Rejection is my middle name.

http://www.mutineertheatre.com/

Dan,

Thank you again for submitting "Spoonful of Sugar" to Mutineer Theatre Company. I read your play a few weeks and thought I had responded but just realized I had not. Please forgive me if some of my details are off.

The main things that have stayed with me are

* Your willingness to take the story to unsettling subject matter.
The relationship between the adolescent girl and the pimp was the most interesting aspect to me. The bluster and circus of the murder and supporting characters filled the compex well, but it was this strange connection at the center to which I gravitated.
* The challenge of a two-story set and 15 characters
You noted that this was meant for a smaller theater but the second-story balcony and large cast felt like a bigger space and budget would be required. I was placing it mentally in the last two theatres we've used and couldn't quite get it to work. (Perhaps a good set designer could.)
* Although the world seemed valid, I was never really rooting for anyone.
You have a lot of the socio-economic details right but I realized early on that I didn't really care if the pimp was punished or his crime. I think I was supposed to be cheering for the adolescent girl but her scheming with the gun--instead of ratting him out immediately--seemed to force the "investigation" into extra innings. Maybe the underlying sense that no one was going to escape the complex kept me from truly investing in any of the residents.
*
Perhaps a less famous, less cheery title would serve the script better.
When I was reviewing my reading pile today, I honestly could not remember the story based on the title. That may say more about me than the script, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Again, let me say that I appreciated the intimacy and tension of the the scenes with the pimp and the adolescent girl, I appreciated the scope and accuracy of the world you built, but I never invested emotionally into one character's plight.

If you'd like to talk more about this or need any clarifiation, please let me know.

James Utt
818-388-0677

I feel the urge to respond to this guy, but I probably won't. It is a two set play- gee, if a second story doesn't work, why don't we move him downstairs. We might even just put him on a crate in a back corner. He also didn't get it that it was a love story. He didn't identify. It was a thoughtful note.


Much better than the one line I got from an event company about me asking how to get the band considered for several of their venues over the summer.


I got one line: "Sorry we're booked."