And now, back to the original blog-entry (which was written before Tomorrow's Wish was a published play.) I have lots of unpublished manuscripts hanging around my office.
But most of them are old novels or screenplays. I am very fortunate in that most of my plays have been published by either Eldridge Plays, Heuer Plays, or Playscripts or Big Dog Plays. There are a coupl plays that I wrote during my teens that are just plain horrible -- so those will never see the light of day. However, there is a play of mine that I LOVE and it has yet to be published.
That play is Tomorrow's Wish. It's been a labor of love of mine since 2002 when I started kicking the idea around. It is currently being looked at by Eldridge Plays and Heuer Plays. But they haven't gotten back to my yet. (Not with this current draft, anyway.)
It's about a teen named Megan (named after my niece) who dreads the idea of her eccentric cousin Juniper coming over for a visit. In the first drafts, Juniper was a very loving, mentally handicapped 16 year old girl.
And this is perhaps where the first major problem of the play arose -- Juniper kept fluctuating from childlike to emotionally distraught, to surprisingly mature and well-spoken. So, trying to write a mentally disabled teen-age girl proved to be the wrong direction. But it took me a LONG time to understand that and be able to revise the work. Now Juniper is a homeschool student who lives on a secluded ranch with her grandmother.
She is very bright, but not used to being around others-- so she shifts from introvert to extrovert with the snap of a finger. (Oh, and she has a very special power -- but that's top secret.) But I finally did! I've recently submitted the play to a couple places.
So I'm hoping that Tomorrow's Wish will someday be published and performed by talented high school students. I've gottena lot of terrific feedback about one of the monologues from the play (it's available at my About.com GuideSite). A few brave actresses have even posted performances of the monologue on YouTube.
And here's another...
And this one is during someone's drama class:
Can my daughter have permission to perform Juniper's monologue for a performance? It is perfect and hilarious!
ReplyDeleteHow old do you imagine Gary to be? Thanks
ReplyDeleteHow old do you imagine Gary to be? Thanks
ReplyDeleteGary is probably between 11 and 13... but he could be played by an older actor
DeleteHello, I'm Charlotte and am currently applying to drama schools. I've been struggling to find a contemporary, comedic monologue that I connect with but I've completely fallen in love with Juniper's monologue from your amazing play! My only query is- what accent is the monologue to be performed in? I only ask as I am an English student but I'm very confident with my 'standard' Californian-American accent I suppose you would call it. So just wondering if that is the correct dialect, or whether she's Southern or some place else.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much.
Hi Charlotte...
DeleteNice to hear from you. Juniper is from the West Coast of America (though some have portrayed her as midwest or southern.)
However, some of my favorite performances of this monologue have been with an English/Scottish and even Irish accent...
So I would say that you perform the monologue in your own special way, and in a way that you feel will impress your audience.
Hello I'm Leah and currently studying Drama A-Level in school and have chosen Junipers monologue from this spectacular play for part for my exam! I just have a few questions, as part of studying this course I need to know the social, historical and cultural background of the play/character. Could you help me out?
ReplyDeleteHello my name is Alyssa Burks and I was wondering if I could perform junipers monologue for AMDA (American Academy Of Dramatic Arts) on the 17 of June for an audition to get into the school.
ReplyDeleteTank You
Alyssa Burks
Hello, I am curious how much the rights to perform this as a high school show are?
ReplyDeleteHello, Healthy Rose. As long as the high school director asks nicely, Tomorrow's Wish may be performed free of charge. All I ask is that my name as playwright in on the promotional material and programs. (And I'd love to see some photos of rehearsal / performances.) :)
DeleteYes!!! It's actually a show completely student directed. The students who have been trained the most get to be apart of it and our highest level tech and theatre classes work together to raise funds, build set, etc. If the show is chosen, we will send you photos of everything!!
DeleteHello i'm looking for monologues for AMDA and I was wondering I may be able to preform it as an audition to try to get into the school. My audition is on the 17th of February.
ReplyDeletewhat year what juniper be in?
ReplyDeleteHi Wade,
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is currently studying A Level Drama and would LOVE to portray Juniper in her monologue. The play has to have been produced for her to do this...has anyone taken this in yet?
Huge thanks!
Hi Wade,
ReplyDeleteThe comedic monologue was PERFECT for my daughter at her district competition. She will now be competing at the State level portraying Juniper. 😊