I'll preface this by saying that I don't think I wrote the most profound thing of the century, or a soon to be a bestseller, or even an impeccable script. But I did write something I'm proud of and the journey to get it published was long and at times difficult. That is what this is about. It may be a short one-act play, but it is full of heart, soul, and the metaphors of life.

Although my play was released to the public on April 1st, 2016, I did not get to hold a physical copy in my hand until April 30th, 2016. And all I can say was it was worth the wait. I remember being a fifteen-year-old high school sophomore talking to a friend real late one night about how I wanted to write a play. I had been inspired by my theater teacher who was writing his own play, but for me it was about leaving my footprint in the world. I wanted to get a play published so that one day I could know that I left my mark on the world even if it never became mildly successful.

So I wrote a couple crummy plays that I never did anything with over the summer, but I started one and never finished it. It was called The Waiting Room. I was inspired by the Twilight Zone and wanted to write this absurd one-act about a man who was scared of Death, but ultimately, in the end, Death came to greet him. I got writer's block a few pages in and just never picked it back up.

Now if you've read the play you know that it is a very different script now. The problem with the original was that it just felt so one-dimensional. It lacked depth. Nothing made me feel bad for these characters.

So life happens, things happen, and it changes who you are and how you look at the world. I think this ultimately was my advantage when I revisited the unfinished play the summer I graduated high school. Three years older and a little more mature I decided I wanted to give writing another chance. So I came up with a great idea for a now-completed play, but before I approached that I said, "Well let me see if I can just finish up The Waiting Room and see if any publishers want it."

What was meant to take about a week turned into a month as I fully invested myself into telling this story and telling it right. Now I will say it time and time again that in no way would this script have been possible without the help and support of four main people. My girlfriend, my best friend, a great friend and playwrighting judge, and of course my old theater teacher. Those people received countless drafts and were kind enough to read them and give me feedback.

When I got the ball rolling on writing it I decided to write some of these characters in tribute to certain *(deceased) people. I wrote one character in tribute to someone I knew, someone I wish I had gotten to know a little better, and someone I never knew but felt like I knew. That person is Robin Williams.

Celebrity deaths seem like they are more and more frequent nowadays and some come as a huge shock and a painful surprise such as David Bowie and Prince. Robin Williams was no exception. I'm not going to lie, I've always been a fan of Williams, but he was never my favorite actor or comedian. However after his death, I gained a lot more respect for his talent and I truly realized that the world got a whole lot less funny on August 11th, 2014.

His death really brought the horrors of depression and suicide into the mainstream. It truly showed the world that sometimes the people who make us laugh the most are also the people who hurt the most.

So when I wrote the role of Robin, I did so very delicately. It's a tribute, not Robin Williams. So you won't find Robin William's quotes or characters in this script, but I do hope that his essence emerges through this role. When I wrote that role I felt that every time it would be performed, the director would make sure to cast the right person and that every time it was performed people would see that actor and think "I feel like I'm watching Robin Williams." Much like Robin Williams, this role makes us laugh, makes us cry, makes us think, but most importantly makes us miss him when he's gone because there was so much more that he could've done. He could've entertained the audience alone for hours, but much like the waiting room teaches us, not all decisions are up to us.

Another role that readers of the play enjoyed was the role of The Judge. That is another character that is written in tribute to someone, but I won't delve into that. The Judge and Robin are both on different ends of the spectrum. Robin is a realist and so is the Judge, but they are different kinds. Robin actually has his spontaneous realization of life and death within the play. The Judge, on the other hand, has already had the revelation. So he is very calm in his approach of death even though he is unsure of what's on the other side.

This was a difficult play to get published. Many publishers did not want it due to the simple fact that death is a dark matter and since this play revolved entirely around death it was deemed "too dark." However, the kind people at Pioneer Drama loved the script and decided to give it a chance. I can honestly say four months later with the end result that I truly made the right choice by signing my play with Pioneer. It was a long road and a long wait to get this play published, but it was worth it.

"This thought-provoking short play offers several powerful, dramatic roles for actors. In a simple waiting room, people arrive at their appointed time to face the unknown of what lies beyond an ominous closed door. Earl Trent, an older man, arrives early and is instructed by the businesslike receptionist to wait till his time. Scared about why he was summoned to the waiting room, he encounters people of all ages arriving at their assigned time. From all walks of life, each person he meets has followed a unique journey to get to this moment... their time to die. Some never saw it coming, others knew all too well that their time was coming, and a few even welcomed it. As he waits, watches, and visits with the others in the waiting room, Earl gains both insight and courage about the meaning of life that brings him to his moment of finally going through the door. "

Please visit Pioneer Drama if you would like to purchase or produce The Waiting Room. #waitingroom