. More soon.