I’m running a little late tonight - okay, an hour late. I could blame it on Daylight Saving Time - I love to blame something on things I hate. But it really wasn’t that, because all my clocks are changed. It isn’t that I’ve suddenly gone to mountain time. No, it’s better…much better. I am late because I was in Lincoln having one of my plays read. It was a smash hit, and I am feeling good. That could explain why my story tonight is upbeat - short, but hopeful. It’s been a good day.

NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED

Darlene had tears in her eyes; she could barely see the stage through her cataracts, but she could hear the applause. This was her big moment, even if she was the only one who knew it. All around her, audience members stood, clapping their hands raw for the play she wrote. She hadn’t expected that…she never knew she could accomplish anything so…beautiful.

She was ready to go home. It had been a long day, and she was tired. Before she made it out the door, Leah, the lead actress, grabbed the handles of her wheelchair and pushed her toward the stage. It took several of them to lift the chair, but they had her onstage before all the audience. “I want you to meet someone truly amazing”, she said, her acting voice carrying through the house, compelling the audience back into their seats. “This is Darlene, the author of this play. She has been writing plays since she was seven. Most of them are astonishing, so amazing you can’t believe no one ever staged them. Tonight, on her ninetieth birthday, she finally got to see one of her plays performed.”

The audience went wild. Darlene tried to take a bow, but it was awkward and sort of crooked. She smiled and waved at the audience. Her eyes were filled with tears; her cheeks were wet. She was too choked up to speak. She let Leah speak for her.

“When Darlene was little, when she wrote her first play, she was told not to bother. Playwriting was a man’s business. She kept on writing. She submitted plays, but theatres continued to turn her down. This theatre is proud to be the first to do one of her plays, something she fought for throughout her life. Because she fought, because she wouldn’t give up, she is here.”

Darlene thought of all the years, all the artistic directors telling her people didn’t want to go to plays written by women. She was glad she fought. Now women were writing plays – and getting them produced. She tried to speak, to thank all those who fought beside her, but no one would hear. The applause was too loud. She simply accepted the love and escaped before the crowd overran her in their eagerness.

“Daddy, I did it.” She spoke to the picture on her dresser. “You always said I could, if I just kept at it. Thanks to you…I am now a playwright.” She struggled into bed and turned off the light. Today, it was her day…but only because she never gave up.