sequence '21-22

I am also also so sorry for my lateness on this post!!!

Jude! I am always so excited to read your play pages. I constantly admire your dedication to centering queer characters and queer history throughout time. I can't wait to see where this play goes in the future!!! Bringing romance to the stage is not often done in theatre, and so to break that boundary with queer romance, no less, is so exciting and courageous! There is so much to explore with time travel, and you are proving that gay sci-fi fantasy is not just for the screen!

When I think of your writing, I think of how you can create the mood of a situation so elegantly, while also not giving away all of the information we are curious to know at once. Your playwriting work in this class and at Northwestern in general has filled this community with so much talent and passion, and I am so excited for what you will accomplish next year as a senior and beyond! You are the definition of gay confidence at Northwestern! Lol, no one else could ever enter into a writing circle like you do.

I am also so sorry for forgetting this blog post (since testing positive, dates have lost all meaning for me), but you need the most encouragement when you're closest to the finish line, right?

Connor, I admire how you're not afraid to make big changes in your play. The original Belt came with a creation myth and religious overtones, and then it became secular (mostly, at least until Screw shows up!) and focused on capitalism. You changed all your characters' names, then you changed their names again. It's scary to make those kinds of changes for fear that they could mess up the whole play, but all year, you've allowed yourself to make big swings to if you liked the new thing better. That takes a lot of bravery.

You're also so good about making us care about your characters. At the start of you play, even though we have no idea what's going on, I know that I like this Lever person because of how much he cares about his birthday presentation for Gear. And the relationship between Crank and Piston? When they're talking about giving up on the Belt because they want to spend more time with each other?? They are so sweet and cute!! I only want the best for them! Even though as those scenes are playing out, I have a creeping sense that everything will not be alright.

Speaking of, you're great at ratcheting up the tension in a scene. I remember the first time Gear has to reach for the ore - I wanted him to pick it up so he wouldn't be in danger of his meter filling up, but I also didn't want him to reach for it and buy into the oppressive system he had entered. No matter which he picked, I was leaning forward to see which he would choose. And don't even get me STARTED on when the Belt sends Screw a knife!!!!

OMG I CANNOT BELIEVE I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THIS SORRY IT DOES NOT MEAN I’M NOT CASEY’S BIGGEST FAN (SPOILER: I AM). I WILL WRITE A LOT TO MAKE UP FOR THIS WOO!

YOU WILL NEVER STOP SHINING!

Your voice is larger than life and comes through clearly in everything you write. When I inevitably read one of your *very famous* plays in a few years, I will not need to look at the author to know it's yours. There's a kind of buoyancy and hope in it that could sustain an entire play by itself. Combining that with the deeply human characters (and otherworldly forces?!) that you seem to have an endless supply of, I am confident you will find the tools you're looking for to organize the watercolor maelstrom in your head. (And if you don't find them, you'll make new ones).

The metaphors you create are crystal clear even amidst the galactic chaos of your worlds - we will not get lost in them. Your heart has always been your guide when you write, and as such it guides us through those sobering real-world tragedies. Keep following it! We will all care because we can feel how much you do.

YOU GOT THIS BRO!

Through all the iterations of this play, all of the characters have been SO compelling and nuanced and emotionally grounded, so all you gotta do is keep that going! Your sense of humor is also top notch, especially in the various uses of video games, which are always exciting! Now with the video game dreams, you have whole new structure and style to play (lol) and have fun with! The more you have fun, the more the audience will have fun, and it's already been SO fun. Your level of care for the sensitive subject matter of this play is also SO admirable, and you've already done a lot of the research work, so now you just gotta put it all together! Yay! Can't wait to see where this play goes!

Our sequence mom,

Make every word of Stevie's monologues/phone conversations essential and necessary, and continue to clarify her character and life beyond her relationship with the interns.

Define rules of the dreams so that each dream is thematically connected to the play (e.g. not just any game) and consistent with the psychology of the person dreaming.

Start Beatrice and Manuel as far apart as possible. Track Beatrice’s drastic change in belief from Investing to Caring.

Create and keep a constant, quick pace to the game throughout the play.

Clarify Soon's arc throughout Part I as it pertains to hunting/his relationship with Farther

Clarify and incorporate the original fairytale (first scene) throughout the play, including Beira's retelling of it.

Make Arthur and Reid’s impending deaths (yes they BOTH die mwahahahaha) feel present throughout the show.

Finish writing the "scenes in green" from my outline.

Thread the stories getting passed down and how they affect characters