It Should've Been You, Gary Luk: Lessons in the American Theatre

It's been over two years since I finished the first draft of The Dream of the Burning Boy in a graduate play-writing class at NYU, and I'm absolutely thrilled that we're now one week away from the first public performance of the play at the Roundabout Underground.

I'm also excited that Roundabout Theatre Company has asked me to write a BLOG about the show. I plan to fill my blog with thoughts and reflections on the creative process, inside scoop on the play, and Justin Bieber gossip galore. (The Bieber gossip isn't directly related to the play, but if I'm going to write this thing, I want people to read it!)

Since the Underground is all about producing new plays by emerging writers, I thought I would use this first blog to pass on some helpful tips I've picked up, for the benefit of other emerging writers and theatre-lovers everywhere. HERE THEY ARE:

1. DON'T write about things that don't exist and then expect someone to invent them.

I don't think I'm giving too much away when I say that, at some point in The Dream of the Burning Boy, you can expect to see a robotic cow. That is, you can expect to see a robotic cow, but you might not actually see a robotic cow, because as our design team keeps telling me, robotic cows are very difficult and expensive to make. I feel like I'm not asking for a lot here. The play is coming along really well, the cast is wonderful, and everyone associated with Roundabout and this production has been absolutely terrific… but if I don't get a robotic cow, how can I be happy?

2. DON'T cast actors whose biceps are too big to fit into a human-sized shirt.

Jake O'Connor, who's playing a 17-year-old high school student named Kyle, has biceps that are bigger than my waist. It's becoming a problem. Not only is it very distracting for everyone involved in the show, it's also incredibly challenging to find a shirt that can contain his massive "guns." I know that part of the point of this blog is to raise interest in the show, so I feel like I should just say it right now: everyone in the cast is beautiful. It's kind of embarrassing. Even "Off-Broadway darling" Reed Birney, who's one of the most talented and giving actors I've ever met in his life, was recently described in a college newspaper as "the most attractive gray-haired man alive." Obviously, I hope that my script is compelling enough to capture the audience's attention, but if not, just try finding your way out of Reed Birney's bottomless brown eyes.

3. DON'T be a Canadian

I'm a native of Toronto, Canada, and I've spent a significant chunk of the rewrite process taking out references to "marking papers," "meter sticks," and maple syrup cookies. I've also been berated by everyone involved in the play for the way I pronounce words like "out," "about" and "sorry," which I believe reflects a deep-seated prejudice against Canadians in the American Theatre. My only advice for fellow Canucks is this: if you're trying to blend in with the Americans, never refer to the "Roundaboot Theatre Company."

4. DON'T tell actors that they're "ruining" your play.

After the first stumble-through of the play in rehearsals this week, I thought it would be a good time to tell all of the actors that I think they're doing a wonderful job. But I have a problem being sincere for long periods of time, so I decided to add "Except for one of you. One of you sucks." Everyone laughed. For about a half-second. Then everyone looked at me with abject terror. Actors, it turns out, are not always fountains of self-confidence. A great playwright once told his cast, "You're almost as good as my play." I, on the other hand, am confident that the cast of Burning Boy is far better than my play will ever be.

5. DO create elaborate back stories for minor characters.

There is one line in the play that refers to an unseen high school student named Gary Luk. The two fantastically talented young actresses in this scene-Jessica Rothenberg and Alexandra Socha-decided that they should play this beat as if everyone in the school hates Gary Luk. Rising star director Evan Cabnet perpetuated this back-story by suggesting that all the students wish it had been Gary Luk who died, instead of the popular student at the center of the play. Will this kind of deep character work and line-by-line analysis pay dividends in the actual performance of the play? Probably not. But if you see the play forty or fifty times, as I plan to, you might just notice something different each and every time. And that's exactly what we're going for.

The Dream of The Burning Boy begins performances on February 25 at the Black Box Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre.