Tomorrow is launch day for Police Navidad, the fourth book in my Mystery Writer’s series.
It’s set around a Christmas play to be staged in conjunction with an elementary school and a senior center. As I was noodling over the story I realized I’d have to actually write the play as well. Some of the early action takes place at the “table read” where the primary cast members sit around and just read through the play.
As I wrote the play, I had to make sure there were funny bits or bits relating to clues and plot points within the read-through parts of the novel. It was hard to keep it all straight so I ended up with two scripts for the play—the real one, and the one where I included the bits and bobs from the novel manuscript.
I sent the script of the play to two different people, both friends of mine. One, because she’s written for children for years and I wanted her opinion about whether I hit the mark for a children’s play. And the other, because he runs an arts center in California and reads, writes, acts in, and produces many, many plays. I needed him to tell me what I wrote could technically pass as an actual play, since I’d never written one before.
To my great relief, they both gave me the thumbs up, even going so far as to tell me it could actually be staged and that producers were always on the lookout for original Christmas plays, especially for children.
As a bonus feature in the back of Police Navidad, I included a link to download the PDF script of the play entitled “Santa’s Middling List.”
As my early Christmas present to you, here’s the link for the play. I bet that gets me on the Nice List!
2 thoughts on “I Have To Do What Now?”
I’d love to see that play!
Before we got so old, my husband and I were very involved in community theater, and we wish we still were so we could mount a production of this clever play!
Thanks so much, Rosemary! I REALLY hope someone wants to stage the play and that they invite me. I would love to see it! I’d even bring a plate of cookies for afterward.