Priscilla's reponse to Fourth of July

Affirmations:
This might be my favorite piece of all your work that I’ve seen or heard. It has been so interesting to see it develop over the last two years. I think what I really appreciate is that while you are getting closer and closer to the heart of your story, the characters (including the character of the town) have remained constant and vibrant. I love all of the clearly defined voices – even the not-always-nice Jessica. I appreciate that you’ve made some very bold story choices, and they have just made the play stronger (and hotter).

Questions:
I’m wondering how all the text and voice mail sections will work. I’ve been thinking about whether the messages will just be on a projection or will be vocalized as well and wondering how the separation of text (or voice) from the character will feel in the play. I am also wondering what happens on stage when messages are sent – do characters get spot lit to emphasis, go dark to focus the audience on the projection, stand frozen so the audience has time to read? You probably visualize how you would like to see this done. I’m just wondering.

Opinions:
I think the way you are engaging different communication systems is so smart, particularly the way you are really looking at what can be said in person v. on the phone v. in a text message. I think you can use this almost like a great subtext tool – which you already do now – but I hope you continue and use it even more.

It was great to see your play on its feet in your workshop. In my humble opinion, I think there was some rather prescriptive feedback and maybe even some posturing going on. I hope you don’t let it guide you unless it is something you really believe you want to do.