My attempt at writing a play

I tried to write a play once. I was about to begin my masters program in MFT, but I still had a few months before the semester began. I was doing You Can't Take It With You at the ACU Theatre, and I wanted to find a way to combine theatre and therapy. I decided to write a play about a therapist who falls in love with his client, who, despite having her fair share of problems, appears to connect to the therapist in a way he had never connected before.

Much of the play deals with the therapist's inner struggle of evaluating his identity as a therapist and his feelings as a person. (I soon learned that this evaluative process is known in MFT as "self-of-the-therapist" work.) The therapist does not engage in any overtly unethical behavior because I didn't think that would be a very interesting play, despite its sensational nature. Rather, he has to work with this intriguing woman to whom he is drawn while working through his personal issues with her. He understands the shaky ground he is on, but he has difficulty understanding how to handle the predicament. I thought that the problems in his own life could provide a backdrop for his turmoil and add to the complexity of his situation.

Once I began to write the play, however, I realized that I didn't know nearly enough about writing or therapy to write such a play. I have since learned a lot about therapy and the ethical issues that the play touches on, but I probably know less about writing a play now than I did then.

I mention all of this because my brother, Kyle, has become a pretty good playwright. He has written a couple of plays that have been produced on small scales, including one currently playing at the Mary Lou Burkett Texas Playwright's Festival. He has shown some real potential, and he may one day write that great play that will make him famous and chic, but for now he's a high school theatre teacher who graces people with his writing/acting/directing talents when given a chance. I'm proud of him. If he goes on to greater things, great. If not, I'm sure he will keep writing.

I occasionally wonder what could happen if I actually finished that play. I may pick it up again one day, assuming that no one rips me off after reading this blog. I still have the little bit that I wrote, despite the fact that I probably would rewrite it entirely. It might be fun to write about it, now that I know a bit more about the subject matter, but I'd more than likely need a little help with the scripting. Maybe if we happen to have some free time at the same time (unlikely), I'll see if Kyle wants to collaborate. I think it could be a good story, and it would be fun to work with him.