Geoffrey Winch
Amdramaturg
I wrote in technicalities professionally—so writing poetry and fiction was my release, and I was pleased to be asked to write the script for the Local Amdrams’ next musical (lyrics and melodies would be written by others).
Having delivered the script as requested I thought I’d played my part, but the director asked me to attend rehearsals—I wondered why. I soon found out when actors requested I reshaped or reviewed some of my well-chosen words to make them easier to recall, and the MD and LBO asked me to fine-tune various cues while explaining things from their own points of view; and could I slow down the pace of a particular passage to give the dancers more time to get into place the choreographer wanted to know—or maybe a few extra words would do. Then the wardrobe mistress needed me to change the colour of a pair of shoes as she couldn’t find red ones to suit the lead. In no time at all, I found myself in the thick of it—one of the luvvies loving every minute of it . . .
no phrase or word
is owned by
the poet alone
in a world
with manifold ears
About the Author
Geoffrey Winch, a retired highway engineer, writes free-form poetry; haiku; haibun; tanka; tanka prose; and cherita. He is the author of five poetry collections and lives on the south coast of England.