Keeping up with Jake in August

You’d think after 25 years in the playwrighting game I’d have it all figured out. Turns out – not so much.

I rocked up to rehearsals of our new play, Dirty Work, with a script that I was confident would be bulletproof. But after the first reading the director, dramaturge and actors all pulled out their guns and started shooting. The printer was running hot as rewrites were delivered each day.

When the dust settled, the original 78 pages had been shredded to 65 bullet-hole riddled sheets.

I’m making it sound harrowing but it’s not. We’re not shooting at each other, we’re shooting at the script. It’s actually one of my favorite parts of the process. Writing is me and Justin putting words on paper, but rehearsing is bringing those words to life. And more often than not, there’s too many words taking up too much oxygen for the thing to breathe.

The revised script is lighter in more ways than one. There’ll be no more shooting now. Everybody can put their guns down and play.

Now, there’s something you wish you heard more of these days.

 

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