For much of my writing career I've been a collaborator. Writing for actors as a playwright and screenwriter, it's the nature of the beast. And I've been fortunate: as playwright-in-residence at two theater companies (and a third online, meeting in a chat room); as director of minifilms of my own scripts, working with the same actors, I've had good, satisfying, creative collaborations. Once I was commissioned to write a play on a particular historical person using four, and only four, particular actors. The experience was a joy and no less than Hal Prince called the result "first rate work." Collaboration has been good to me.
But not always. Journalism, too, has its collaboration with editors, readership and advertisers. When I was managing editor at Oregon Business Magazine I frequently had to cut stories at the last minute in order to fit one more ad into the magazine. I hated it.
I retired as a playwright and filmmaker in order to retire as a collaborator. I wasn't tired of working with actors per se; I was tired of the logistics that go with it, the scheduling, the problem over there that creates one over here, the stress of juggling so many balls, trying to keep them all in the air. I wanted to spend the end of my life as a solo creator.
And so I have.
