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| Israel Horovitz |
One would think that a 10-minute play takes 20 minutes to write. In fact, a 10-minute play can take weeks to write. Consider the craftsmanship required to build a small (beautiful) picture-frame: 4 corners, 4 straightaways. Now, consider the craftsmanship required to build a large (beautiful) picture-frame: 4 corners, 4 straightaways. A 10-minute play still requires a story worth telling, character development, character delineation, idiosyncratic dialogue, rising and falling action, a strong clear dramatic event, and a devilishly well-observed lesson in life for its audience.
Kate Snodgrass tells me that I’ve had a play of mine performed in every Boston Theater Marathon since its inception. Is that possible? If anyone knows, Kate knows. From my days as artistic director of Gloucester Stage, I remember how difficult it was to produce 6-10 plays each year. Kate produces 50 plays each year. Okay, sure, they’re short plays … but each play has its own neurotic playwright, its own hungry actors and greedy director, and its own overly ambitious design-scheme (“But, Kate… All I’m asking for is Christmas lights and strolling violins! C’mon, Kate! BU is mega-rich! …”) Consider Kate’s mid-May inbox. If Kate Snodgrass isn’t on the Pope’s list for sainthood, a huge mistake is being made.
