In the Zone

     I was looking up some information the other day and came across the fact that in July, the 29th of July to be exact, in 1613, the Globe Theater caught fire and burned to the ground during a staging of Shakespeare’s “Henry III."   Some believe “All is True” the original title of “Henry VIII” was written in collaboration with John Fletcher. Whatever the case, the catastrophe was started when sparks from a cannon fired during the performance for dramatic effect landed on the thatched roof.  I bet Shakespeare didn’t sleep that night.
         Recently I held a reading of my latest play at a friend’s home, and I didn’t sleep much that night. There were no catastrophes. On the contrary, the comments made by the readers were insightful and helpful to me as I work to get my play in its final form. I know, however, that a play is never finished. There will always be tweaks and changes, new lines added and old ones omitted until the final day of rehearsals.   I wonder if Shakespeare did the same?  Of course he did. Any writer knows that is part of the writing craft.
           Did Shakespeare also know he was being “edgy” in his plays as he wrote about the sequence of events in British history? I suspect he did.   After the reading of my play, one attendee mentioned he felt my play needed a bit “more edginess.”  I was thankful he said that because it is exactly what I needed to hear. I knew the play needed “something more,” but I hadn’t put my finger on it.  Another attendee felt that the play was not in need of “edginess,” but instead was more like “an onion pealed back layer by layer to reveal a central core.”  My dilemma: do I insert a new element in my story simply to give it the “edge” audiences may expect or do I allow for the slower more deliberate development of the play’s theme?  These are beautiful problems a writer such as I love to ponder and solve. As I think through these situations, I realize I am "in the zone."  It is possible to lose myself entirely in the matter.
            Explaining this to a fiend, an accomplished visual artist,   I was heartened to learn she understood. “When I am in my studio with my canvas and paints,” she said, “I find often I am in that same sort of trance.”  Time flies as a person is consumed by the problem of perspective, design, word choices, and creative development.  Being “in the zone” is a fine and wonderful place to be. It is when a person is truly happy. 
            Was Shakespeare in the zone when he wrote?  I feel certain he was. He wrote to entertain, to sell, and to produce, to provide audiences with on-going performances— a commercial enterprise for the Globe Theater. His fine observations of human nature and his character development and his universal appeal wouldn’t stand the test of time if they were not written with the passion of a committed writer.  So, when the Globe burned to the ground that fateful July night, I believe Shakespeare did not sleep but considered how to better present  ”Henry VIII”  the next time it could be staged.  The Globe Theater was rebuilt in 1614.
A fine and good thing.