On writing something to fit exact specifications for a competition or call for 10 minute plays --by Kyi May Kaung

Left on Linked In, play discussions group:


May be a bit unrelated but academic journals are the same -
one friend thoughtfully sent me a call for an article on immigrants.  She thought I was being very stubborn when I said I'm not an immigrant, I didn't come for a better life, I came to attend graduate school, I got stuck here because I could not go back, I'm an asylee and a refugee.

Yes, it is not worth one's while I think to switch tracks and spend time working on something, only to be told it does not fit the criteria.  The chances of winning are very low - in breakthrough novel competition they were one in 10,000.

But still in Philadelphia, I was a Pew finalist twice with different pieces, one an allegory and one the full length play, that I wrote in 2 weeks - but Pew does not specify subject matter.  In delivering one piece at the 11th hour, I cut my forehead on a taxi door, and hand delivered the ms with blood streaming down my face - then had to leave at once and have the same taxi take me to Jefferson Hospital Emergency - maybe that could be a play.

It was nice though to have the emergency physician sluice out the cut with warm water and stitch it up.  I learned stitching flesh or skin is different from stitching cloth.

Then my friend offered to take out the stitches when cut was healed -- "And did you win?"  :)

Or might some calls be like those job ads where they have someone already, and then write the ad to fit Mr X or Ms Y.

Like in Rangoon when I went and told Mr X's wife, "You know, this ad just fits -- so well.  You should get him to apply."

I did think her face looked funny as I was saying this.

Copyright Kyi May Kaung