Love and writing are similar. Playwriting is an act of imagination and hope, creating something beautiful from thin air. Writing dialogue is a dance, he said, she said, they said, what is the rhythm, the pattern, the space between the steps?
Writing is the first rush of love, where we hasten to learn each new detail about the beloved characters, when each word and gesture is magic, when little nuances are immense joys. Playwrights live in that curious place of discovery and delight often. We are playing, as most of us have since we were kids. We are playing like kids, but with an adult's eye. a joy that has a touch of melancholy, because we have lived too much to believe love comes without loss.
Harlequin, in the one-act comedy I wrote, is too young to have learned this truth. He is a delighted fool, chasing butterflies, not to catch them, but because they are beautiful. He is learning about love, and hearing about loss for the first time. He approaches Death with curiosity, as the innocent approach everything, and in so doing, he is open to learning. Dancing with Death, he wonders "Who am I?" and tries to discover what there is in life and in himself to appreciate.
Death Meets Harlequin is a silly play, suitable for kids, but written as a wish fulfillment for adults. A wish that we could all approach inevitable loss with the light heartedness and innocence of the main character, a wish that Death was a lovely, motherly woman who will sing to us, teach us, and comfort us, asking only that we try our best in the short time we have here.
Death is named Butterfly in the play. She is a graceful figure who dances with Harlequin as he follows stumbling after, tripping on his own feet. As his self-confidence grows through her careful coaching, Harlequin transforms like a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. The butterfly theme reminds us that nothing is created nor destroyed, merely converted to another form. Death is the ultimate transformation.
The play is as light hearted as Harlequin is, full of jokes and asides and stumbling pratfalls and music. But it brings tears to my eyes, and I have seen others in tears as well, watching the gentle beauty of Death, the impish joy of Harlequin, and the tender, worried devotion of the Doctor to his hapless son. The characters are caricatures, archetype and Commedia dell'arte, but many audience members remarked how the Doc or Harlequin were recognizable in their own lives. The reaction to love and loss is universal.
Death Meets Harlequin runs at Toronto Fringe July 5-16 at George Ignatieff Theatre
$5 Kids and $12 Regular
Details and tickets at Toronto Fringe Festival https://fringetoronto.com/festivals/kidsfest/event/death-meets-harlequin
About the author
Nina Kaye is the artistic director of Unspoken Theatre Company. A playwright, poet, actor, singer, costumer, dramaturg, publicist, director and producer, she is a graduate from the Masters' program in Drama at the University of Toronto. Her full-length play, Unspoken, won first prize in the Hart House Players play contest and was named a finalist with Panfish Productions and NuVoices. Her one-act play, Seven Ages, was a runner-up in the Sterling Studio Theatre play contest. Her short comedy Castle Falderal won the Playwright’s Survivor contest at Sterling Studio Theatre. Her writing has been produced in Toronto, New York, and Washington.
In May 2016 her short play Death Meets Harlequin premiered at the Ralph Thornton Centre in Leslieville.
Writing is the first rush of love, where we hasten to learn each new detail about the beloved characters, when each word and gesture is magic, when little nuances are immense joys. Playwrights live in that curious place of discovery and delight often. We are playing, as most of us have since we were kids. We are playing like kids, but with an adult's eye. a joy that has a touch of melancholy, because we have lived too much to believe love comes without loss.
Harlequin, in the one-act comedy I wrote, is too young to have learned this truth. He is a delighted fool, chasing butterflies, not to catch them, but because they are beautiful. He is learning about love, and hearing about loss for the first time. He approaches Death with curiosity, as the innocent approach everything, and in so doing, he is open to learning. Dancing with Death, he wonders "Who am I?" and tries to discover what there is in life and in himself to appreciate.
Death Meets Harlequin is a silly play, suitable for kids, but written as a wish fulfillment for adults. A wish that we could all approach inevitable loss with the light heartedness and innocence of the main character, a wish that Death was a lovely, motherly woman who will sing to us, teach us, and comfort us, asking only that we try our best in the short time we have here.
Death is named Butterfly in the play. She is a graceful figure who dances with Harlequin as he follows stumbling after, tripping on his own feet. As his self-confidence grows through her careful coaching, Harlequin transforms like a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. The butterfly theme reminds us that nothing is created nor destroyed, merely converted to another form. Death is the ultimate transformation.
The play is as light hearted as Harlequin is, full of jokes and asides and stumbling pratfalls and music. But it brings tears to my eyes, and I have seen others in tears as well, watching the gentle beauty of Death, the impish joy of Harlequin, and the tender, worried devotion of the Doctor to his hapless son. The characters are caricatures, archetype and Commedia dell'arte, but many audience members remarked how the Doc or Harlequin were recognizable in their own lives. The reaction to love and loss is universal.
Death Meets Harlequin runs at Toronto Fringe July 5-16 at George Ignatieff Theatre
$5 Kids and $12 Regular
Details and tickets at Toronto Fringe Festival https://fringetoronto.com/festivals/kidsfest/event/death-meets-harlequin
About the author
Nina Kaye is the artistic director of Unspoken Theatre Company. A playwright, poet, actor, singer, costumer, dramaturg, publicist, director and producer, she is a graduate from the Masters' program in Drama at the University of Toronto. Her full-length play, Unspoken, won first prize in the Hart House Players play contest and was named a finalist with Panfish Productions and NuVoices. Her one-act play, Seven Ages, was a runner-up in the Sterling Studio Theatre play contest. Her short comedy Castle Falderal won the Playwright’s Survivor contest at Sterling Studio Theatre. Her writing has been produced in Toronto, New York, and Washington.
In May 2016 her short play Death Meets Harlequin premiered at the Ralph Thornton Centre in Leslieville.