The excitement of discovery and a special thanks to Joe Zingo

Recently Kurt and I received our first round of script notes from consultant Joe Zingo of Eugene. Joe Zingo and Jim Roberts have been legends in the Eugene area theatre community for 40+ years. Their production company Actor's Cabaret has been producing 14 shows a year for 30 years. Joe is often consulted by writers and creators of new works from New York.

After we received Joe's notes, we had one of the most rewarding and energizing discussions about the script we'd ever had.  Since April Kurt and I have been moving steadily forward in the process. We first worked out our characters and the overall situation. We mapped out all the songs, styles and initial placement. Later as we've worked on lyrics and music, we've begun considering the impact of integrating choreography and costumes. We've even diagrammed on paper the peaks and valleys in the conflict -- thinking about the show as if it were an amusement ride.  When do you build the stress and raise the stakes? When do you give the audience a chance to laugh to relieve the tension? Where do you give the audience a chance to cry?

Soon we will have half the songs written and composed, and a second draft of the script done. Right now we're feeling very excited that we're on the right track.  As Kurt and I work thorugh the script, lyrics and music into March, what will be really exciting is to get our first audience feedback in the spring, and later to have the actors, directors, set designer, costumer, and lighting folks add more life and depth to the characters and the story. 

Planet Eden is really a modern fable.  Not only does it represent the future as it's performed before December 21, 2012, but after that day passes, it represents a piece of our collective past, and is a story that because of its larger themes we hope will stand the test of time.