Playwright’s Corner
Oftentimes, we writers are asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” Ideas come from all directions, a strong belief, life’s struggles, romance, and tragedy, or a stunning conversation.
For instance, some time ago at a community theatre, I was talking with the wardrobe mistress who was altering my costume. We were discussing romantic relationships when she revealed a most shocking story. Her mother had married a man she had been dating! I’ve heard of best friends betraying one another in that manner but never mother and daughter. At the time, my own daughter was a teenager. I noticed when were on shopping trips or going to lunch, she was getting as many admiring glances from men as I was.
Those two occurrences prompted an idea for a play. The end result was a comedy about a sexy businesswoman named Naomi Harper who was determined to seduce a younger man at her firm. The conflict arises when Cynthia, her artistic and introverted daughter, invites her mother to lunch to reveal that she is in a serious relationship with the same man. It’s titled The Eclipse. I submitted that play to a one-act playwriting festival and won first place. So, it’s an example of how breaking conventional boundaries can create interesting plots for plays. A playwright’s main never-ending goal is to keep the audience awake and perhaps challenge their beliefs or at least spark some riveting conversation about the dynamics of our society.