Moving Forward with a New Character! by Debbie Bagnato

Well, as I have been playing with the feedback and the GREAT idea suggested by Dr. Z this week, I made several drafts but none felt done. So, I knew I was still working through the how and the when, etc. of the best way to integrate these new sections into what I already have written. And then I realized that I am working with a young woman who is very much a boss, and often acts almost like those men who are  all-business all the time (my men in the play) but actually sees the ridiculousness of this competitive atmosphere.

 She is also a dynamic person, athletic, daring, young, strong: rather a Spartan type woman--WOW! That's the person I wanted in my opening scene---but I genuinely like all my characters that I put in that scene now. That's when I realized the obvious--I can fuse all these pieces together, and add her to the scene as well as the other ideas that came about thanks to Dr. Z's suggestions and the comments from my group (thanks guys). It may be tricky or not all work but I have a good feeling about this addition; I do need to go back to my big book and review the next scene I will be writing after I get this in order as well as the last scene as I believe it would be a good idea to note te characters who will be returning in the latter scenes and decide where and when they will all be onstage. As I write the character list, I will feel more confident about each description knowing how much we will be seeing each character, and how they should come across to the audience and their place within the cast. As much as I want to keep moving ahead, I need to tighten up what I have before I go too much further. So, my goal for now is to try and fuse the first scene with my new Spartan, and the great idea that I have numerous drafts for (the last one is almost there--I think) and then see where all my characters, as I form my list, will appear before I get to those scenes. If I can get all that done to my satisfaction, I will be thrilled and also feel like there is a firm footing from which to move forward.

The next scene has to be funny, and I have decided I would like to change the setting by using a revolving stage--so I need to invent a short, comic scene at the back of the store and then return to the business up at the front, by Courtesy (otherwise known as the modern-Acropolis). These are normal tpes of scene changes and being I don't have to worry about a budget, I can include these wonderful ideas. In truth, the facts are simple enough--if I were to produce the play and did not have a revolving stage available, the scene would darken and spotlights would illume another part of the stage where this comic scene would transpire. There may even be a way to juxtapose the backroom scene against a front-end scene on opposite sides of the stage--and I need to try all of these ideas out. There are only a few more scenes left, though each one takes a lot of time initially, and then a lot more to tighten up my rambling mess! But the fun is in the doing, and the re-doing and the imagining of it all being done in real time on a stage right out here on campus--that would be great fun. But for now, I'll just try and get through my next steps. I'll let you all know how it goes, and hope everyone else is sailing along well.