The Delicate Task of Listening was written in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1998. It was intended to be staged as live theater. I don’t think there is any great cause for expensive set design. It’s a very simple background and a very simple construction and the intention is that there is no breaking of the fourth wall. All action is on the stage where the actors can be observed by an audience that is not being asked very much except to vicariously enjoy the experience. Live theater. 

 I ended up In Vancouver simply because I wanted not to be in the United States. I had been in Oregon, in Portland, and though there were many interesting people there, many good people which means there was a lot of hippies I guess, there were and still are also a lot of drug  and economic misuse. I’m afraid I was a part of that as well. I found Vancouver to be a very nice place to live and I got a job taking care of a cheap youth hostel very quickly. The owner thought I was trustworthy maybe. 

At least when I was there, the semisocialism of Canada really made a difference in the atmosphere. People were very nice. I would not say that I was one of the cool people. I was not even close to it. But in the fall, there were many many cultural events such as a film festival And then there was the fringe festival, one act plays by secondary drama troops. I attended many of these and loved every one of them. In Vancouver,  I had a place where it was possible to be creative. At least I felt it was.  I decided that this was a really good chance to exercise my playwriting skills. This was my shot at a Bohemian life.

The writing of this play was like Hemingway tells us of his time in Paris as a young man in A Movable Feast. I would go out and find a cafe and sit at a table along the street, order a cup of coffee and write. I wrote with pen or pencil in a small book and moved the narrative along as the inspiration came to me. When the inspiration went, I would get up and go for a walk until the next thought came to me and then I would find another place to sit down and write some more words. And also , I knew a lot of people and so there were always people joining me at the table both disturbing my writing and for the most part, bringing some fresh air to my day. At least for a moment, like I said, it was a very beautiful thing and this eventually was what this play was about.  The editing and transfering the texts took place at a public library. I did not own a computer.

Is it a great theater play? I don’t know. This was my first attempt at being a serious artist. I think probably that is an oxymoron in and of itself but this was my first try at doing this task for real. Did I know anything about structure or storylines? No. I only knew that it should have a certain number of acts and the play should go on for a certain amount of time and that we shouldn’t waste too much time in inconsequential scenes. Honestly, that’s probably enough of a guide book for any aspiring writer. 

Honestly, I probably would not like it if I went to the theater and this is what they showed me. Or maybe not. Maybe the actors would be genuine and the story simple enough to mean something. It’s very Shakespearean. It borrows from Chekhov. There are moments of beauty borrowed from Opera literally. I guess it is just me pushing buttons. But also, it’s me. I write so much of my own experience and maybe even the most autobiographical character here makes no sense. Well, he would make sense if he was a writer. Then he would just be Henry Miller. 

Anyway, The story is about two men who have been left behind by the economic bus and are now living in the cheapest possible room. Bill, a construction worker who has had his back zapped by an industrial accident, is working on his alcoholism and Sergei is a Ukrainian opera singer who has been dropped by the Opera troupe and now has nowhere else to go and no money to get there. These two men meet and have some affinity for each other. They both crave a tiny piece of beauty even though the world refuses to allow this to be. 

Into this mix come three new characters. Three orphans really or at least very young people who have been cast off by their families and left to their own devices. The two older people, Dave and Julia, a young man and a young woman have taken under their wing a young deaf mute girl, Erin. They make their way however they can and it seems that the deaf girl and the opera singer have something between them. What could possibly go wrong? 

The Delicate Task of Listening is available. You just have to write me a letter and talk to me for a while about why you want to read it. Maybe it should cost some money. Maybe 1 year of income from your life, yes? No. What does a book cost? How much is a donation? How much is it worth? 

Or basically, are you looking to stage or play or are you being a tourist? Either way, write me an email if you’re interested in reading The Delicate Task of Listening.