Starlight, Spinning Tree, Master's Degree

My writing has somewhat stalled.

On a great note, since I'm a student, I was able to purchase "Final Draft" playwriting software at a significant discount. The playwrights on "Cry Havoc Podcast" mention using that program, instead of Word, and I can tell it will be much better. You can track characters and arcs and replace character names more easily. I am not looking forward to transferring my current works to that program, but I will tackle that task another time.

I was in my kitchen the other day and I decided, above all things, I would rather be a terrible playwright rather than be a really good anything else. I've got to create balance - with a young child, work that does have to pay the bills, family obligations - but in that space I spend a lot of time daydreaming of rewrites and ideas I've had for years.

My Master's degree is done the middle of December. In the meantime, I'm submitting the play I've completed, as far as I can, to workshops and theatres that accept new works. I am attending theatre as often as possible. On September 4th I am going with two girlfriends to see "Ghost Writer" - at the Spinning Tree Theatre - a Theatre I have not attended nor reviewed before. This should be a good time. I've attended Starlight this summer with one of my best girlfriends, and that has been a good contrast to the smaller, local theatre shows I've been attending.

 I will continue to write in my spare time, but my pursuit of producing my own work and finding spaces to rent and create will most likely need to wait until December, especially since I have just taken a new job that is taking more time than I expected. It's my goal, my objective, to be a playwright, even if I am the worst one you've ever heard, but my goal is still there. I am plugging away towards my goal, even though I am slowed a little bit by the rest of my life, it is a goal that I simply cannot give up. I tried to leave the theatre for years and it made me ill. I cannot be a square peg banging myself into a round hole; it will crack me again and that cannot happen. I just need to keep the balance to keep myself well and healthy.

With my health, the strange thing about being bipolar is that when I forget my medication I feel as if I can conquer the world, and I get very excited about what I write, and what I'm doing, and I am completely singular in my obsession. I annoy myself. However, listening to other artists, I hear the same excitement and singular drive and obsession in their voices. I have talked to my therapist about this - that I am not sure if in these moments I am really manic, or am I just happy because I have been unhappy for so long? Does happiness feel like mania because I've been stuffing my feelings for years and telling myself I shouldn't act the way I want to because I need to be an adult and not be creative?

This is a question she and I continue to ponder: is it mania, or am I just happy, and shocked because I've been so unhappy for years? She and I agree that I need to keep balance so I maintain my family throughout this process, and I do not become so obsessed with theatre that I lose sight of everything else, but she and I have both considered that the mania is simply true joy and happiness. It's such a foreign concept that I am assuming it's a manifestation of my mental illness. That is sad, and strange, but yet; I am comforted to listen to other artists who sound and feel the same as me, who are just as obsessed with this strange art that is on the fringes but yet has survived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. This is comforting, and good therapy.




References & Links:
http://www.cryhavoccompany.org/podcasts/
http://spinningtreetheatre.com/ 
https://www.kcstarlight.com/

Master of the Universe - The Living Room -

http://www.thelivingroomkc.com/

Kyle Hatley has brought a highly imaginative work to life that jumps through time and circumstances surrounding Victor (Rusty Sneary). Victor is haunted by his own mental state, his mother's murder, and his current disgraced service in the United States Army, all tied together with the grief over losing his soul mate, Marie (Grey Williamson) to The War Hero (Jeff Smith). A cast of 16 flows in and out of various characters and representations, and set pieces and actors move in and around the full space of the 3rd floor of The Living Room Theatre. It is a loud, bright, dark, disturbing work that travels down a squiggly line. 

Linnaia McKenzie (Nina Simone) and the band provide an exceptional live musical performance helps carry the production. With the ensemble changing and moving, they provided an anchor, and an indicator, of the play progression. This is an ambitious, heavy work that is exhausting for both the actor and the audience member. It is important to have key figures, such as Linnaia McKenzie's music, helping to pull along the show. 

As a world premiere, it is still going through growing pains. It is an intense, 3 hour show. A rather large group of patrons (6-8) left at intermission because they said they 'already know what's going to happen.' The goal of drama is to keep the audience on their seats, to have them asking 'What next?' This feeling of 'What next?' and excitement was pulling in the second act, especially with The Captain (Charles Fugate) and the recruits. In the first act, at the beginning, we are told everything as an audience and then there is an artistic circle back. Perhaps to drive the drama, look at what is working in Act II and move that style to Act I. 

Also, what scenes can be cut, while still keeping the story?  Keep it moving quickly, but still punctuate it with those sweet scenes with the Astromer (Charles Fugate) and Young Victor (Andrew Stout), and the scenes with Young Victor and Marie as a Girl (Leah Simmons). The more the regular action is quick paced - just like the great scene with all the jump and rolls with the recruits and The Captain - the sweeter the other scenes will be. 

The scene with the water glass and nickel. Why is that in there? If it's important, the audience doesn't understand why, so it needs to be explained. What about cutting down the dress scene and the parade scene? If they are important, let's find out why. Why the scene with every one in the black nightgowns? It was funny, but it shocked us out of the action. 

Also, the audience was confused by the Fortune Teller  (Vanessa Severo). Since it's such a jumpy, insane play, would it be best to just have one muse, Ani? (Vanessa Severo). Again, if they're both important, communicate why. 

This is an important work, and there is so much to see and think about. Since it's a work in progress, there are some items the director and writer can work on to move it to be an even more solid production. It's definitely got a stellar cast, haunting staging, and a gorgeous soundtrack. Now comes the work of paring it down what is essential for the drama to progress. 

The ending, with the kids, was amazing. Don't change that. 

My Living Room Theatre ritual

I've found myself in a ritual when I go to the Living Room Theatre. 

Go early. Go to The Brick and eat a meatloaf sandwich. Work on play arcs and edits. 

Writing and Re-writing and making it up as I go

Now I am in that awful stage in one play of writing, rewriting, analyzing. This is boring, and my only friends are the Cry Havoc Podcast: http://www.cryhavoccompany.org/podcasts/ .

I need to get some live actors to read it and stage small parts of it. My goal is to pay a theatre and some actors for their time, so I can feel good about donating to local theatre even if it's really, really bad.  I am hoping to get this part completed in August, then start submissions in last August, early September.*

The scheduling of the readings will be easy, and mapping out what to work on when; I've done that for years with stage management and company management. However, everything I've learned about playwriting I've learned from watching plays, listening to podcasts, and listening to plays on YouTube. It feels like I am just making this up as I go along. My friends have seemed to enjoy my play, at least somewhat, but I'm hoping at least somebody out there will at least think it's pretty good. I enjoy what I'm doing, so I'm committed to doing it even though I'm terrible, but it would be a nice surprise if I turn out to be okay.


I like this quote from Benedict Cumberbatch (it's on IMDB, so I'm assuming it's really him, it could be totally made up):

Hollywood-style stardom was never my goal, yet it seems to be happening due to particular projects. I don't seek. I don't avoid. I just follow my path, doing my best.


I'm not seeking Hollywood stardom, but I think there is a good lesson to keep going and do my best. I have friends that have kept this path since college, and it's amazing the work they do. I'm in awe.

My to do list for 2014 (that will bleed into 2015) is to see all my theatre friends perform or visit the theatre(s) they work in. If I am writing plays, I am least more appreciative of the work they do. If I am paying actors to read my scripts, or renting a smaller playhouse, actors have rent money and theatres got a donation. So, at least if I'm terrible, I'm doing my best to do good along the way. I won't seek, I won't avoid, I will follow this path, and do my best.

*My friend who is a manager at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival called me a producer for doing this. Well, that's a start, right?

Run away to the Circus

My head was a bag of cats.....

Ok, no one else may be excited, but I finally figured out why I was having such a hard time writing this play. I was focusing on different stories from three different Theatres. I've split them into a trilogy. I'm working on finishing 'Fly Loft' first. 'Fly Loft' I imagine as Harbach at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill.

'Dust': Timber Lake Playhouse, Mt. Carroll, Illinois

'Wolf': Lawrence Community Theatre, Lawrence, KS (the one in the Church)

I've got the back story and the dramaturgy notes started. If I start to stray with 'Fly Loft,' I can dump that back story or ideas into the bucket of the other two drafts to work on another time. 

Less like a bag of cats. 

'We don't want to hear you talk - we just want to see the horses'

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/writing-university-podcast/id402005016?mt=2&i=119198619

Kate Aspergren, in this podcast, discusses playwriting and the beauty of our suspension of disbelief. She completely 'geeks out' over The Lion King and War Horse puppetry, and how, like children, we quickly forget that what we are looking at are men handling puppets. 

It takes a few moments, but our eyes and minds adjust, but quickly, we are fully invested. Somehow, we do not see the puppeteers any longer. We only see Joey, prancing or running or rearing back. Kate couldn't explain it, from a playwriting perspective, she just said, sometimes things are so beautifully done you just want everyone to 'shut up so you can look at the horses.'  Not only is she a playwright, but she is a true fan of live theatre, and respectful of it from cradle to grave - actor, technician, costumer. She is humble, and urges the playwright to rewrite if an actor keeps changing your lines, because they're 'probably making it better.'

We have been looking at the horses for a long time on stage, seeing them, suspending our disbelief:

Think when we talk of horses that you see them

Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;

For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings

Henry V

Opening Chorus 

To see the horses in War Horse: 

http://youtu.be/YYNxIgyC7k8