Friday, 9 April 2021

Publish, and then some!

Bell, Bates and Laughton camping it up at the Playwrights’ Muster, 2011

 The 7-ON email-go-round (with some help from Google.Docs) has been whirling, rather, as we contemplate the countdown to our launch date of 19 May for Sharp Darts: Chamber Plays by 7-ON. Some of us are quite good at the publicity-push thing, others less so. The good thing about being in a group of seven is that each of our various talents get a workout depending on the situation. So ... right now, the quieter amongst us are Taking Direction. The publicity-talents are throwing out a thousand suggestions all of which start with “What about ... ?”

When we have a time and place for the launch, we’ll post it here, as well as emailing all our thousand dearest friends and relations, and bothering as many journalists as we can. Given that five of the Seven, as well as Currency Press, are based in Sydney, the event will be somewhere in inner Sydney. Ms Bates will be down from Newcastle. Dr Laughton may or may not come over from Adelaide. She is still counting her time and money. Dr Janaczewska, Dr Abela, Ms Bell, Mr Manning and Ms Zimdahl will all be present and possibly correct, depending on their mood on the day. They reserve the right not to be! We might bring our children. We might bring our dogs. You can meet them all whilst you share a glass of wine and an aperitif (or two).

Hilary has written such a good account of the evolution of our latest baby (I know, mixed metaphor) that I won’t repeat it here (It’s Verity writing this, BTW).

We’ve been in this game for a while now. I think I can speak for all of us in saying that we’re loving the agency and understanding and craft that comes with having been around the block a few times. But just for a touch of nostalgia I’m going to quote from Vanessa’s beautiful piece, The Night We Lost Jenny, which is one of her offerings in Sharp Darts, where the nameless WOMAN says: 

“… In that time.
In that place.
In that moment.

We were young.
Glorious.
The sexy opening group shot of
St Elmo’s Fire, bright faces and eternal friendships,
layers and legwarmers,
fishnets and floppy fringes,
striding towards our
brilliant adult
life.

Remember?”

You want to read the rest of it? Come to the launch. Buy a copy of the book!

No comments: