Just Wrought

What I Wanted You to Say When I Told You I Was Retiring

Reaction to my decision to retire from theatre has been varied, but the dominant themes have been disbelief, derision and dismissal. For every one friend or colleague who has said, “Seriously? Oh, well then I wish you the best on whatever it is you do next,” there have been four who have said something along the lines of:

“Oh, sure Paul. Retiring. Right. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Or…

“That’s hilarious. How can you retire from something that makes you no money? You know what? I’m retiring from poverty. LOL!”

Or…

“I give it six months.”

Perhaps the most perplexing response is…

“But I just saw your post about [your play being translated into French / your play being read at ____ / a possible production of your play at ______].  How is that you being retired?”

As if I would stop allowing the plays I’ve already written to be performed or read or translated. Is there a playwright in the history of theatre who has done this?

“The Perfect Experiment”: Chapter 3 of THE STARTING GATE at St. Andrews

 

On Monday, April 14 at 8pm, at The St. Andrews Bar and Grill, I will do again what I have done twice before: read a chapter from my book in progress, The Starting Gate, to a small group of close friends, so I can hear it out loud and also gather their reactions.

My Farce Finds a Foster Home

 

Every work of art is a message in a bottle, a hope that whatever it is you were trying to share when you created it makes its way to someone who can use it, ideally to make their lives, if only for a moment, a little bit better, clearer, nobler, happier, or more hopeful or truthful, or at the very least, more fun.