Invite to First Reading

I sent out a few invitations for my first rough read next Monday night the 27th. Just a few friends that I feel comfortable sharing whatever I think this thing might be. What feedback do i want from them? (I'm going to call each person's monologue a piece). 1) What overall feeling does one get from the piece? Why do they "really like it" or "really hate it" or why didn't it resonate in them. This is an important question because their answers are coming from a point of view of someone who wasn't there or thought about certain aspects of the day. They might hate it, but for all the reasons I'm going for. 2) How wide are the different point of views. It was a sad and life changing day, but too much of that would make for a really boring show. Did I hit enough different points of views that make the entire show very well rounded and interesting? 3) What would they have liked to see more of? And equally, what would they have liked to see less of? I hope it's not death, terrorism, heroics, and disaster..... cause there is going to be a lot of that. 4) What acting things pop out to them as I read the pieces. At the end of the day, this is an acting thesis. I'm aiming to stretch my acting chops a whole bunch of different ways and not only tell the story through my words, but through my body, behavior, emotions, expressions, characters, and unpredictability.

I already have a feeling of what pieces they are going to like. They're probably the ones that I like and that I liked writing. They're interesting. They stand out from the rest. I'm really hoping that a couple that I don't like are among their favorites. Why? Because it would mean I touched on something without even realizing it. The plan for the past two months has been to dive into every aspect of that day through reading, watching, studying and then letting my mind come up with ideas that might be interesting for an audience member or a topic that would be interesting to explore.

I'm not uncovering new ground. I am taking what I know as being an artist and doing what I can with it. I have the potential to reach out and educate, inspire, and move people with my understanding of the events of that day. I am fully aware that this might be the worst piece of shit ever to be performed, or maybe it can have a few moments that touch someone and they feel they know a little bit more about what our country and citizens went through.