Introduce Yourself : This guy walks into a lounge... by John E Repa

I are a writer, as Harlan Ellison once said. I've made my living as a character actor for the past dozen years, but what the #1 passion is- it's for the words. Since the story dictates the form, I write short stories, novels, stage plays, radio plays and screenplays. I was invited to join a playwrights group at Theater Conspiracy in SW Florida and this year three of the shows I've written there are being looked at by theaters in Boston and Chicago. I don't consider myself arrogant but one of the plays started out with the concept of writing a sort of Edward Albees' The Zoo Story for women: just two women at a bus stop. Another is my attempt at George Bernard Shaw. You know, strong women and deep ideas. It's also my take on Dracula from the point of view of Mina receiving the journal of her husband after he's admitted to the care of a sanitarium (Vampires? My Jonathan has lost his mind). I've even written my own one-act Shakespeare, in iambic pentameter, and turn Hamlet on its ear in the process. That one is a very serious, tight little drama. I'm very proud of it. I also turned Romeo and Juliet into a children's story with cats. It stays amazingly close to the original without horrifying the kids by the end. I LOVE the Bard. I've also motivated Christmas Carol. I've teched a half dozen different versions over the years; each lamer than the previous. To save my own sanity, I wrote a version where everyone really has reasons to put up with Scrooge. And by the end, you not only empathize with Scrooge being a scrooge, but you realize that this 'Happy Ending' comes with a price and Scrooge is taking a big risk. I like characters to have reasons and risks for the actions they take. That's why a big part of my heart is in theatre. There, you can't cover bad writing with big effects or a car chase (chandeliers and helicopters aside). But I also love the intimacy of television and film. Truly brilliant acting can shine and can be seen by a greater audience and will last over time; which should up the standards for everybody. So here I am. Thanks for your time, I look forward to listening to, talking to, and working with you.