“So is wife-swapping the same as that swinging, then?” I ask.
“I think so,” says Andy.
“You live and you learn,” I say, taking a sip of cappuccino.
These are the kind of zeitgeist lingo discussions we playwrights enjoy in our salons. Well I say salon, this writers group consists of me and Andy Moseley in the Rose Theatre cafe in Kingston. We met via the oneACTS Festival in Tolworth last year and now enjoy regular coffees to discuss matters theatrical.
We’re talking about his play ‘Casual Encounters’, which is at Surgeons Hall at the Edinburgh Festival from 1-16 August. It’s a dark comedy about a couple who go for marriage guidance and end up with a bit more than they bargained for… [insert your own modern phrase for shagabout-shenanigans here]. I really admire his work so I can’t wait. I’ve booked my tickets and so have a good many other people and it’s only July so understandably, Andy looks quite happy.
So back to me. I bring the conversation back to my Prob du Jour. These are usually of a practical and beginner’s nature and Andy always has the answer. Sometimes, though, I can still amaze him with my stupidity.
“So where IS the tab key?” I wail.
I’ve been going mad with the quest to find the simple solution to formatting my scripts. I cannot stand things not to look clean and correct on a page. It’s my journo soul. My iPad Pages app has a helpful button that says ‘Tab’ so even I worked that one out. But on my MacBook? I’ve faffed with Celtx, I’ve tried to follow lengthy Google-supplied guides to creating a Word template, I’ve almost cried in the failed attempts to create hanging idents, I’ve looked in books, I’ve combed the web.
“Er, mine’s next to the Q key,” Andy says. “Try that?”
Oh my giddy god, that’s it. So now I’m looking at it thinking, how could I not know that? Anyway, it’s the key to heaven. Heaven being me getting my new script and formatting it properly with the right tabs. Now it looks right. Now it looks professional.
Now I can see if anyone finds it funny.
