I started this journey being addicted to three fascinating figures from recent history: Iris Chang (a human rights activist who committed suicide), Qian Xuesen (the Chinese rocket scientist who was driven back to China by McCarthyism and became instrumental to the military ascent of China) and Theodore Von Karman (the father of aerodynamics who mentored Qian). It was a story of persecution, ambition, identity, and truth against a backdrop of politics and science. It had to be told.
To put it all together I had to weave a tangle of threads into a strong tightrope of a play, writing at altitudes I had never experienced before. Heidi Taylor started working with me at the end of October 2016, patiently leading me through a master class in high-wire playwriting. Heidi’s advice to face what scares me the most, head on, was difficult but crucial to finding the heart of the play. She suggested ways of illuminating character and story that I had not thought of before. I learned to be ruthless in cutting scenes that didn’t work (many didn’t).
We just went through our first rehearsal of Geomancer with Jovanni Sy directing and actors David Bloom, Derek Chan and Laara Ong. Iris, Qian and Von Karman are beginning to take shape and breathe. Having these amazing theatre makers work with me made me realize how much I had to do to make the play better. I revised before the second rehearsal and knew it still wasn’t there. A couple of hours before the reading, I presented the team with a whole new set of pages. They didn’t flinch.
I am a total mass of nerves before the reading. I think that everyone will hate the play or worse laugh at it. I think that I have somehow betrayed the characters. It’s a scary feeling walking across the wire, but in the end, I had a safety net of professionals to catch me and–the view is spectacular.
I don’t ever think that Geomancer is ever finished. There are so many threads that need to be woven still. It’s been a long journey up to now and I think it will be a long journey to come.