I am he that walks with the tender and growing night

On June 6th, I randomly popped over to a theatre site I used to visit to find auditions for plays (that I never ended up auditioning for). One of the notices was a submission call for playwrights for a One Act Festival hosted by Thunderous Productions. I've been wanting to write another play since "Fools call it Fate", and I thought a One Act would be a great follow up, but there was a problem. The deadline was June 8th. That would give me two days to write, edit, and submit. Never one to be daunted by a writing challenge, I decided to go for it. After all, "Fools call it Fate: a story of sex, coincidence, and an electronic cigarette" was written in less than two months AND chosen out of 50 submissions to be one of the three for a staged reading at Mobtown Theatre. Then, it was chosen for a full production, which I'm dying to see at the end of July. I know its going to be amazing! That whole experience was such a wonderful one, how could I not want to do it all over? Luckily, I already had an idea flitting around in my noggin, one that I'd been wanting to do something with for a number a years. It was a simple concept but one I found hilarious: a girl brings her zombie boyfriend home to meet her conservative southern mother.

 

Delightful. Plus, with zombies, you get the opportunity for so many sight gags and "chew the scenery as if it's brains" sort of deal.

 

I began writing that very moment. Whenever I had a free minute at work, I was writing. While components were thawing, while solutions were mixing...During my lunch break, I don't think I even paused while I was eating.

 

When I got home from work, I wrote and wrote and wrote, and before 10pm I was finished my first one act play: Two Grunts for Yes. It took less than half a day to edit, I crossed my aching fingers, and submitted. The website said they should have results by June 20th, which seemed like a million years away! But I tried to be patient. Of course I imagined being chosen, but I couldn't help but imagine NOT being chosen as well. I mean, I wrote the damn thing in a day.

 

On Monday, June 20th, I checked my email obsessively. I had set up an inbox filter to send me a text message if I got an email including the word "Grunt", but I checked and checked anyway. After work on Monday, I decided to go to my friend's bar and do some patio writing (and patio drinking). When I got home, I kissed my husband and moaned about how I hadn't heard about the play. While he was upstairs in the shower, I obsessively checked my email again.

 

1 New Message. Oh the feeling that twists the stomach in times like these. The dread. The excitement. The "O my god, I hope I'm not accidentally recording my reaction on the laptop" (done it before).

 

I didn't read the entire email. I just scanned for "McHugh", and there, stuck in among the abrasively pink text that made up THE LIST, it said "Two Grunts for Yes" Playwright: Jessica McHugh.

 

I. flipped. out. Dave thought someone had died. He threw open the bathroom door, still dripping wet from the shower, to see me collapsed on the stairs giggling like an idiot. I was absolutely consumed with joy. I had hoped beyond all hope that my play would be chosen, but realistically, I just didn't think it was possible. And my dear darling husband just kisses me and says, "I'm not surprised." What a swell fella, right?

 

I really needed this boost, especially when my hands are killing me and the last book in the Dominhydor series is taking longer to edit than I thought. So, come September, "Two Grunts for Yes" will be debuting at Thunderous Productions One Act Festival in Sandy Spring, MD. I will update as more details become available, but it's possible that "Two Grunts" could be chosen from that festival to advance on to the MCTFA Tournament in January. But I'm trying not to think about that. I'm just really looking forward to seeing someone embody the southern mother character and of course, to see zombies try to set the table for dinner. :)