I care too much about what other people think of me.

I care too much about what other people think of me. Or should I say, what I think they think about me. Because honestly, most of the time we don’t really know what other people think about us. I just usually assume it’s the worst. With that said, I had major anxieties about my play, Love Is Strange. It’s a dark play. It’s twisted and disturbing and I wondered if people who see it are ever going to view me the same way. Are my friends going to disown me? Is there going to be a sudden rash of restraining orders against me? Will dogs cease to like me?
I never thought about any of this stuff when I was writing this play. Hell, I never thought anyone would even read it, let alone see a production of it. When I got the phone call from Frannie shepherd-Bates and she said Magenta Giraffe was interested in producing it, I thought I was being punked. Surely it must me Aston Kutcher on the line doing his best Frannie impression.
Now, let’s flash forward to less than a year after I first put pen to paper on this project. I’m sitting in a rehearsal and I’m watching four amazing actors, Chris Jacob, Allison Megroet, Joel Mitchell, and Katy Terpstra commit one hundred percent and bring this story to life. I’m watching Frannie direct them and bring things out of them and bring things out of my script that amaze me. I’m moved and I’m awed and I’m inspired and I’m grateful. And at least for that moment, I don’t care what anybody thinks about me. I just sit back and I enjoy.

Love is Strange
Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company
The Abreact Performance Space
1301 W Lafayette (The Lafayette Lofts) #113
Detroit, MI 48226
http://www.magentagiraffe.org