"Critical Thinking"

The reviews for Their Town are in from two local papers, and, although they aren't raves - every writer's fantasy - they were exceedingly fair (at least to me) and helpful. Here they are: reviews in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and in City Paper.

Amazingly, one loved the inclusion of a statue come-to-life of Thornton Wilder and wished I'd used him more; the other hated it ("nonsensical," in his words) but admitted that the actor played the part well. I can't resist noting that the critic who hated the statue also hated my short play in which a character popped out of a TV set... maybe he doesn't like magical elements on stage.

I tend to agree with both critics that a bit more revision would strengthen the play. I thought it during rehearsals, and the actual performances have underscored certain weak transitions and unclear character points - things the actors wondered about when reading the lines. After the festival, I'd like to put the script aside for a little while and digest before attempting any changes.

Actually, this is something playwrights do all the time - revise a play after it's been produced - but that novelists don't. Well, novelists actually can't, because the thing's been printed, but I'm pretty sure they would if they could. I, for one, have given readings from my novels and cringed at the sound of something or even changed it on the spot, while I'm reading, so it "sounds better."