31 Plays in 31 Days, #16 - “Your Mother Is In Your Bones”

Bernie and I are pretty set at this point at including Miranda Barrymore, Mrs. Frost’s daughter, in Mrs. Hawking part 7. This decision came about from figuring out the thematic relevance of that thread to the larger story at that point— the pain caused to a daughter rejected, which the mother has yet to take responsibility for. Dealing with it makes a nice way to make Mrs. H confront what she did to Mary, without being a totally on the nose parallel.

This scene is Miranda laying her pain on the table a little bit, coming after 31P31D 2021’s #4 - Mrs. Barrymore and #6 - Ordinary Young Woman. Right now it’s a bit too obvious, a bit too articulated. I want the character to have a tougher time explaining why she’s so desperate to get Mrs. Hawking to tell her what happened to her mom, and I think it’s all too on the nose. Which in turn makes the thematic connection to Mrs. H’s current struggle too obvious. I have to make it subtler. But this is a first draft, though this time for 31P31D I’ve found I’ve had a hard time articulating my ideas when it comes to actually drafting the words.

Ah, well. That’s what drafting is for.

The line in the title is a reference to one of my favorite moments from The Joy Luck Club— one of my all time favorite books.



( Day #16 - Your Mother Is In Your Bones )