Newsletter – July 3, 2026
This credit and photo was on the screen in the Civic Theatre lobby and on the projection screen inside the theatre before the show began. Each of eleven short plays had one.
The Playfest Weekend went very well and I can report that opening night was one of the biggest audiences seen in 14 years of Playfest. That’s especially good news because it’s a Civic Theatre fund raiser.
About “Out of the Abyss” specifically, I’m so proud of my actors and so pleased to hear many people in the lobby tell me that our play was their favorite. On closing night Debbie and I heard sniffles behind us and during the scene change I glanced over my shoulder to see a man wiping his eyes.
“Me, too,” I thought. “Me, too.”
I saw all of the plays grow tighter and more adept in their delivery throughout the last rehearsals and performances. Actors will tell you that audience response teaches them about the meaning of the play and how to deliver the lines. The comedies become funnier, the dramas become more stirring, and the light and sound changes flow without hesitation.
Highlighting a couple of moments from “Out of the Abyss,” there was a split second Hannah created for her character in which she assumed the pose of the Statue of Liberty. I took a screenshot of it from the video that Debbie made.
In every performance I heard an audible response from the audience when they realized the significance of her pose. It was brief but very effective.
My favorite moment for LH was around a line that I added at the first rehearsal. It was “I have…a dream.” He delivered it with such power, such force, and he knew exactly how long to pause for the ellipsis. It also evoked reactions from the audience that I can only describe as explosive.
Someone I went to high school with caught me after opening night and took my hands, saying, “You told my story!” When she saw my confusion she clarified passionately, “I’m a social worker just like her: helping one person at a time.”
I’m so glad I got that right. She felt seen, and wanted to get together later to tell me more. I agreed, happily.
Authors don’t always get direct feedback from their writing, but as the playwright and the director of this short play, I got to feel the impact of my words.
I’m grateful.
My actors got together and gave me a gift so I asked them if I could share the words they wrote inside the book. They said that would be fine.
This slim 80-page book by Walter Isaacson is already on the Bestseller list and I used a portion of that Greatest Sentence in my play. The one that begins “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”
Hannah and LH know that I’ve submitted this play to another play festival in Florida called Kaleidoscope. I told them that requirements for submission included naming two or three emotions that the play evokes. I decided on DESPAIR and HOPE and told them on the night of the final dress rehearsal for additional inspiration.
Their eyes lit up with those words and thus the underline of HOPE above.
I’ve also submitted the play to a publisher who wants a collection of short plays that are specifically science fiction. Mine qualifies because of its dystopian setting.
It’ll be months before I hear back from either.
Meanwhile I’ll submit to other festivals and keep on writing.
TTFN
* * * * *
My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles
Eric Margerum 