Journey To A Play - Marcia Lee Laycock

Journey to a Play

“Are you sure you’ll have time for that?”

My husband’s words struck a cord. I already had several fingers in several different pies. As a pastor’s wife, my time and energies were often in demand; as a freelance writer, deadlines often loomed and kept the pressure up. And then there was that book I had to finish.

But this was an opportunity I had wanted to take advantage of for some time – an online playwriting course, working one on one with a woman whose work I knew and respected. As I read the syllabus and scanned the application I knew the course would be demanding. The information came with a warning from the instructor, that if you weren’t serious about doing the work, don’t even begin.

So I prayed about it. The ideas I’d had in the past that always seemed to show up in my head as plays began spinning feverishly, demanding to be let out. So I downloaded the application, outlining the ideas I had, selecting the writing samples I would send and updating my CV. When I hit send I had a definite sense of excitement and anticipation.
Then the doubts set in. Was my work good enough? Would I be accepted? I tried to prepare myself for a possible rejection, but found I just couldn’t imagine not doing this course. Receiving the email that told me I was in made me leap out of my chair. Yes! I couldn’t wait to get started.

Then the work began – exercises geared to helping us choose a story, exercises geared to honing the skills necessary to make a play come alive on a stage. And the slow but tremendously exciting exercise of beginning to build a one act play. I found the process both challenging and exhilarating. I’d been feeling that I’d reached kind of a plateau in my writing and this was pushing me to a new level.

After nine months of work an email came saying, “This is ready. Congratulations.”

I stared at the words and wept. The idea of seeing my play in the hands of professional directors and actors left me breathless. And now it was going to happen. There will be nine plays featured in the Budding Playwrights’ Festival at the Rosebud School of the Arts on May 3-4. A Pattern in Blue will be one of them.

Marcia is a pastor's wife, the mother of three grown daughters, a freelance writer and Christian speaker. She is a published author and editor, having written for Christian magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and Canada, as well as home-town newspapers. Her short stories, articles and poetry have won awards in Canada and the U.S. and been broadcast on CBC radio. Her work also appears frequently on the world wide web.

Marcia is a frequent speaker for women's groups of all sizes and has often taught writing courses for the Alberta Adult Education Department, Inscribe Christian Writers Fellowship, and The Word Guild (Write! Canada).

Drop by Marcia's Amazon Author Page and see all of her titles:http://www.amazon.com/Marcia-Lee-Laycock/e/B007ATSV1E/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_15?qid=1430323455&sr=1-15