When Edward Albee signed Norm Reynolds’ copy of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe, he added “One Playwright to Another”, hence the subtitle for Norm’s dramatised memoir Making it Up which includes the comment, “If anyone had told me what my future would hold, I would have thought they were making it up.” By telling his story, Norm may be making it up to himself for succumbing to impostor syndrome, or making up for lost time.

Having presented this solo show at various Fringe Festivals in North America and the UK, the Canadian teacher, playwright and actor – who has also worked as a financial services salesman and book reviewer – has recorded it at Toronto’s Red Sandcastle Theatre and made it available online to this year’s NZ Fringe in Wellington and the soon-to-open Dunedin Fringe Festival. As well as targeting playwrights, it may also appeal to anyone intrigued by how a famous playwright might relate to a beginner.

Actually Norm first encountered Albee in a lift at a PEN Conference and years later interviewed him for Gaiety Magazine. He plays both roles in the video. Going back in time (I confess the becoming a bit confused as to what happened in which order) he also roleplays those who contributed to the almost fatal self-doubt he suffered in the wake of the success of his first play, Put Up Your Hand, based on his teaching experiences.

He performs a well-crafted ‘teacher from Hell’ monologue from that play, which (spoiler alert) proves why his pupils petitioned against him. As the teacher he identifies their theme of the year as ‘What is normal?’ When he, as Norm, asks, “Is it normal for me to be standing here talking as if I have something to convey?”, I feel that’s the question I’m asking myself: is his narrative limited to his being just one of millions of semi-successful playwrights – and if so, so what? – or does it capture a particular essence of universal experience?

On the cusp, perhaps. The bit about the Humber School for Writers (with Edward Albee) workshop of his The Goodbye Play, in which Norm blends grief from the end of a friendship with the death of his father (whom he has judiciously personified earlier in the show) certainly exemplifies a valid craft tip. And this third encounter with Albee elicits a “Why?” that goes to the heart of who finally has to take responsibility for how a play script is wrought.

Taken as a whole, the lived experience Norm Reynolds evokes in Making it Up (One Playwright to Another) will resonate with anyone who has asked, Who am I? What am I? Is what I do worth anything? As for theatre teachers putting themselves on the line, if you saw Dr James Wenley’s Dr Drama Makes a Show in 2020, you may wish to compare and contrast.

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