If you're going to read Jeff Mandel's script, "Fatherly Advice," get your box of Kleenex handy. I will skip my typical re-counting of the story, for fear of giving it away, but let's just say this script is deep, and resonant, and needed and keenly emotional.
As we read Mandel's script, I found myself feeling as if I was the characters - each of them, not just the one I was reading - and that I had lived through the tumult and the pain, and was learning the lessons myself.
Calling in from France (it seems that France's internet connection wanes after midnight!), Cate and Robin Vincent read and workshopped this piece, and then connected with Jeff about the intrigue of his script, and putting it on stage in their theater in England. Hot Diggity! I must say that this is one I'd love to watch in a darkened theater, with a beer in my hand (as they do in England during the theater).
The workshop evolved into an open-style workshop, with the natural give and take of adults discussing something that is poignant and meaningful, with pros and cons being discussed side-by-side. This open forum (and its natural success) has made me ponder the value of the "closed forum" of the author not speaking until the end used in "traditional" workshops.
Did this work tonight because we were (dare I say?) all over 40? Or did it work because we were all moved by the piece? Does the script bring about the workshopping in such a mature manner, or is the approach a part of it? Can a younger crew of writers and workshoppers handle this "open forum" as well? Or is it an outcome of knowing that no one has it all figured out just yet, and every scene, every moment, every script in life can benefit from an outsider's point-of-view?
Whatever it was, this was a workshop worth re-living. My thanks to Jeff for his script and to Cate and Robin for their participation. You can listen to the audio recording of the session.