Communion

Yesterday I received References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot, a play by José Rivera, in the mail. I am still stocking up on plays I lost in my dad's flood and this one is the latest arrival. I took this play out of the Amazon.com box, took a deep breath, and smiled.

I love this play. Love. Love. Love.

I opened the book to random pages and found some of my favorite lines, lines I'd forgotten, scenes that I used to know by heart. For the five minutes that I had to look through it before I had to run out, I felt at home.

This play makes me feel at home because I love the plot, the language, the poetry in the scenes. There are themes that I still think about. For example, the Moon was not only a theme of the play, but also a character. My first tattoo has an image of a moon. Coincidence? I think not.

But I digress.

This play is also important to me because I directed it my senior year of college. The production felt like a family, or rather a friend-mily, affair. Two actors in the show were close friends. The designers were all good friends, and one was even my boyfriend at the time. The posters for the show were made by one of my best friends and housemates. It was in the student run theater, whose board I was on. My family of friends helped make my favorite play--or, more specifically, my vision of that play--come alive.

It has been four years since I directed that show and have yet to experience anything quite like that process...which has me thinking...

Part of the reason I love the arts in general is this communion that takes place. I love the family that is created when working on something creative. My one issue with writing is that this communion is often absent. It is usually you, your computer/your notebook & paper, and maybe some music. If you are communing with anyone, you are communing with an absentee musician.

Having writing buddies helps create this feeling of communion. You feel as though you have some there who is helping make your vision a reality. Last night, I grabbed a drink with my Philly writing buddy. I discussed some changes I had made on my play, some questions that were irking me. "I mean, how can I do this?" I asked somewhat rhetorically.

"Well, you could make it happen like this..." My writing buddy threw out an idea.

I looked at him. I thought about it. "Huh...that may work!"

Yesterday I sat at the computer and found myself trying out his suggestion. I edited the entire play to make it work. I then forwarded my newest draft to my other writing buddy to get her opinion.

It isn't the same as working on a production, but having the help of friends as I write this play is like experiencing that communion. I also realize that when this play reaches a finished state and I am ready to hear and see others take on the roles I've created, it will be my friends helping me out. Another friend of mine already mentioned coming together to produce our plays. So maybe that communion is just a matter of time.

Or maybe the communion will happen when my play is chosen and directed by someone who really loves it (not me), with people who really love coming together and making theater happen.