I began writing "All Grace" in June of 2005. Here it is, January 2008, and I'm beginning again. The last time I tried to rewrite this play was January of last year. The play haunts me, begging to come out, begging to be told. I made so many mistakes with that initial draft, holding everything in the story as sacred, holding the subject matter up as some kind of elegant and precious thing. What I've found out is that I was also holding the subject matter at a distance, not allowing myself into it fully, allowing it to feel natural.
In this latest "reboot," I'm addressing the story with the knowledge of all the plays that I've written since. It's like "Batman Begins." I'm doing an adaptation of my original play. Odd to consider that. I'm touching the subject matter much differently, yet keeping some of the original scenes, playing with them. One major change that I've done is separate the role of the Virgin Mary into two separate roles: a thirteen year old girl and a forty year old woman. This is adding a different layer to the play, making the dialogue not so high and mighty, bringing things down to earth. Seeing a thirteen year old girl in the role is making so many things clearer.
Plus, I've added wine to a scene, which loosened some tongues, allowing some interesting dialogue to evolve. I'm at about 18 pages of this reboot, feeling my way around. My battery is dying, so I have to be finished for today. But now that I've started, the next time I enter into the play won't be so difficult. My nearly three year journey is finally regaining momentum.
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