The end of my quest for the Pulitzer Prize

Oh, hi friends!

So. About that Pulitzer play…

At the beginning of December, I learned that you can nominate yourself for the Pulitzer Prize. It was a bit too late to churn out a hard-hitting investigative series before the end of the year, but GUESS WHAT! There’s also a prize for Drama (aka PLAYS). Welp. As readers of this newsletter know, I need a deadline to complete anything—so why not one that terrifies me? And so I set out to win this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

I had a not-really-finished draft of my play “Old Hollywood” which I worked on during my playwriting class and writer’s residency this summer. I needed to finish it. (I’ve needed to finish it for years.) Nominated plays need to have a production within the calendar year, so, uh, that also had to happen. Did I mention I had this Pulitzer idea on Dec. 4?

But Kara, you say, isn’t that crazy?
But Kara, you say, have you lost your mind?
But Kara, you say, who do you think you are?

And to that I said…

Somebody has to win. 

Why not me?

So I changed my iPhone background to a photo of a Pulitzer medal. I told Brass Ring folks about my plan. I scrounged up my old draft and old notes and got to work.

Then I went to California and the holidays happened. 

I didn’t work on the play for over a week. I didn’t make a plan for a “performance.” My hopes and dreams grew murky.

I flew back to New York and on December 30, I went for a run with my friend Aransas. She brought up the play and asked what time it was happening. Uh oh. Then Mattie emailed and said she had total faith in me. And Colin told me I could do it. And I remembered I had emailed 3,000 of you just a few short weeks ago, full of enthusiasm and ambition, and completely resolute in my actions.

See, that’s how quickly things can change. From completely confident to…murky.

So you know what I did? 

I sat down. And procrastinated for a few hours. And I sat some more. And I tried to remember who I was a few weeks ago. 

And then I opened the doc and I wrote and cut and edited and trimmed and wrote more. 

And I texted my talented friends Susannah and Jay-Ben and brother Eric and asked if they would act in my play on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve. They said yes. 

Then I made a flyer for the play and posted it to my Instagram. 

Then I texted friends and asked if they would come see my play in less than 24 hours. They said yes. 

Then I wrote and cut and wrote some more. 

I typed END OF PLAY at noon on New Year’s Eve. I found a copy place that was actually open and made 11 copies of my script (that’s 836 pages total). Colin and I went to the post office and I mailed six copies to the Pulitzer Office. Then wonderful people came over on New Year’s Eve at 4pm and we drank champagne and I watched my play come to life. 

Sometimes telling people your big hopes and dreams will scare you into actually trying for them. 

Baby steps, my friends. One page at a time. (h/t C. Robert Cargill)

I’ve watched this Neil Gaiman commencement speech dozens of times. Watching it again for 2019. My favorite part: 

"Sometimes the way to do what you hope to do will be clear cut, and sometimes it will be almost impossible to decide whether or not you are doing the correct thing, because you'll have to balance your goals and hopes with feeding yourself, paying debts, finding work, settling for what you can get.

Something that worked for me was imagining that where I wanted to be – an author, primarily of fiction, making good books, making good comics and supporting myself through my words – was a mountain. A distant mountain. My goal.

And I knew that as long as I kept walking towards the mountain I would be all right. And when I truly was not sure what to do, I could stop, and think about whether it was taking me towards or away from the mountain."

Always walking toward that mountain.

PS — If you’re new to this newsletter and found me via this delightful New York Times piece, hi and welcome! I’m Kara Cutruzzula, a writer and editor, playwright, and musical theater lyricist living in Brooklyn. (Lots about the intricacies of my life here.)

This newsletter shows up in your inbox every weekday at 7:30 a.m. EST and usually talks about productivity, creative process, the arts, and throws in some links to songs or videos I think you’ll like.

I’m reaching for my own brass rings and hope you are, too. Respond and say hi anytime—I love hearing from people! And if this isn’t your cup of tea, not a problem, you can unsubscribe below. I look forward to riding the 2019 wave together!

Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Love, Kara