The Watch: A dark comedy/drama play
by Clay P Hurtubise R.Ph. (Author), Mike Geneso (Illustrator), Gordon Hinchen (Foreword), Ed Williman
An ex military father becomes obsessed with owning a Rolex ‘to prove he’s made it’. His wife and son would prefer to own their own home and a Timex.
Even the goofy pawn shop owner, who has been known to dance with a skeleton, warns him about obsessing over material objects.
The father denies he is obsessed by the Rolex, even when things turn tragic.
Snippet from the book:
History of the play
Back in 2008 I was at an audition. The two directors sat behind a white fold out table. On the table, in the center, was a large chronograph watch. I thought I’d be reading from a script, instead they asked me to recite a passage from a favorite play.
Seeing the watch, I adlibbed the speech that is in this play when the son talks about ‘The Watch.’ The directors were impressed, but it wasn’t enough for me to land the part. At the time I wrote a lot for an online site, Triond, where, if your piece were popular, you could earn some pocket change. The Watch was well received, but I had to keep my day job.
Fast forward twenty-seven years. As I’m recovering from a massive stroke, sleep can be elusive. At two o’clock one morning I started thinking about The Watch; no surprise to those that know me as my brain is always going. My first thought was to expand it into a book. The more I thought about it; I could visualize the interactions amongst the cast and a play seemed more appropriate. I confess that I went to AI and asked; what are the essentials for a good play? AI set out a list of things to do, which hopefully I have achieved!
Preface
The Watch is a comedy/drama. It follows a father and his family. As a young ex-military father he becomes obsessed with acquiring a status symbol. The breaking of the status piece symbolizes the breaking of bonds within his family. The wife, a forgiving soul, is a better person than the father deserves, even when both are in the graves.
About the author
I was born and raised in Maine, which I still refer to as home. At the age of eighteen, I ventured out to Wyoming to attend pharmacy school. Before that I had never been further west than the eastern side of Vermont. It didn’t take long to fall in love with the west and I found the residents of Wyoming, even the police, to be a caring lot that as long as you showed them respect, you would be rewarded with empathy and friendship.
After pharmacy school I returned east and lived in or near North Conway for some time. A car accident which resulted in a quarter size tear of my brain took me out of work for eight years. My given first name was Christopher, but he died that night of the accident and Clay was born. After the accident I had a series of odd events that happened to me including two out-of-body experiences, and I started seeing ghosts.
In 2014 I was involved in an explosion which gave me my second and I awoke on fire from head to toes. The blast scorched the inside of my lungs. It took years to fully recover, just in time to suffer a massive stroke in 2023.
Currently I live with my husband who I met twenty-eight years ago. My left side is still mostly paralyzed, and my vision is severely limited, so I write.