Changes

Today I got a call from an acquaintance, who hosted a local radio show, The Drama Hour. I met him and his girlfriend last autumn, when we were all involved in a fledgling audio drama project. We touched paths again last month when Husband and I ran into him at an Actor’s Theater production. The three of us talked for a while about his radio show and Husband and I possibly doing some voice acting/ writing for The Drama Hour. I was so shocked and excited when I received a phone call today asking if I could contribute some material for tonight’s show!

I had two hours to get home, find a suitable piece of material, and get to the radio station. I started tearing through stories I have been writing, searching for anything good enough to air on the radio. I have several manuscripts haunting Microsoft Word, but all of them first drafts, just ideas in their infancy, nothing solid enough for an audience. When Husband got home with forty minutes to spare before my Drama Hour debut, I was feeling lost and helpless. What could I possibly do with half-written first drafts? What could I possibly bring to showcase my writing for the first time?

Husband would have none of it, and he sat himself down on the couch with me, brimming with the confidence I needed. Together, we chose an excerpt from my favorite manuscript, the one I have the most confidence in, the one I am the most proud of. We sat together and read through part of a chapter, tweaking a few things, practicing the dialogue. We ended up reading it live an hour later with barely enough time to call my dad and warn him to get near a computer to listen on their website.

Husband read the part of Donny, the main character, the narrator of the story. His voice breathed life into my character. It was as if I were hearing Donny tell me his story, himself. I read the part of his enemy/ love interest, a character so complex that even I can’t figure her out at times (and also an endless source of writer’s block).

The night turned out to be so positive, I have taken up an assignment for The Drama Hour. I’m going to create a mini-series!