By Emma F. Caro
Can you explain the process of writing a play versus writing a novel?
This is an almost impossible question to answer in a technical way. All writing is made up of the same elements (i.e. words, sentences, grammar, metaphors, plot, etc.) What I will say is that plays are, for me, the most challenging form because what you have to create is a space where people are talking, for hours, and you still have to keep the interest of your audience. This is an almost impossible task.
How different is writing a play than a novel?
Novels are self-contained entities, the relationship is between the reader and the writing. Plays pass through many hands and minds, voices and directions. You write a novel for a reader - you write a play for a director, set designer, innumerable actors, a large audience with various points of view, sound designers and many other special interests.
How different is it for audience members to see The Fall of Heaven on stage versus reading it on the page?
This is a tricky question because The Fall of Heaven was originally a novel (or collection of short stories) called The Tempest Tales. The book, the written play and the performance of the play all have different values to offer different people. It is only possible to ask a solitary reader or audience member how they experience the words.
Where do you start with building your characters and how do you make them progress throughout the play?
Characters appear full-blown, but not completely understood, from the first moment they step on stage. Sometimes we hear about characters and begin to understand their motivations before they are ever seen. Regardless, the characters are built by their interaction with the world they encounter or perceive. A married man talking to a stranger about his disaffection; a soldier thrown into a trench with an enemy more like him than his commanding officers; a thief faced with generosity. Every meeting provides the potential for growth. This growth, hopefully, continues until there is a moment of realization, possibly at the end of the play.
What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer -- and why?
As a child it was Winnie the Pooh. I was that bear, wanted to continue his story. And as an adult it was probably The Stranger by Albert Camus. This book because existentialism is my chapel of the mind.
When did you know that you wanted to be a writer? What is your favorite aspect of the profession?
I started writing when I was 34 years old. By the time I was 36 I was pretty sure that was what I wanted to do every day. Coincidently my favorite aspect of the profession is writing every day.
What are you hoping the production team and the cast will bring to your script?
Without a cast and team there is no play and so I expect them to bring everything.
Give me three adjectives that will ideally describe an audience member leaving
The Fall of Heaven?
Audience member #1 - Huh?
Audience member #2 - Absolutely.
Audience member #3 - Cool.