Samantha Grosser

The read-through of Char and Wads didn’t go well and as a result it isn’t going ahead next year after all. Obviously I’m disappointed, not least because I now have no excuse to get back home for a couple of weeks. A lot of the criticism was valid, some of it less so, but I think there was a basic failure of communication in what was expected. It was only a second draft and it was my understanding that I would then rewrite on the basis of the feedback. The company however, seemed to think that it should have been closer to its completed form and that it isn’t finished enough to go on with. So I’m currently rewriting it and I have an actor friend here in Sydney who is interested, which means it might happen here instead. Which would, in fact, be better for me as I’d be able to be much more involved in the process.

1. I had an email from Debi at In-Debt Theatre and it looks like Char and Wads will happen in March next year, probably at the Alma Tavern in Bristol. The process has started, with arrangements being made for a read-through to get feedback from an actor’s point of view. The Alma Tavern is a small theatre space but definitely one of Bristol’s happening places. Can’t wait.

2. I had some very encouraging feedback on the draft of Dead Letter. The play is about a soldier returning from the current conflict in Afghanistan, and I was really nervous about all the technical details, especially the scenes that are set in Helmand itself. So when my friend, who is a Sergeant Major in the British Army, told me that he loved it and that the attack scenes sent tingles up the back of his neck, I was over the moon. A few more changes to be made and then I think it will be ready.

Well, it’s been a while, but we’ve been off line while we upped sticks and moved ourselves across the planet to settle back in Sydney. The shipping, needless to say, took a lot longer than we did and now that it’s finally arrived it’s wonderful to have beds to sleep in, a sofa to sit on, and a TV to watch.

Despite the upheaval, however, I have been writing and have now finished the first draft of Dead Letter. I’ve given it to a friend for some feedback and am, once again, waiting anxiously for her comments.

As well as Char and Wads, I’ve been working on another play called Dead Letter. Without giving too much away (I’m always afraid that talking about it too much in the early part of the process will jinx things) I can say that In-debt Theatre is definitely interested, and the possibility of a third play was mentioned, to round off a trilogy of “war” plays.

It’s wonderful to write knowing there’s a guaranteed audience. It’s exciting and motivating and adds a little extra pressure to the process. Although I do write for the love of it (and would continue to do so even if I never got published) it can sometimes be a little demoralising to spend 2 years or more on something that might never see the light of day.

Well, the verdict was positive and the play wot I wrote, Char and Wads, is now official. Debbie at In-debt Theatre loved it, though she thought it needed more … more … just more… I agree, but that’s the way I work. First drafts are always short, skeletal even, as the characters and storylines find their shape. Rewrites for me invariably consist of adding more detail, bringing out character traits a little more, giving everything more depth. I’ve already started reworking it.

I LIKE writing plays. I’ve been thinking about it all over the summer, researching and making notes, allowing the characters to develop in my head, imagining certain scenes, and I was a little bit nervous about actually starting to write, not even sure of the format I was supposed to follow. But once I got started and stopped worrying about the technicalities I found I was really enjoying myself. I’ve always liked writing dialogue - my first novel drafts tend to have a lot of dialogue and not a lot else, so the words just seemed to flow. I now have a complete first draft which I’ve just handed over (not without some trepidation) to my friend at In-Debt Theatre for her comments.

Waiting around for other people’s opinions would have to be the hardest part of being a writer.

My complimentary copy of the audio edition of Another Time and Place dropped through my letterbox over the weekend. It was so exciting to see all those shiny new CDs with my name on them, but a very strange feeling to hear my words in someone else’s voice. I really like the way Trudy Harris reads it, but it’s weird because when I write I hear the words out loud, in my voice, or the versions of my voice that I mentally assign to characters, so to hear another, very different voice, is quite disconcerting.

But wonderful, all the same!

Yesterday I went to London for the day to do some research for my play in the Reading Room at the Imperial War Museum. It’s years since I’ve been there and it’s every bit as impressive as I remembered. The Reading Room itself is hidden away upstairs and is absolutely beautiful with a big circular table in the middle and a reverent hush amongst the researchers. After I’d finished reading I spent a couple of hours just wandering in the museum itself and could have stayed longer. So much information! I just wished my 7-year-old son had been with me - he would have loved it too.

There’s been a new turn of events in the last few weeks which is very exciting.

Not long ago I bumped into an old friend that I used to do drama with as a teenager. We had a cup of tea and a great chat about all the people we used to know and before the tea was cold I had agreed to write a play for her theatre company, In Debt Theatre. She’d had this great idea for a play, had a director who was interested, but was looking for a writer.

Without giving too much away, the subject matter is right up my street (Second World War) and I’m hard at work on the research already. I’m also reading lots of drama. I used to go to the theatre all the time, especially when I lived in London, but over the last few years I’ve got out of the habit. That’s about to change. I’ve already been to see ‘Keep Smiling Through’ at the Tobacco Factory in Bristol, which I really enjoyed, and I’ll be checking out the theatre at the Alma Tavern in the coming months.

Watch this space.

I’ve been a member Book Club Forum for a while now and they’ve just very kindly asked me if I’d be interested in being
Featured Author of the Month for August, along with another debut novelist, Holly A. Harvey, whose novel KARMA was published in February this year.

Having tried a few online book forums, this is the only one I’ve stayed with - they’re a really friendly, diverse bunch of readers from all parts of the world, and I’m very much looking forward to participating.