Tell me about the play.
The Net Will Appear is a play
that shows four encounters be-
tween neighbors over the course
of one year. A 75-year-old man
(Bernard) and 9-year-old-girl
(Rory) meet on their respective
rooftops and spark an unlikely
friendship. The title plays off that
famous quote “Leap and the net
will appear.” The idea being that
if we take an important risk to
better ourselves, all the neces-
sary support will rise to catch
and support us.
This play had a reading at
SOPAC when it was called “A
Mind Out of the Gutter” -- what
inspired the name change?
The name change came after
some solid insight from Chris
O’Connor, MST’s artistic direc-
tor. He felt the play is much
more uplifting and positive than
the original title (A Mind Out of
the Gutter) would lead you to
NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 9
believe. Where I do think both
characters are experiencing a
good amount of darkness in
their lives that brings them to-
gether, ultimately the play lands
on love and hope and a whole
lot of humor, so I wanted to find
a title to reflect that. The Net Will
Appear feels just right!
How much do you change your
plays after staged readings? Do
you find the readings help you
develop the finished work?
I’ve been developing this play
since February ‘16. So much of
the rewrites and changes took
place before we went into re-
hearsal at MST, though there has
definitely been tweaking and
revising as we work with amaz-
ing actors Richard Masur and
Matilda Lawler. There’s nothing
like strong, smart actors to help
you see where things could be
clearer and more effective.
Tap dancing, pumpkin throw-
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