plays | Your Delray Boca

A scene from Press Conference performed in Ohio.

Last week, we ventured to Columbus, Ohio to see the opening of a short play I wrote called “Press Conference.”

I had entered the play about a mayor dealing with the fallout of a shooting in a “Brave Stories” contest run by Boxland Media.

They received over 500 entries from all over the country and a few foreign nations as well. My play was one of four chosen for the festival.

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I’m new at this and when the winners were announced I recognized the names of two of the winning playwrights—I’ve read their work and listened to them on podcasts hoping to glean some wisdom from their success.

All three of the other plays were phenomenal and I realized that I have a lot to learn. I’m eager to do so. But if I can brag for just a moment, my little piece of work held its own. Of that, I’m proud.

The story of Press Conference is loosely based on my experiences as mayor of Delray many moons ago. During my tenure, we experienced the tragic shooting of a 15 year old outside a school dance by a rookie police officer.

That experience affected me and many others profoundly.

This year was the 20th anniversary of the shooting and I wanted to write about it—albeit with some artistic license. As I mentioned “Press Conference” is loosely based on what we experienced. But it touches on issues that remain painfully relevant. Race, fear and a style of politics that favors the safe way out over courage and humanity.

The play was also produced in May by a group called Playzoomers for a national audience of online subscribers and a company called Tiny Scripted recently acquired the piece for additional distribution.

It’s all exciting and I am currently working to expand the work into a full length play called “Say My Name”—a nod to our tendency as a society to move on when we would be better served to learn and talk about the issues that divide us. My theory is that if we talk to one another we’ll find have more in common than we might imagine. If we engage, we take away the corrosive power of those who seek to divide us.

I felt it important to travel to Ohio and be there for opening night. I talked briefly with the cast and director pre-show and then did what is known as a talk back after the show. The cast joined me to discuss their feelings about the play.

What I learned is that live theater can be a powerful experience. It’s one of the few communal things we do these days. We spend much of our time on phones and staring at screens. We rarely talk or gather and I think it’s hurting us.

There’s a crisis of loneliness in America. People of all ages and genders are experiencing isolation but there’s a genuine crisis among young men who are particularly isolated.

Many don’t have friends. Or the friends they do have live in their headphones as they play games online for hours at a time. It’s a very different experience from prior generations.

We used to see movies together, but that’s waning. We used to join bowling leagues and service clubs and volunteer for community projects. There’s been a documented drop in all of those categories.

Live theatre is one of the few things we still experience together, at the same time.

The best plays spark conversations and thought. They evoke emotion and get us to ask questions of each other and ourselves.

That’s what I’m trying to do with my nascent efforts in this beautiful new world I’ve discovered courtesy of FAU’s

Theatre Lab and the festival of new plays sponsored annually by the magnificent Delray Beach Playhouse.

And that’s the spirit that moved us to venture to Ohio to gather with people we didn’t know to see four plays about brave topics.

I left with new friends, new insights into the subject matter and a resolve to write more.

There’s nothing like hearing your words come to life thanks to the efforts of talented actors and actresses. I’ve been blown away by the talent I’ve seen. The directors have been excellent as well.

One of the young actors, Joe Morales, drove two hours each way from Canton, Ohio to perform a small role (spectacularly). That’s dedication. And I’m so grateful for these creatives. They make our world a better place.

The arts are so important. The arts are so meaningful.

The noise of the day comes and goes, but art..well art endures. If it’s good.

I’m trying to be good. I’m reaching for the stars. Not because it’s lucrative (it’s not) but because it matters. It matters to those we are trying to remember, to the audience we are trying to move

or entertain and to the creatives who give us so much.

On October 11 at 2 pm and 8 pm my play “The Cafe on Main” will be performed at the amazing Arts Garage right here in Delray.

I’m hoping you’ll come out to see the talented cast of local actors and to support the Arts Garage which has become an important cultural hub for our community.

The play is about love, community, second chances and friendship. These are subjects near and dear to us all. Come share the experience with your friends and family.

You’ll leave with memories and you’ll connect with others. Netflix will be there when you come home, I promise.
Visit artsgarage.org for tickets and more information.

Your future self is a stranger.

I woke up recently with those six words in my head.

I don’t know where they came from—a dream, a fleeting thought– but there they were.

Maybe that happens to you often, but it’s a rare occasion where I wake up with a saying in my head.

Paul McCartney woke up with the song that would become “Yesterday” rattling around his brain. His initial title for the song was “scrambled eggs.” Keith Richards allegedly dreamt the riff to “Satisfaction” which became a classic.

We may not be a Beatle or a Stone, but I think it benefits us mortals to listen when our inner voices speak to us.

Your future self is a stranger.

I began to think about the phrase and what it may mean.

Maybe my future self will sleep better, learn to love avocados and acquire a taste for lobster. I do spend time in Maine, and it would be convenient to like those bug-eyed crustaceans. Instead, I sympathize with them and wish that they could somehow find their way out of the tanks and back to the sea.

But I digress.

Artificial intelligence is all we hear about these days so I plugged the six word phrase into AI and got this answer: “Your future self is a stranger means that when you imagine yourself far into the future, you perceive that person as someone completely different from who you are now, almost like a person you’ve never met before, indicating a potential disconnect between your current identity and how you envision yourself later in life; often leading to poor decision-making regarding long-term goals due to a lack of connection with that future self.”

Whoa!

That’s interesting so I went a little further with Google AI.

“Viewing your future self as a stranger can lead to behaviors like not saving enough for retirement, neglecting health, or making impulsive choices because you don’t feel responsible for that future person’s well-being.”

And that’s where AI lost me, at least on this subject.

I happen to be saving for retirement, I am trying hard to be healthier and I haven’t made an impulsive choice since opting for a solid color shirt over plaid in 1992. Let’s just say that I work hard to be intentional—the opposite of impulsive.

So, I put away the AI and I went back to my old steady—my brain. As flawed as it is.

And here’s what I came up with.

For a very long time, I felt that I was driven by three words: leadership, entrepreneurship and community. I can’t remember the impetus for the three-word model, it may have been an exercise, an article, a therapy session—something that prompted me to name my passions.

But for the longest time that’s where I’ve focused—the study of leadership, the study and practice of entrepreneurship and involvement in community.

All three words still animate and interest me. But…there’s been a shift.

I may have met my future self and far from being a stranger he’s the same old guy, with slightly different interests/passions these days.

I asked myself what are my three words today? What do I want my three words in the future to be?

And I came up with creativity, philanthropy and relationships/faith. Admittedly, that may be four words, but relationships and faith may be connected. Let me explain.

As we get older, we begin to lose people who matter to us. It’s an inevitable part of life. Readers of this blog have joked that it has turned into a local obituary/eulogy page. Perhaps. But I feel it’s important to remember and reflect when we lose someone who meant something to our little slice of the world.

Our time is precious. And limited too. We are fragile beings. “Tomorrow is not guaranteed” is not just a saying, it’s our reality. It’s a reality that inevitably bites all of us.

As a result, relationships become precious too. Quality time, with quality people equals happiness.

Faith and relationships are tied together because losing people who mean something to us is a hard thing to swallow. It’s scary. But maybe fear ends where faith begins. Maybe, if we can develop faith, we can believe that our souls go on and we may be together again with loved ones lost.

Creativity has become a driving force as well. The act of filling a blank screen orders my mind and brings me so much joy. I am never blocked, but some days are better than others. I’m finding new ways to be creative– playwriting, maybe another book or two, this blog (which has changed) and the opportunity to be creative at work in how we approach philanthropy.

Philanthropy.

Interesting word.

It comes from the Greek word “philein” which means “to love” and “anthropos” which means humankind.

That resonates with me.

Thanks for listening. Perhaps, this will spur you to think. If it does, my wish for you is to live with intent with the precious time we are given.

Miracle League

On Saturday evening, we ventured to Palm Beach Gardens to have “Dinner on the Diamond” an event that benefits the Miracle League of Palm Beach County.

For 20 years, my friends Jeff and Julia Kadel, have dedicated their lives to ensuring that all children regardless of their needs can play baseball.

It’s a simple, but beautiful and important mission and the program has grown enormously over the years. The league plays in Delray, Palm Beach Gardens and will soon add another location, a testament to the need and the quality of the program.

Julia Kadel is this year’s winner of the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation’s Catalyst Award, an honor that recognizes people who make good things happen in our community. Julia is a catalyst and so much more. She brings joy, love and passion to her work and she has changed the lives of many families.

We saw the depth of support on Saturday night when a huge crowd filled the field to have dinner, hear stories and celebrate the Miracle’s League’s mission.

A highlight for me, an old baseball fan, was to see one of my childhood heroes, Johnny Bench get up and sing Jeff and Julia’s praises. He called them his heroes and hall of famers in their own right.

Indeed.

If you want to learn more visit www.miracleleaguepalmbeachcounty.com.

Seeking Connection In An Age Of Screens

Here’s To The Future