Rejection

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Hi everybody,

The Boston Theater Marathon readers (general public who stop by the theater office to pick up a packet of plays) have commented on my 10-minute play, “The Last Resort.”  The reviews were so bad that the director of the Marathon warned me before delivering them:

“Thanks for asking about the readers’ comments on your play The Last Resort.  Just remember…you asked.  ”

Here’s her capsule of the comments:

“All three first readers noted that the play was a sketch rather than a “play”—i.e., the characters were caricatures rather than fully-drawn people—that is, only there to deliver “jokes".  The exposition was too obvious for their tastes although one noted that the premise was “cute”.  One called it “predictable” and “not funny enough to be a farce”. “

Luckily, I have a web site where one can take pride in publishing negative “stuff” about oneself.

Of course, my poor brother Jeff published the play verbatim on his blog just a few days before I received the Marathon verdict because he loved it so much.

http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-last-resort-by-richard-grossman.html

Apparently Dr. Zeus (the narcissist/cult leader from the play) is correct:

DR. ZEUS
"The world has two kinds of people.  There are people who, in order to survive the hardships of life, comfort themselves with fantasy and dreams.  And there are people who can only see what’s real and quickly become bored and miserable." 

Alas, Jeff and I (like Ken, the poor protagonist in the play) are the latter!  We are one sick family!  I just hope, after we die, we end up in “rooms with maintenance” next door to one another.

Thanks again (and my apologies) for the read!

Richard

[ann3]

Hi Dr. G,

I truly liked your play.  It is witty and insightful.  Love the reality/fantasy interplay, there's a deep truth in that. Also liked the classical mythology references.

Please don't let the critics get you down.  Think of all the great writers and artists who received tons of rejection letters and were panned.  It really means nothing.  If you enjoy writing, keep at it. 

Also, sometimes, if an artist or a writer is not part of the "in crowd", the powers that be (publishers, critics, producers, etc) pan the outsider.  It's BS, but it happens all the time.  The "in crowd" promotes and blesses insider's work, no matter how bad it is, ie: Andy Warhol's Piss Paintings.

http://www.warholstars.org/aw76p.html
"The Piss Paintings were "surprisingly well received when they were displayed in Europe the following year. One critic hailed them as 'Warhol at his purest', drawing historical references to Jackson Pollock's legendary emission into Peggy Guggenheim's fireplace."

So, you could kiss (or piss) your way into the "in crowd" or just ignore them and keep on keeping on.  Thankfully, today there's a lot of ways for artists and writers to present their own work via self publishing or internet shows.

All the best to you and many Thanks for all you have done and continue to do.

[Hopalong]

Aww, Doc G--

I did a gradaute degree in creative writing. One of our writing teachers gave us a mini-symposium on the MEANINGLESSNESS (in terms of our value as writers and as people) of rejection.

It takes so many writers so many years and sometimes literally hundreds of rejections, before something clicks. Others are luckier, but it's all normal. The internet does NOT help.

Meanwhile, one of my best memories about it, from a poet friend who submitted regularly and systematically, was his wonderful collection of rejection letters from various magazines and literary journals. The banal re-phrasings of "it's not for us..." in multiple. So what he did was, he neatly, meticulously, wallpapered his downstairs bathroom with them.

So when he had parties, you'd go in there, and he'd have all his friends' support, since we all at one time or another sat on the pot and contemplated the ubiquity of rejections...

Hope that comforts, and don't quit as long as you're loving it!

Hops
PS--that poet wound up getting nicely published eventually, of course....because he didn't take it to heart.

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

ann3 and Hops,

Thank you so much for your kind words and comfort.  I very much appreciated them and showed them to my wife.  Also, ann3, I was so relieved that you “got” the play!  I’ll press on!

Richard

[ann3]

Hi Dr. G,

Yes, I get "it" & it really resonates with me:

The world has two kinds of people. There are people who, in order to survive the hardships of life, comfort themselves with fantasy and dreams. And there are people who can only see what’s real and quickly become bored and miserable. It is clear that you are one of the latter.

The only cure for someone stuck in reality is more reality—infinitely more reality, so much reality that the only thing left for the mind to cling to is fantasy and dreams. This is what Odysseus discovered on his long voyage home to Penelope.

when reality is so stark, dreams and fantasies are essential. Their presence allows us to live!

I really liked Ken & Marla's dialogues.  Their banter sounded quite realistic and was funny, something I could envision seeing on Broadway.  The subject matter is perfect:  Last Resort Couple's Therapy.  I'm sure lots of people could relate to this.

It seems you have a treasure trove of material, so keep on writing.  Was Chekhov not a Doctor too?!  You're in good company, so right on with your writing!

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Hi Ann3,

Thank you again for your encouragement!   (I’m sorry, but for some reason I didn’t see your comment until now…)  On top of my desk in my office I keep a copy of…….(no, not Freud)…. Chekhov short stories!  It’s the famous old edition, translated by Avrahm Yarmolinsky.  It’s falling apart, so I can’t really read it for the umpteenth time, but I’ve had it since I was a sophomore in college when I took a year of Russia literature.  My patients see the book every time they come in and know well my love for Chekhov stories/plays.  His famous advice to budding writers is something that I will forever appreciate:  “Tell the truth.”  (I just saw a great production of “Death of a Salesman” onstage at the Lyric Theater in Boston—Chekhov’s saw, I’m sure, Arthur Miller knew well and followed…)

Anyway, thanks in part to your and Hop’s encouragement, I’m plowing on ahead:  the newest 10-minute comedy (?) I’m working on is tentatively called:  “Suicide Squeeze  (an existential crisis at third base)”.  (I told my brother that maybe I should write a psychology book rather than another play—he said, why would you waste your time/talent doing that?).   We’ll see where it takes me…

Thanks again for your kind words (and in the true spirit of providing voice to the voiceless—getting it!),

Richard  

[ann3]

Hi Dr. G,
Chekhov is probly one of my favs too.  Thanks for mentioning the Avrahm Yarmolinsky translations because there's a bit of a stink about the Constance Garnett's translations.  I'll look for the Yarmolinsky.

The interesting thing about your reaction to Chekhov is that in The Body Never Lies by Alice Miller, she basically portrays Checkhov as having suffered from Voicelessness, the very topic of this wonderful board which you have created.  His father mistreated him & he died very young.
From Amazon: "Miller traces the relationship between inadequate or tyrannical parenting and adult bodily illness, depression and suicide in pithy biographies of Dostoyevski, Chekhov, Kafka, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce and many others."

I'm glad you're pursuing the writing.  “Suicide Squeeze (an existential crisis at third base)” is a great title.  I agree with your brother and it's so wonderful that he said that.  Hope you'll give us a heads up when you're ready.

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Thanks, Ann3—I’ll take a look at the book.  I’ve never read about Chekhov’s relationship with his family!  BTW, one of my friends, Herb, just sent me a link to an article by Thomas Mann about Chekhov that you might enjoy:

http://www.newrepublic.com/book/review/the-stature-anton-chekhov

I thought it was terrific…and there’s a lot about narcissism, particularly among authors (e.g. Tolstoy), in it.

Richard

[ann3]

Hi Dr. G,

Excellent article by Mann & I got the Yarmolinsky Chekhov, so thanks for both. I totally agree w/ Mann about Chekhov's use of the short story:  less is more, kinda like a 15 minute play!
Yup, in retrospect, seems Tolstoy was a bit of a phony, as Holden Caulfield mite have said.
IMO, Chekhov uniquely stands alone and is not a member of one particular group or another, altho various groups could claim him as a member/supporter, kinda like Camus.

Holy carp!  Talk about Ns: I finally read A Moveable Feast; My jaw dropped 3 times when I read what Hemingway wrote about Stein & Fitzgerald, plus Sherwood Anderson.  But the Fitzgerald thing takes the cake!  Hemingway was the king of Ns (but so was Stein)!  For an N vs. N fite, read about Hemingway vs. Stein.

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Hi TT,

I do know.  And I'm a big fan of tongue in cheek!

Richard

[sea storm]

Rejection.  Such a good topic. I think that writing comes from somewhere magical and is not easily assessed by others. Often not until they are dead.  Writing to be appreciated by the public or by critics is a bit of a losing game. The general public doesn't really appreciate a lot of things that have value.

When I read about J D Salinger and the amount of rejection he received it struck me how determined he was and how narcissistic. He believed that he was the best writer probably well before he was the best writer.
When I was studying painting a sculpter came to talk to us. He was working in abstract, minimalist concrete. I stupidly said to him" Doesn't it bother you that your work is not considered beautiful and most people feel quite scornful of it?"  He was a very wise person and he said, " I don't really care what people think. My work comes from a very deep place inside me. If people don't like it, I don't care. If you don't like it, I don't care. But thanks for asking the question and learning something."
This was decades ago and I still remember what he said.  As time and experience hopefully gave me a broader perspective and understanding of painting, I keep what he said close to me.

After he said that. That art can come from somewhere deep inside and it doesn't matter what other people think my art changed. It is so easy to want to go the way of popularity but it is not really giving yourself a chance to speak your unique voice.

Creativity is difficult. Often there are no cheering crowds. It is difficult be alone in your creative journey but this seems to be a big part of it. There was a sign up in the creative writing class that said," writing is easy, you just have to sit at the typewriter and open a vein."  It takes such courage to continue to push the rock up the hill and battle yourself all the way.  There are breakthroughs that are exhilerating but much of it is like slogging through oatmeal.  Shut out the voices of the critics. critics are often serious malcontents and not very highly evoved anyway. Let the strongest voice be your own.

Blessings to you and thanks for opening up this thread.

Sea storm

[Cadbury]

I enjoyed it! I liked the slightly unconventional twist. It was great! I love the idea of a last last resort. I'd happily read more  of your work

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Hi sea storm and Cadbury,

Thanks so much for your responses!  sea storm:  What you wrote was so true and so well put!  I will try to keep it in mind.  I hope you have continued with your creative writing!

Cadbury:  Thanks so much for your comment!  I’m so glad you enjoyed it.  In part because of yours and sea storm encouragement and the encouragement of others on this thread, I just finished another 10-minute play/tragicomedy (I mentioned it before in another post here):  “Suicide Squeeze:  an existential crisis at third base” .  I published it on Smashwords.  Since it’s a play in part about voicelessness, I’ll start a new thread with the title.

Thanks again for the reads!

Richard

[sea storm]

Hi Dr Grossman

That is so wonderful that you are not letting rejection dictate what you do.  It is  a major feat to do that. Like swimming against the tide. It takes that to get to where you want to go sometimes.
I love the idea of a ten minute play. Wish I could read your play but can't figure out how to get there. Will try again. I firmly believe that your creativity is a  part of you that needs to be nurtured and that is hard in so many ways.  Nevertheless, you have done it.

i am sorry if I squelched you. I think I have a bad streak in me that hates baseball. There its out of the bag now. Men and sports. Sorry again. You probably LIKE baseball and use it as your metaphor for life. Playing baseball is fun though. Also it seems as if the title of your play is involving suicide. A very powerful word.  So there you are.... just an insight into someone who isn't able to appreciate your play because of their own bullshit.

Please keep writing. You can move mountains. Look what you did here.

Fondly,

Sea

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Hi sea storm,

Thank you for your very kind comments!  I’ll keep trying.  You didn’t squelch me at all.  I think The Last Resort will appear if you just click on the link:  

http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-last-resort-by-richard-grossman.html


Concerning “Suicide Squeeze” (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/441446), given your relationship to baseball and perhaps sports in general, you would be the perfect reader!  Trust me, your views are part of the play!  It was my baseball fan friends whom I worried about alienating!  But the baseball stadium is only the venue.  It is a play about being squeezed between two very different parents, trying desperately to find meaning in life, and alienation from all those around you—with comic elements of each.

Best,

Richard