The scriptwriter

I've been writing plays for the past four years.

To be quite frank, I hate writing scripts. I always have a hard time thinking of how will the story go. The first time I wrote a full length script was in second year college. It was for our theater arts class and, as a tradition, the sophies will present a play in honor of St. John Bosco. 

It was the usual weekday morning, when our teacher suddenly gave our assignments for the play. I was expecting that I would be placed as a backstage crew, something I used to do and enjoy during high school. When my name was called and my assignment was given, I thought I heard that my teacher wanted me to swallow a cup broken glass.

The original run of the play during second year.
Me with my director, Sam.

Me, the scriptwriter? No way!

So there I was, unable to speak and say 'no' to my teacher. The whole class gave me a stare that wanted me to hide inside my pocket. The play is in three weeks, so I needed to finish the entire script (including its revisions and approval) within a week. It was no easy feat, but I was able to finish everything within the given one week time frame. Good thing no one caught me typing inside the lavatory, not even the assistant.

The play was a moderate success. Of course, it was not that good. We were all first timers playing major roles for a production so the acting, creative and especially scriptwriting flaws are somehow acceptable. When the curtains closed I heaved a sigh and told my self "No more scriptwriting for me."

I was wrong. Very wrong.

Fast forward after one year. I was sitting on my desk reading a novel when our prefect of discipline called me to his office. "Oh no" I told my self "maybe he found out I'm hiding coffee sachets in my drawer!" I kept my cool and went to his office. He asked me if I still have the script I wrote a year before. I said yes and told me that he will be including a stage play for the upcoming youth festival which the seminary will be sponsoring. But before I could say no he said "I want you to revise the script and present it to me after a week." It was so sudden that I did not have a chance to rebut. Then he added "Any requests for your play?"

Your play. My play. Wow.

Second run of the play after a year. My director Nazz with Patricia

I told him that I'll accept the task but give me a day or two to tell him if I have any special request. The moment I stepped out of his office, I saw my friend Nazz entering the study hall. He is a theater veteran. He started playing roles way back when he was a kid. He was so immersed in the world of stage plays that he even has a wardrobe of costumes and tons of scripts from plays he participated in. I approached him and said "Fr. Reggie asked me to spearhead the play for the upcoming youth fest. Could you be my director? I don't want my script to be put to waste." Without any qualms he answered me in a split second "Sure, no problem." I asked our prefect to give me a day or two to think of a special request, but he got my answer after two minutes. Everything was ready. The script was there. The director was ready to give life to my work. The actors and actresses have stepped into the shoes of my characters. The stage was set.

During our first run, a guy from the audience cried upon hearing one of the main theme songs from the play. Right there and then I knew the play was a success. We had five more runs, and each run felt like it was better than the last one.

Writing plays...one of the best things I've done in my young life. All I do is write down what I see and feel, change the setting and rename the real life people that inspired me. Once I'm done with the script i give it to my director. He in turn makes my character alive on stage. After two to three weeks of practice, the stage is set. Once the play is done, the curtains close. The script goes to my shelf. Then I start writing again. Everything continues.

That's how life goes. Once a 'play' is done, we put it back on the shelf and write a new one. Life is full of transitions, and writing plays is one of the best ways of how I can portray how life goes on.