Scriptwriting – an outsider’s perspective

I have such respect for Jeff Love and Marc Adam Smith as they work on the script for Five Years Later. We have been rehearsing this play since January technically, but the first month was reading through the script and providing feedback to the playwrights.

It is amazing the metamorphosis this play has undergone! It must be so difficult for a playwright to love a scene or concept and then need to remove it for the strength of the overall piece. Originally, Five Years Later used a play with in a play setup featuring two additional characters from the future looking back on our present. We affectionately called them “The Judges.” Through our initial readings and much heated debate, it was determined that The Judges, while intriguing, were not necessary to the piece. The actual story stood on its own and made all the points the playwrights hoped to make.

Through this same process, various plot points were introduced and then discarded. Hilarious scenes were written and ultimately cut. One version of the script had Death dating Plague so she could get War to notice her!

Know that the play you will see in April has undergone hours of writing and rewriting so that we can bring you a quality piece of entertainment with a solid purpose. We hope you enjoy it!

Five Years Later runs April 11 – 28, Wed – Sat @ 8pm at The Sargent Theatre @ ATA, 314 West 54th Street, NYC.

Purchase tickets now!