Play

The closing date for the Short & Sweet short play competition is July 31. I have never written a play before but have wanted to for some time. A short one would be a good way to start. The two ideas I've had pretty well suck. One is good for a short story, the other good for anything from a long short story to novel, movie or full length stage play (It's the one about Dora Maar who I now refer to as Dora, like she's a friend).

Anyway, sometimes I find that really talking hard at someone gets the thinkerator going and suddenly you can have a good idea come out of it. I feel sorry for the person I do this to (ususally The Dreaded One) because I'm generally reasonably quiet and thinky, then I just go BLAAAAAARP! I go on and on and walk around and flap my arms and think all over the place and she sits there probably thinking oh he's doing that thing again, and I kind of know that she almost doesn't need to be there because I'm really just letting my imagination off the leash but out loud and it was probably be okay if she just left to water the plants or something because I'd just follow her out onto the balcony talking like a mad fucker but I keep talking at her all the same, going over old short stories that I've suddenly remembered and wondering if they would translate to the stage and I can see her stifle a yawn and I can see that although she is not moving she is somehow shaking her head and saying where does it come from? How does he do this? If I tell people he has just talked my dreadlocks off they will not believe me.

And then it stops. I stop because I have remembered a story that I wrote that was not very good even though the concept is. It's a story that I always intended to go back to. It's a story that will absolutely perfectly translate to the stage. I have a few moments of quiet goosebumps and tingly nipples... then I start flapping my arms again and suddenly this little 10 minute play has become a full blown world-traveling theatre festival of short plays with the same theme. I'm calling for entries, organising the judging panel, it's gonna be hyoooge!

Coming back to reality, I like this idea. I told another friend about it and she thinks it's good. A 10 minute play should only take a day to write, surely. It's about 10 pages of script. That's a couple of hours of writing. July 31 deadline. If I can't do this, I am a loser. I don't have to win or even make the shortlist, although obviously that is the aim (and the rarely seen confident Quick thinks it can be done). But I have to write this play. I have three weeks in which to write it. That's plenty of time. Fuck it - If I'm serious about it I can have a first draft by the end of the day, weekend at the latest.

Hmm. Can I do it?