An Evening at the Portland Stage
by Barb, who made it back to Key West ahead of the latest storm
Last May an email found its way to my mailbox from Brenda Buchanan letting me, and a bunch of other Maine authors know the Portland Stage would once again be hosting an evening of staged readings from mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. It would happen on the first Monday evening in March, during the run of their mystery-themed play offering, Red Herring.
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The crime writers before the show. L-R Dick Cass, Brenda Buchanan, Chris Holm, Barbara Ross. Photo by Diane Kenty.
I’d heard great things about the staged readings the previous winter and was even a little jealous as Maine mystery-writing friends posted photos and descriptions of the great evening they’d had.
I really wanted to submit a scene, but between May and July 15, I had to help my family clean out my mother-in-law’s apartment, help my son and daughter-in-law move from Connecticut to Virginia, and get our house in Somerville ready to put on the market. It felt like both a marathon and a sprint and I didn’t know if we’d make it.
Finally, by the third week in June, the dust had cleared and our house was on the market. I settled in to adapt my scene and submit it. As soon as I did, I realized I had no idea what I was doing.
I got some advice from Brenda who’d had a piece in the program the previous winter. She gave me lots of tips, but as I listened the main message I heard was “adapt, adapt.” I took that to mean I shouldn’t be afraid to take the scene apart and put it together again.
In the end I chose the opening of Fogged Inn. To get the number of characters down, I took some dialog that belonged to my cops and gave it to curmudgeonly restaurateur Gus who was already opening the scene. I wove together bits and pieces of several scenes in the beginning of the book to create what I hoped was a coherent whole.
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Actors read the opening scene from Fogged Inn. L-R, Khalil LeSaldo – Chris, Hannah Daly – Julia, Tony Reilly – Gus. Photo by Kate Donius
I ran the piece by my writers group, which as always had great insights. In particular actor and director Mark Ammons told me not to include any direction to the actors about how they should read a particular line. He said they’d be insulted. It was their job to interpret the words. I had to write my scene well enough that the words and context would tell the actors everything they needed to know. Mark also led the group in our own, unstaged, living room-based reading of the piece, which was helpful and hilarious in equal measure.
In August I heard my piece had been accepted, along with scenes by Brenda, Dick Cass, Chris Holm, and Lea Wait. The prospect of the evening was even sweeter because between submitting the scene and its acceptance, my husband Bill and I had decided to become Portland, Maine residents.
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The writers answer audience questions. L-R, Chris Holm, Dick Cass, Barbara Ross, Brenda Buchanan, Bess Weldon, moderator. Photo by Edith Maxwell
Bill and I would be in Key West in March. In 2017, we’d traveled back to New England for a wedding the first weekend in March, and gotten caught in a snowstorm, delaying our return by a fraught twenty-four hours. I’d promised Bill I wouldn’t make him come north again. Ever.
Obviously, I lied.
This year the problem was on the front end of our trip, delayed by a day by a nor’easter that shut airports across the northeast. But travel the next day was fine and it was great to see our daughter and son-in-law who weren’t able to make it to Key West this year.
The evening at the Portland Stage was wonderful. Hearing my scene read by three talented actors was amazing. The audience reaction was fun to experience. Hearing the other four pieces was entertaining and illuminating. I had chosen to have my scene be 100% dialog, but other authors had chosen to handle the novel-to-stage transformation in different ways, all of them successful.
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Another view of the authors. Photo by Kate Donius
The audience was large and appreciative. It was great to see fellow Maine Crime Writers Maureen Milliken and Bruce Coffin. Also, Cheryl Marceau, representing my writers group, and Edith Maxwell, my fellow Wicked Cozy Author and President of Sisters in Crime New England, as well as friends and family.
After the readings was a lively discussion with four of the authors. (Lea Wait unfortunately could not attend.) Audience members asked excellent questions.
Our flight was at 6:0o am the next morning, but even Bill said it was worth the trip.
