Michael Duffy: Student, Director, Playwright

by Morgan German

It’s not often that you get a chance to write and direct your own play, especially before you graduate college, but that is exactly what senior Michael Duffy has been able to do.

Duffy’s play, Older Days, started as an idea that came to him after he wrote and directed a one-act play for his play production class.

“When I was taking that class I just decided to write a play. It was really enjoyable, and I felt like it was something I had some skill at, so I worked with Professor Moore and honed my skills a little bit,” Duffy said.

Duffy then took what he learned in his play production class and the scriptwriting class he had also taken and applied that knowledge to writing this play.

“I started writing it as a short story to flesh out the idea a little bit, and then once I felt I had a handle on the characters I moved to adapting it into a script,” Duffy said.

The play has been in the works for the past two years, and Duffy says it’s been both an interesting and complicated production process.

“It’s been through a lot of changes, and as I was writing it last year I had a couple stage readings,” Duffy said. “As I finished the first act, I had a stage reading with a bunch of people. That helped me get a handle on things.”

Duffy says that the play is “about a young man who achieves wealth and popularity by a sudden success” and that it “explores the way he is affected by these changes and by the people he meets.”

Duffy says that the original inspiration for the play was Psalm 73, in which the psalmist contemplates how the wicked seemed to be the ones who were prospering and wonders what use there is in keeping his own heart pure. However, the play has changed quite a bit during the writing process compared to what it started out as.

When it came to casting, Duffy said there were some people who perfectly fit their roles, but for some of the others, the selection process was more difficult.

“Especially for some of the leads, I was really struggling between choices. There were people bringing slightly different interpretations of the character, and it was hard to decide which one I wanted because each actor wasn’t exactly what I had pictured, but they both were bringing their own style and their own elements to it,” Duffy said.

Throughout the show, Duffy has seen how his casting choices have brought his play to life.

“It was really hard to decide who was the best choice, and I don’t know if there was a best choice, but I know that the cast we did end up with has done a great job and I’m pleased with that,” Duffy said.

Throughout the rehearsals leading up the performances of the play, Duffy says he realized just how many things happen all at once that he would need to handle as the director.

“I guess I wasn’t anticipating all the moving pieces that I was going to have to keep track of, so I’ve definitely dropped a few balls along the way,” Duffy said.

However, he says that overall, the play production process has gone well and that it has taught him about things that he can improve next time he writes or directs a play.

“(There’s) a good cast and a good production staff with me, and it’s been a really positive experience. There’ve been some rough patches over (the) course (of it), because with everything there’s times that don’t go according to plan, but everyone has done a good job. I’ve really enjoyed working with them,” Duffy said.

Older Days was performed at Olde Glory Theatre in Seward on March 23rd and 24^th.