Reading aloud

The staged reading of The Ones that Flutter went very well last night. Thanks to everyone who came out for it!

I really enjoyed this play, and every time I've read it, I've found something new. It's a very layered work. Sylvia Reed, the author, draws many parallels between the various characters over the course of the play, and these echoes offer a "completeness" to the viewer that allows for more acceptance of the ambiguous ending. There are alot of symbols in the work that point to themes of peace, safety, sacrifice, death vs. life (i.e. What is really living?), and freedom. There is some serious depth here.

I'd be very interested to see if this show could be produced successfully on the mainstage. The only problems that I (and the talk-back audience) pointed out were some unneeded confusion regarding Julie Ray's relationship to Roddy in their first scene together and the difficulty of letting the audience know where each scene falls chronologically. If those two things could be dealt with successfully, I think we have a hit on our hands here.

Comments

Sylvia said…
Hi, Nicole. I'm so glad the reading went well. I am the playwright. I really appreciate your kind words about the play. In past readings there has been some confusion as well as to time shifts. It is my hope that a full production might address some of these things. And maybe a little bit of script tweaking. Anyway, I'm glad it went well and I thank you for your thoughtful comments.
Nicole Bradshaw said…
Sylvia,

I have so enjoyed participating in the staged reading. I also served on the reading committee for the play series, reading/assessing some of the more than 150 plays that were submitted to the theatre. This one is truly a gem.

Thank you for writing The Ones that Flutter. The language of it was beautiful, and the audience was very complimentary during the talkback session. (I think Francine recorded the comments, so she will probably be sharing those with you soon.)

With great regard,

Nicole

P.S. Would love to know what kind of shop Julie Ray has! Been wondering about that . . .
Sylvia said…
Thanks again, Nicole. Julie Ray owns a coffee shop. I picture poetry and fiction readings, the occasional band. I think it fits her.