Well, hello!
My name is Jess Ridley, and this is the first time I’ve added to this blog. Since Chris has so generously given me the reins to make this announcement, I’m happy to be the one to tell you that my original play, “The Raindrop Princess,” is now in production!
Yes, thanks to Daybreak Productions and the wonderful people at Sparkle On Stage, we have found an incredibly talented cast and crew, and we are officially in rehearsals for a staged reading of “The Raindrop Princess,” an original play I wrote!
Here’s a quick background on me: I worked with Chris on the first drafts of The Boy Who Wields The Key, where I discovered a passion for playwriting. I wrote 11 plays over the course of the pandemic.
One of these was “The Raindrop Princess.” Early in my writing career, I was starting to struggle with writer’s block, but then I took a moment to think of what kind of feeling I wanted to express, and I believe I found it through writing this story. I’ve always envisioned “The Raindrop Princess” not as a big-budget production on a Broadway stage, but rather as a small, home-grown production that anyone in any community can find joy in. I will look back on my own time in community theater for years to come, and I will be chasing the magic I felt when I stepped out on that stage to perform.
So when Chris offered to help me produce my work for a real audience, I was unbelievably thrilled. I have worked alongside an incredibly talented cast and crew (long distance; hello from Canada!) to bring this story to life. It feels like such a monumental step, seeing my characters becoming more than words on a page. Everyone is working together to create what I’m sure will be a night to remember.
I want to thank everyone involved for helping to make my dreams come true.
