10. Sometimes revisions feel like STAGED Season 2.
The myth that "important people" give good feedback, needing the right feedback to revise, & the plight of entertainment post-COVID
I relate to the show STAGED on so many levels, and especially during this long and tedious process of revising my debut novel.
If you havenât seen the show STAGED starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant (Originally aired by the BBC, available via an Amazon Prime add-on subscription BritBox) then GO WATCH IT.
That show is my therapy.
Filmed during lockdown, it chronicles the actors playing themselves as if theyâre trying to rehearse a play via Zoom to be more prepared when theaters open again. Itâs bloody fucking brilliant, and also a perfect antidote if you have a GOOD OMENS hangover. đđ
The premise of the second season is that weâre watching the âbehind-the-scenesâ Zoom-call preparations for an American version of STAGED, and theyâll use all of the actors from the original season, butâŠ
⊠they want to replace Michael and David with other actors.
Of course, itâs meant to sound absurd because of the ensuing chaos and humor it creates, and yet, to me it actually sounded oddly believable.
The wrong feedback can kill your story:
(a.k.a. Los Angeles producers have done stupider things.)
For example, I heard in a seminar by Shonda Rhimes that when showing them the script for SCANDAL, one of the first bits of feedback she got was:
âGreat story, but can you change it so that Oliviaâs not having an affair with the President?â
(To which Shonda, thankfully, said âNo,â because obviously that was a major conflict driver for the whole fucking series!)
By the way, I learned so much from this class and highly recommend taking the Masterclass by Shonda Rhimes.
Even more ludicrous was the fate of Douglas Adams when he went to Los Angeles to meet with people about making Hitchhikerâs Guide to the Galaxy into a movie.
Personally, I feel this is a big part of the actual inspiration for the biggest conflicts of STAGED in Series 2.
This truth is almost too much to believe, so Iâll use the exact words of the author for you.
Douglas Adams explained: