I know. I know. It’s been a while. Tonight I went into the city to watch a friend’s play as it is featured in Bay One Acts Festival by Three Monkeys at the Eureka Theater. Not saying this because he’s my friend, but his was the best play. It’s called “Toss of the Hat” by Mike Ricca. It’s kinda funny watching it because it totally sounds like him! And what’s funnier is that when people hear my stuff, they say that they could totally hear me. I just never thought of it that way, I guess. But his play is about a guy who throws caution to the wind and steps up and asks a girl that he likes, and whom he know she likes him, to be together… despite the fact that she already has a boyfriend of two years. He used the device of breaking the fourth wall, something I love, and can’t wait to be able to write that into a play ala Zoot Suit.
Luckily they were selling the play as compiled in a book in the lobby. It must be a sign when all the crumpled bills that emerged from my left front pocket was exactly the amount of the book. Hopefully I’ll get him to sign it when I see him at the next random meeting.
Anyways, his play closed program two of the festival. the programs consisted of short 30 – 40 minute plays. on this night, there were 4 plays. The first rocked cuz it involved cutting off a person’s finger and tongue… which eventually led to his death on stage. Creepy and disturbing… right up my alley! The third play was amazing because of the heart that the playwright displayed. I was about 20 minutes long and I wished it was longer because I loved the characters.
The one that I surprisingly didn’t like was the second play. It was about a man and a woman who are at a theater in NYC to watch an Edward Albee play, but they get there 24 minutes early, so they just sit there talking about there relationship which try to answer the question of why don’t they have a baby yet. I didn’t like them and I was always trying to figure out where were they going with this. I understood why the playwright was trying to paint their differences, but in the end, I just didn’t like and care for either of them. The only really going for it was the very witty banter between them. Snappy. Back and forth. Like a tennis match of heavy hitters – fast. And I realized that at one point, I really really liked this style of conversation. Smart. Quick. But, for some reason, that style started to feel that the lines were just there to make the characters seem witty and smart… instead of just being real. I wrote a whole paragraph on this play because I really learned a lot from it… and about what I like and don’t like. Something I hope I can use and know what not to use in my plays.