"Filmstars" is a spin on the commercial comedy. Two acts, five characters, lots of whimsy. It's slightly screwball, but also weighted by some thematic points about aging and compromise.

With "Water Pressure" and "The White Airplane," I was purposefully trying to shred predictable dramatic conventions. As I don't exactly write experimental theater, audiences would be sorta led into thinking it was a "normal" play, only to be thrown all these weird curveballs.

In "Filmstars", there are really no curveballs. I wanted to prove to myself (and others), that I can write a "typical" play as well as the rest of 'em. Bit of reverse subversion, I suppose.

I had been adding dashes of comedy to some stage material like "The White Airplane," "The Essentials," and also a recent audio drama called "The Tokyo Tourist Bureau." I had never really written anything funny before this year (2004), so it was a little personal challenge to myself. On those other pieces, I went for a more absurdist / surreal comedy style that probably doesn't connect with all people's tastes. Jokes in "Filmstars" are pretty broad and fairly standard, likeable stuff. It's not all clever bookworm references this time.

Hopefully, I succeeded on some level. Those who admire the riskier work might recoil, but hey, it is what it is.