Loneliness

I know, right??

This is the subject (and the working title) of the play I finished quickly last weekend. What if you were able to converse with (and confront) your own self at different stages of your life. You could ask your old self what was going to happen to your young self. Your middle-aged self could give advice or ask for changes from you in the past. Your old self could work to get a handle on what your legacy might be.

And what if there were a traumatic incident in your life that affected everything else.

And what if these versions of yourself at different ages were your only friends?

I think there’s a lot of potential with this idea (which has been done before, of course, notably with Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women) and I think it could be funny and quirky and meaningful if done well.

Here’s a selection of Caridad’s comments on the first draft:

you have a fascinating play on your hands. it is whimsical and off center in a light hearted way. a fable of time. starting life again. maybe getting a 2nd chance. or simply another chance at assessing a life.

there’s ache in the play as well as whimsy. and a potentially thrilling sense of dislocation. the ending, then, could really land in a profound way. y’know. who do we have in our lives. and why. how do we live with ourselves. our desires. our loneliness.

It’s something I think thoughtful people do: wonder and adapt and imagine. I’d love to get it to a simple, well-crafted place. New goal is to come up with a second draft this summer and then decide if I can do more with it. Funny yet poignant is a good combo for me.

Maybe I need a juicier, more upbeat title too…