Letting Go of Your Vision

by Charlee Vale

Today, I'm going to talk about something a little different. (More because I can't stop thinking about it than anything else)

This past weekend, the play that I wrote for my Master's Thesis opened. It's called Always and it's been in rehearsal for a little over two months. I have a beautiful cast, and I'm so happy with how everything turned out. We opened to a sold-out audience!

Here are some pictures because I'm so proud!

Here's the catch—I'm not the director.

My thesis partner was the director of the show. And she's been with me since the very first version of the script. She's been honest about what she thought, and how it could change and improve. (And BOY did it change!)

I think this experience is in some ways similar to both: a writer working with an editor, and a writer seeing their work turned into a film.

As a means of making your work better, you have to let go of the image you had when you wrote it. I'm not saying you should compromise your ideas in any way! There were certainly things I stuck to my guns about, but instead, letting your mind be open to possibilities bigger than what you had imagined.

Yes, I loved the story I had written. But without outside vision, it never would have turned into the beautiful production that it was.

So don't be afraid to consider other things. Don't be afraid to completely tear your story apart and build it back up in a different way. Don't be afraid of things outside of your 'vision.' Because maybe what's out there, is JUST what your story needs!

CV

Charlee Vale is a Playwright, Young Adult writer, photographer, and tea lover living in New York City. You can also find her at her website, and on Twitter.