Thursday, July 29, 2010

Reinhard Rule of Riting #6

MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN

One of the reasons more than one rewrite of any piece is needed is that you must first get the plot straight, and then go back to create motifs and symbols that flow through the play, holding it together. The second draft, especially after a table reading, is where the fun begins. “Flores! Flores por los muertes!” the chant runs through the Williams play, driving home the theme with a sledgehammer as only 1950’s plays can. (Especially meaningful and disturbing to me as my Doctor is Jose Flores. Seriously. Glen Ridge, NJ. Look it up.)

As bored as you are about hearing about my never-to-see-the-light-of-day trilogy, we had dragged you into the process in an earlier blog by talking about changing Rob Senior’s suit in the first play, “The Talking God”. The changes in Rob’s suits are very significant in #2, “Kinaalda”, as he slowly becomes Judge Gallagher. (No, not like Dredd. My plays are not quite pulp. And you reeeeaaallly don’’t want a “Frenzy Witchcraft” video game.) In the final play, “Frenzy Witchcraft”, I thought I had finished it, but it dawned on me. SUIT! And I had not answered the question: “Where has Rob, Junior been the last three years? Well, stop losing sleep. In the final scene, he is wearing the full dress blues of a Naval Lieutenant. Rounds out the scene, puts him BACK in the wandering, heroic mode of his Grandfather in the first play. And I had a fun time on the web site of the Naval Judge Advocate’s Office that actually has a subject ATTORNEY AND WANT TO JOIN. OK! Sure! Get in there. Question: Are you an Attorney? Um. SURE! And it takes 15 weeks, including Officer Candidate School and voila! A new Looie! Well worth it as long as Naval Intelligence doesn’t show up at my door. AND THE THEME IS COMPLETE!

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