As I move deeper into the realm of writing my musical I am faced with more obstacles and am forced to realize just how much farther I need to go to flesh out my hero's journey and solidify the story I am telling.
I have had so many great elements to this script that have inspired lots of people to jump on the bandwagon. I had offers initially from four different directors, three different investors and loads of actors who want to be a part of this. I'm not tooting my own horn here. This started out as a joke for me and has escalated into a community event. I've remained rather detached, meanwhile, we've rented a 200 seat theater for an entire month and are casting the rest of the play in the next week. I'm a little floored at how fast and easily things have come together but the cold hard reality, is that the script simply isn't done.
My director assures me that we will be workshopping the script with the actors and that big discoveries and changes will undoubtedly happen during these workshops, but I'm still nervous as it is ultimately my name that goes on it and I want to maintain some degree of autonomy while ensuring a high quality story and performance.
I have lost track of the days since I first exploded in my dinning room. There are music scores spread all over the floor and table amongst stacks of notebooks, three ring binders and 3x5 notecards. There are yellow post-its all over the walls and my liquor cabinet has become a story board. I've been wearing the same outfit for the past three days and I'm down to two cans of sardines and some yogurt. Is this healthy?
I have a 108 page script, 20 songs, strong scenes and characters but I'm worried that my story is lame or that the stakes just aren't high enough. It was suggested that I write a 300 word summary in an attempt to capture the essence of the show or put it into poem form to try to help visualize the essence of the story.
Here is my 300 word summary of Whiskey Dixie & The Big Wet Country, a raunchy outlaw-country musical:
Whiskey, a creative woman in her 30's is coming to grips with where she is at in her life. Society's standards suggest that she should be married and having children but her lifestyle as a musician and drunken carouser have prevented such a wholesome life from unfolding and, to be honest, she's not sure she wants that anyway.
Upon the urging of her bartender, Whiskey decides to quit drinking and to ignore her own instincts when it comes to dating and takes a chance on a fellow who is so outside her scope of attraction, a sober weirdo, who proves to be endearing but no match for her sexually.
As Whiskey is about to give up on her quest for love and become a sexy nun, she meets Dick Princess, an aging rocker with a recent inheritance and a drug problem who checks all the boxes that get her excited. Question is, is he actually any good for her?
Whiskey throws caution to the wind but finds that every green light is met with a stop sign as Dick's character flaws are revealed one at a time and boil over with his hatred toward his mother, Mary Ann, an alcoholic with a narcissistic personality disorder.
Whiskey, however, finds Mary Ann to be a shinning example of a woman who hasn't let any man stop her from going after her lot in life, even her own son, and as washed up and crazy as she is, she refuses to be a victim (though she has no problem playing one). Whiskey sees this example and must decide if she will rollover and succumb to victimhood or to let nothing, including misogyny or sexual assault, stop her from following her own star and reaching for her dream of becoming a country diva.
What do you think? Would you come see this play?