The Play is the Thing - to teach and entertain about crossdressers

[Sarah Doepner]

How many "When will crossdressers be accepted?" threads have we seen in the forum over the years? Dozens? Scores? Hundreds? A lot for sure and I've been in the middle of many of them. I've complained about the pop culture role models that have CDs as 1) on the way to transition, 2) really a drag queen and gay, 3) a serial killer, or 4) just comic relief. Occasionally a good one will come along but they fade into the mix before too long.

I've also made suggestions for others to follow while I watch more and more Pride festivals and Coming out days pass without much change in the situation. So I decided that I should do something, anything that would help change the landscape just a little. The only real tools I have are words and imagination so I put fingers to the keyboard and wrote a play. A short, one act play that attempts to address some of the common experiences and perceptions that color our world. The idea is to also make something that is accessible to those not already part of our corner of the subculture.

This post isn't to toot my horn but to draw attention to the play for a couple of reasons. First is to get more criticism so it can be improved to tell the story better. Second is to make enough people aware so that the next time the local Pride center is looking for something to do for our part of the community during Pride Week, there is an option that just may fit their plans. The play is posted in the Writers Forum and I welcome anyone who loves it or hates it or can see ways to improve it to leave comments. It's called "Coming to Terms with Sarah" and, if you are wondering, it's not totally biographical.

http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?183587-Coming-to-Terms-with-Sarah-a-play

[Julie Denier]

Check it out if you haven't yet -- Sarah did a great job with the story, which I'm sure we can all find something to identify with.

[VS Fan]

That was amazing Sarah.. very real and relatable! This should be a sticky :)

VS Fan

[aprilgirl]

Sarah,

Read your script and it’s quite obvious to me that you put your heart and soul into this project. I don’t know you personally, but in a sense I do and I think others here on the forum can certainly identify with many of the struggles you related. While everyone’s journey has taken different paths, the play is a faithful representation of the trials and tribulations so often encountered in our world. What’s brilliant about your work is that it transcends simply cross dressing, and if presented, will strike a chord with those outside of our community as well. Nicely done Sarah. Kim

[Laura912]

I could never go see this at a theater. Heck, I can barely see the keyboard now. Big crocodile ones...Thank you for a wonderful, heart wrenching story. I just wish the father was not quite so abusive but, based on others here, that too has been the reality for some. A small theater group put on a similar play in our city last year. There was a person in the audience that was in tears by the end. I empathize with him. Well done!!

[Lady Slipper]

Bravo Sara, bravo, touching, poignant and well written, your work echos with truth. I enjoyed it thoroughly. :)

Hugs,
Stephanie Marie

[Beverley Sims]

Stick a copyright notice on it and the film will be out for Easter.
Splash release in the southern states. (Bible belt)

[Sarah Doepner]

Thank you all for your generous comments, they mean more to me than I can say. I will consider the copyright but with the intent to move it to a CD supportive organization who could better promote the distribution of the work. This wasn't done for me, but for us. Everyone here and in my face to face world all contributed bits and pieces to this.

I've made one minor change to one of Steve/Sarah's speeches to try and better reflect the extent of the crossdress world. I've spent a lot of time focusing on someone who has accepted and is stepping out of the closet and there probably needs to be more on the large numbers of crossdressers who are not interested in doing that. I know there are other places in the story that need to be revisted or CD issues that could be addressed. If you see these opportunities please let me know.

[Aylineira]

Good job with it. A little constructive criticism if it's ok. It kind of sounds more like a coming out story than a crossdresser's story in the beginning though. However I do see the correlations... still... that's just my opinion.

[Sarah Doepner]

Aylineira, that's the kind of thing I need to hear. I've been reading it so much that I can't see it with a critical eye. My goal, in part, is to make that step out of the closet easier. But I recognize there are a lot of crossdressers who aren't ready yet, or may not want to come out at all, ever. Putting that in and making sure it's obvious that it's normal and a reasonable place to be is important. That is a piece of the story that I have been struggling to fix. I'm thinking the Internet part of the story is the place for that and although I've added a couple of lines it's still not enough. It may be a good spot to use the multi-media resouces and projections screens a little more extensively. Any suggestions on how to handle that, or notice of other flaws and voids, would be appreciated.

Thank you.
As I said in the first post, this is a work in progress and it won't be improved if I don't get the constructive criticism, so thank you.

[natalie_cheryl]

i fully intended to finish reading the play you wrote i'm on lunch now and can't finish but i like it so far