• Payin’ The Door In much the same way that he started writing about music only after he had seen several hundred live performances, Pat began work on his first full-length play -- a musical -- only after he had experienced dozens of theatrical productions, and only after he had already dealt with the play’s subject matter in journalism, in the manuscript for a novel, and in a batch of songs. Thus armed with at least a familiarity with the characters and events that would populate the finished work, he then methodically tracked down technical information about how a dramatic work is typically created, modified, packaged, marketed and produced. With all that in hand, he then set out to craft a production that would faithfully invoke the local night-time world of the 1990s -- a world of wonderfully eclectic music, vivid characters, and powerfully evocative places that still seem just a stone’s throw away, even now that they continue to exist only in memory. . . and on stage. The result is “Payin’ The Door.” The Plot At its core, “Payin’ The Door” is a ‘missing friend’ story. Objective, detached, even distant, music journalist Henry Moorer harbors a nearly mystical passion for the local music scene. Polite but entirely ‘wrapped up’ in his work, he tries hard to avoid the complications of social interaction -- until his nightclub owner friend Jeff suddenly disappears. Confronted with a far more practical attachment to the places and people that make up his night-time world, Henry joins Jeff’s daughter Crystal in a frantic search for his missing friend, and discovers more than he had ever suspected about the night life, and about just how strongly he feels for his friends and the unique life they share. The Songs Primarily serving the purpose of conveying the unspoken emotions of the characters, the songs for “Payin’ The Door” range from the observational “Release Me” (...I saw you in your glory on that gold-rimmed train of night / and I begged you for your sympathy for my sadness and my flight / I need you to understand me and not to look away / ‘cause every time I leave you it seems there’s so much more to say...) to the exhilarating “Angel of Light” (...See the crash of lightning strike / hear the herald’s call / Angel comes in pure blind light / glory to us all..). The original score also includes the touching “Rings,” the eerie, longing a cappella “Valley Song,” and the campy “SIAD” (Sex is a Drug). The Staging Designed to be effectively staged in venues as small as a suburban basement, as cost-conscious as a college cafe or a local theater, or as expansive as a modestly equipped open air amphitheater, the joy and fun of “Payin’” is in being part of the crowd, wherever the crowd might be at the time. Available for Immediate Review Available materials include the full script, demo recordings of the songs, backgrounders, novel ms. for the book on which the play is based, and reader comments. • Why She Used A dark story briefly told, “Why She Used” is a taut one act implosion -- and redemption -- of a character who loved and lost but cares enough to try to find out why. The protagonist confronts the ambiguity of a past relationship and comes to accept the hard truth that unconditional love demands a faith in the goodness of others that is not always borne out by the facts on hand. “Why She Used” is currently being submitted to One Act competitions and festivals, and is available for performance as part of a larger program or as curtain-raiser or staged reading, or for workshop production.
Page to Stage: Dramatic Work
Pat Explains His Approach to Writing for the Stage (1:59):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Current Projects:
• Musical:
“Payin’ The Door”
- 3 acts; songs scored for solo guitar; roles: 2 male (lead - music journalist; nightclub owner; both mid 30s), 2 female (club owner’s daughter, mid 20s; professional woman, 30s); female narrator (open).
Status: Available.
 
• One Act:
“Why She Used”
- runtime approx. 24 min; minimal staging; roles; 1 male (protagonist, 30s), 2 female (therapist, 30s; ex-girlfriend, mid 20s).
Status: Available; currently shopping to One Act contests & local groups.