Guess who’s coming to the first table read?

William Missouri Downs (or as we now call him, Bill) so graciously flew across the country today to join the cast and production team for our first read through of his play, Books on Tape, which we are performing in the New York Fringe this August.

We dove in, reading his script around my dining room table, pausing for Bill to explain what inspired a particular joke or section, and a few times, he even offered up edits, “if that’s okay with you?”  Of course it’s okay, dude, you wrote it!

The show centers around four New Yorkers: a girl who loves to listen to books on tape, a handsome actor who records them, a self-help author who secretly wants to be a rodeo announcer and a would-be minister of a new religion.  They’re all looking for love and meaning in the coincidences that arise.  Bill talked about everything from tenure-track positions, making a Muslim audience laugh, to the assassination of John Lennon.  Throughout it all, he talked about living in the moment, coming to your own conclusions outside of coincidences, religious rituals and superstition. 

In short, it was a perfect evening.

As we were wrapping up, Bill let us in on one of his own little superstitions.  “Every time I’ve ever been at the first table read of one of my shows, the production has been great.”  That’s a ritual I’m happy to believe in.