Yes, the title of this post is from “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss….
“Except when you don’t. Because, sometimes, you won’t.”
It’s true, very true. I love this book, and I love reading it to my kids because there are countless books that paint your adult life just simple as “happily ever after.” How many stories end with, “Then they got married and lived happily ever after”? A lot. And that just isn’t the whole story. Not even a little bit. Troubles pop up from places you least expect them, especially as an adult. Kids have so much time to just sit and watch, I think they see a lot of things coming. But we’re going 100 miles per hour, not looking back, side-ways, or sometimes, in front of us. And so sometimes we get surprised, and sometimes it isn’t the good kind.
Today I woke up to a review of The Fantasy Club on HowlRound by Lily Janiak. And it’s not so favorable. It is safe to say that she did not like the play. I thought of trying to find one good thing to pull, but there isn’t really anything to be found. You should read the review, it’s here:
She compares three resent productions and their female characters, the quality of their characters. And in mine, she finds very little that she considers quality. I think it’s most unfortunate because I agree with her, that it is essential to not only have more female characters on stage, but to make great female characters for the stage. C’est la vie.
BUT! The book continues…
“But on you will go though the weather be foul.”
Because guys, this was my first play. My first play. And it got talked about on a national theater website! One could argue that HowlRound is the national theater website. She didn’t like my play, yes. But that was just my first swing! And I have a lot of swings left in me. So you guys should keep an eye out for my next review, because I’m hoping that this is just the first of many.
“And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.) KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!”
In other news, I also didn’t get picked for PlayGround, but some other great playwrights did. I do hope to see you there on Monday, because I will be there so see and hear all the great work of my peers, and so should you!
But yeah, it’s been one of those mornings. Time to go for a run and then get back to writing.