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Terri
Adams' NAUGHTY LITTLE CURSES is hit of 2004 Showcase by
Bryan Coley
The
break-out surprise of the 2004 Symposium and Showcase was the
screenplay, NAUGHTY LITTLE CURSES, written by Art Within’s
own Terri Adams. Terri
is a five-year veteran of Art Within’s creative team and
assumed the role of writer on the screenplay project more than
halfway through the development.
The
script, dealing with sex and intimacy, was originally assigned
to Kevin Mayer in August of 2003, but Mayer pulled out of the
commission when he felt a calling to the mission field of
Haiti. Providentially,
Adams was already serving as the creative lead for Art Within
on the project, and had a passion for the subject matter and
the ideas coming out the development of the script.
When
Mayer stepped out, Terri Adams stepped in.
“Terri was getting serious about writing something
herself during this time,” said Bryan Coley, Artistic
Director for Art Within.
“She was so ripe with all of her experience on
the Creative Team and with all her life experiences, that it
felt natural to have her take over the project.”
 Adams
immediately got to work outlining the story and making the
ideas her own. But
as the script was still emerging, flyers were being printed
naming the scripts that would be showcased at the annual
symposium in October, including her own. “I remember
Bryan and I having one of those conversations where we both
knew it would take a miracle to finish a script that was
presentable before any audience, much less an audience of our
peers,” said Adams. “It was a huge leap of faith.”
By the end of
September, Adams was rehearsing her cast of actors with half
of the script in rough draft form.
Even as attendees were arriving in Atlanta for the
event, Terri was putting the final touches on the first draft
of the entire script. However,
true to form, Terri’s faith was matched with God’s
faithfulness. On the evening of October 16th, an evening devoted
to showcasing this year's Art WIthin script commissions,
NAUGHTY LITTLE CURSES was an overwhelming success!
The theater was electric during the audience talkback
as Terri’s peers heaped praise for her creative and comedic
work. One writer
joked, “if this is your first draft, then I hate you,
because this is definitely not first draft material...this is
third or fourth.” Another
writer described the script as “a sexy way of communicating
the trap of premarital sex.”
Remembering
the miraculous evening, Coley adds, “I was so happy for
Terri because I knew this was it…this was the moment she
would never forget- the moment when you have confirmation from
above and from those around you that you are a talented
writer.” Call it divine intervention or providential calling, the tale
of this Art Within commission is a chapter within the ever
amazing story of God’s faithfulness to Art Within.
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