My fourth one-act play is in rehearsal and I’m not attending any of the practices—I want to be surprised. This is the first time I’ve completely “let go” of a play, waiting to see my written work interpreted onstage without sticking my fingers into the pre-production pie, so to speak.

I’ve been told that a playwright needs to back off in order to be objective when a play hits the boards. That’s the theory, anyway. So I’ll be able to see what works, what doesn’t work, and what might work with a little tweaking “next time.”

And there always seems to be a “next time.” Already I’m thinking up dozens of scenes and plotlines for the next several plays I want to write. But first, “Just Joshin’, A Year in the Life of a Not-so-ordinary 4th Grade Kid” will take its bows on August 27, 28 and 29 at the Second Story Playhouse in Ilwaco.

“Just Joshin’,” the one-act play, my precious baby, coming soon to a theater near you!