“Without a plan, there's no attack. Without attack, no victory.” –One Crazy Summer

It’s true. That quote is from a cheesy 80s movie. But it’s also true that without any sort of plan you can’t chart a course for your action. And you need both a plan and action in order to make and measure your progress. As a playwright I’ve been using workplans for the past 2 years to help me chart my work for the year. And while I prepare my 2013 playwriting workplan I thought I’d add resolutions to the mix.

Why resolutions?

Well, my workplans have overall goals for the year: so many blog posts, go see so many plays, etc. And my workplans have specific activities spelled out: submit x play to y festival, etc. But the resolutions I have in mind are more abstract. My resolutions are more about my practice.

So here they are:

1. I will work to stick to my workplan. 2012 was my second year to have a workplan and I didn’t adhere to it as faithfully as I did in 2011. I’d like to check in with my workplan more regularly to stay on course.
2. I will make it a priority to create more space in my life for writing. Now this is a challenge as my life is chock full as it is, but this resolution is all about setting priorities. I can give up say…my favorite tv shows if it means finishing two plays in 2013. Yes, I think 2013 will have a lot less television in it.
3. I will not lose the romance. This is about loving theatre. Loving my craft as a playwright. Last year I read this fabulous quote that was part of the obituary Nick Wyman wrote for Ted Mann: "[W]e all come into this business loving Theatre--but we get over it. Either our hearts get broken one too many times by Theatre's failure to requite our devotion and we leave the business, or we drop the fairy-tale romance and settle into a jaded marriage of show-business convenience…Ted never lost the romance.” I don’t want to lose the romance. Like so many others struggling to make a go of it in our field I’ve had my moments when I’ve felt dispirited about my abilities, my chances for getting my career up off the ground, but this year I want to strive to keep my optimism. To remember why I love playwriting. Why I love theatre. I want to keep the romance going.
4. I will be practical, tactical and strategic. Practical about what I can accomplish since I often am hard on myself about how much work I’m able to do while still working a full time job, seeing friends, doing housework, errands, etc. Being practical will help me with #3. Tactical is more about #1, the objectives and actions I want to accomplish. And strategic is using those tactics as part of an overall plan. Not the workplan per se, but a plan to move my career further along.

And that’s it. I think those resolutions are pretty good, if I do say so myself. They aren’t necessarily easy to measure or quantify come year end, but I think reflecting on these resolutions will help stay the course, help me do all I hope to do in 2013.

What about you?

What resolutions, plans or goals do you have in mind for the coming year when it comes to your theatre work?