Tradition in my family is that Shakespeare had at least one ghost writer, and I am descended of one.  Whether or not this is true, I’ve never looked into; I just accepted that my grandmother was a woman who knew things.  I do believe I have an innate inclination toward writing, and given that I was a theater minor at Belmont, it was inevitable that a couple of plays would materialize.  It was also inevitable that they would be short.

A Certain Sense of Closure was originally written as a fourth act to an already existent play, which should be recognizable to any devoted thespian, as it is not particularly well concealed.  My hope is that the estate does not take offense at my use of the framework, since it is a tribute to the legacy of their bloodline.  I harbor no delusions that my little indulgence will have any effect whatsoever on the work it was based on.

Masterpiece For Modern Stage is an altogether different entity.  It is meant to be a puzzle and topic of discourse.  I will say only to my close friends how and why it was written, and leave it for the rest to interpret.  There are a number of obstacles to staging, which I am very curious to see resolved.

The monologues were written at the request of my dear friend Jen, a gifted actress and professional songwriter, to perform for a final grade.  The first had no one specific in mind, the second was venting my own unhappiness, and the third was loosely based on our theater group’s disapproval of Jen’s boyfriend.  She did not choose the one I’d hoped. 

It is a strange thing to hear your own words from someone else's lips.  I quite like it.

 

© 2003 by Ryan Christian Hedegard