It’s easier to break into a house then into publishing.  Not that I’ve ever broken into a house.  I haven’t.  But I have broken into a car, my car, to retrieve my keys.  I have a nasty habit of locking my keys in my car when I’m absorbed in thought, such as when I’m directing a play or late for a dinner party.  I’m more often directing a play then late for a dinner party sad to say.  I missed the Inaugural party altogether I had intended on attending having been tied up for five hours at a Planning Board Meeting at City Hall.  Yeah, it was even more exciting then it sounds.  Since I was all dressed up with nowhere to go, we stopped by after at one of our favorite places in Helena, The Silver Star, often referred to as the Silver Spur.  Have you ever called something by the wrong name so many times you had trouble remembering the real name?  Or at best, which was which?   Well, that’s how it is with The Silver Star and even at this moment I want to say Silver Spur.  My guess the founding fathers couldn’t make up their minds either.  Let’s see, are we the United States of America or America, the States United?  Or how about the Silver United States of America or the United Spurs of America?  I’m rambling here, I know.  But if you’ll come along with me on one last tangent before I get back to the beginning, I do want to say how very proud I am of our country and how very happy I am that I lived to see someone break into the Whitehouse who shared my belief that no one knows it all, but that a truly intelligent person is smart enough to gather as much information from as many reliable sources as possible before making a decision.  And that hopefully that decision comes from a place of good judgement, which I must say I trust Barack Obama possesses.  That premise stated, let’s get back to the original, that it is easier to break into a house then into publishing.  The best strategy I can suggest is to act like a statesman and keep putting yourself out there.  You want your work published?  It isn’t going to happen unless you send it out.  Again and again and again.  If you’re lucky enough to get it read, and get a comment or two, listen to what is said.  At least take it into consideration.  I’ve had several plays I’ve wanted to publish but not exactly as written.  Successful playwrights and screenwriters rewrite all the time.  If you’re so married to your work that you can’t see the forest for the trees, take out your own ax and start swiping.  Save the original first, of course, because you may not like what you see when you cut the deadwood.  But, on the other hand, once you get rid of the deadwood, there might be room to plant some new seeds and see how they grow.  Take it from the top.  Barack Obama is an example of believing in yourself, persistence and a willingness to solicit and explore the ideas of others.    So, if you’re hoping to get your first play published, a little adjustment here and there in your writing might be just the wiggle room you need to break in.

It has been winter in Montana since November. I’m not complaining. If you could see this place you’d love holding up here as much as I do. I haven’t had enough time lately with the holidays and all to do much writing but I have a 2-minute play wallowing around in my head clamouring to get itself down on paper. Seems we haven’t a video up on our website yet and we need a sample to get your noggins in gear. Don’t let me be the only one in our contest. I’d hate to win a stay at Elkhorn View Lodge. Okay, so I’m not eligible to win since I’m the Editor in charge of selecting the winning work. But then, I don’t have to win to stay here. I live here part time. It is an amazing place to suffer cabin fever. No matter how cold it gets, I still get to sit by the fire and read your submissions or look out over the 400 acres of winter wonderland while blogging, editing or reviewing your plays. I’d like to say it’s a quiet life, but I’m much to busy for that. I still manage Arts for Kids, ETC from here, setting guildelines, schedulels, mailings, hiring instructors and directors and all that goes in to running a theatre training program. I have two of my own plays to get ready for an April publishing deadline, mostly working with the composer to finish the piano/vocal score and a third that needs a final revision. It’s not staying inside that causes the fever, it’s the frenzied fever of getting your ideas and stories into that final form that someone else can take to the stage. So, if you’re wasting away in the cold, snuggle up to your keypad and warm-up those fingers. Get your scripts ready for me to read. Send them now while we’re still accepting unsolicited work. At some point we’ll be like every other publishing company unable to handle more than three or four new titles a year. And then that fever in your head will be the realization that writing a good play isn’t enough. You need someone to consider it for publication or it just ends up warming a corner in your cabin.