Playwright’s Corner

Posted byMalanna Carey HendersonPosted inUncategorized

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.

Published by Malanna Carey Henderson

Malanna Carey Henderson is a Detroit native who presently resides in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Her adoptive city is rich in history. America's early colonial period and four major battles of the Civil War have marked its landscape. George Washington, his mother, sister, and brother-in-law attended the same church of which Malanna is a member. As a child, Malanna was an avid reader. Her favorite genres were biographies, mysteries, and historical fiction. The more books she read, the greater the urge to write grew. Malanna's creative attributes encompass playwriting, composing music, and singing. She has won two first-place awards for her one-act plays. On the Wings of Freedom is a book that combines several genres: a quest for social justice, adventure, and romance. The backdrop is 19th-century America. Here, the legal practices of the antebellum south are tested against the principles of freedom and democracy. On the Wings of Freedom is Malanna's first novel.

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