Hair Like the Sun - The Writer is Least Important

I've been mesmerized watching rehearsals of 'Hair Like the Sun.' I spent over three years with this script, but seeing it in the hands of actors, being guided by the director, make me feel as if I never really knew my own script. What I'm seeing, from the director's understanding of the script, to the actors' interpretations of the characters, goes far beyond my mere words. That's when I understand this harsh, but necessary truth.

The playwright is the least important person involved in the play.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the playwright is unimportant. After all, that's who created the play in the first place. No, it's not that this person doesn't matter, it's just that the actors, directors, set builders, costumers, and crew are more important. They are turning the words on the page into something magical. The make it real.

A Story Worth Telling

I've haven't shared this before, but I'm writing a play called "Hair Like the Sun." It's set to premiere next year at the Texas Repertory Theater. This play is a labor of love, and I'm proud to be a part of it. The reason I haven't mentioned it before, though, is because talking about it makes it real. Suddenly I'm not just noodling around in my workshop, tinkering with a hypothetical script for a hypothetical play. Now I have to face the fact that this is happening.

This project is listed on a website. It has a date. It's been printed on flyers and mailed to people. This is a real thing that has a real date with real people who are investing real money. Already this is generating real buzz which means a real audience will fill a real theater to fill real seats. And for me, this is real scary.

When this project was just a fanciful idea, a "what if" scenario, there was very little consequence for failure. It was a small project known only to a handful of people. If it didn't work in those initial stages, we could have always told ourselves that it would have been wildly successful if not for events that weren't our fault. But then the unthinkable happened. We got a green light to actually produce this play.