Author’s Statement:
I have always wanted to be a writer, but never imagined or hoped to write a play. I always wanted to be a novelist and have many first chapters that attest to that fact. I call The Lobby Bar an ‘accidental play’ because it really is. It was inspired by a conversation with a coworker – Rus Overton. I had told him about some of the people and situations that come through the theatre scene. He replied: “You sould write a play about it.” I was relaxing one afternoon and realized that I had nothing to read while sitting in the sun and drinking. So I pulled out a notepad and began writing, figuring that it would be something to amuse Rus the next day. Some of the characters are inspired by people that have come through our theatre, others are inspired by people I’ve known over the years. None of them ended up being anywhere near the original; within a few pages the characters developed their own voices. I hope you hear them as well as I did.
I am immensely grateful to everyone that has helped me bring these characters to the stage. To everyone that read my chicken scratch in weirdly colored ink, that read out loud around a table or a bar – so I could hear the words, that gave me encouragement and critique, that listened to me blather about the motivations and interactions of the characters, to the cast and crew, and to the board of The Studio: Thank you all for your patience and love.
-JOHN TIMAEUS
