The Slap

Sitting at dinner yesterday, Adam, my Recognized-by-the-State-of-California-Domestic-Partner, and I were eating some ground turkey with peppers, feta and olives when I spotted the mail. I went to it, saw a thin envelope from The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, the most important theater development institution in the country, and I thought, “Oh great, another rejection letter.”

But it was not. It was a letter stating that they were “thrilled’ to include me in the semifinalists for my latest play, A GOOD SMOKE. Wild. I cried, naturally. Now I know what it’s like to be Miss America.

Back at rehearsals: There are so many moments to take care of, so many actors to support and cajole. And it is very fulfilling. What is fun about theater is, at the end of the day, I have to get one actor to slap another actor hard enough so that it doesn’t hurt while still making a lot of cheek noise. I love that, in the end, it’s all about the slap.