Double Shot: Wrap Up

The Double Shot Festival was officially completed today around 2:30 p.m. An overall successful festival I'd say. The quality of the writing, in my opinion, was very good this year. Something interesting/redeeming about every script. And the festival itself was well attended. I'm told it was standing room only on Saturday night and it was almost filled to capacity today. Good turnout. Good turnout for new works.

I find that anytime you do something much faster than you would normally do it, you learn lessons much faster as well. Here's what I learned this time:
1. You can't force inspiration. I actually think I learn this lesson every time I write. I will still try and force it. And I will relearn this lesson every time I write.
2. Use the structure you know. Sometimes when you're stuck, the best thing to do is start with a structure you are comfortable with. We learn theory for a reason. Use it.
3. When all else fails, there are always sexual puns. I mean, of course, it helps when you have a theme like "lust" but I mean...any time you can get someone to say "jizz factory", you probably should.

And, as I'm sure you are waiting in anticipation, here's what was left of the food I bought to write:
1. Some pocky.
2. Coca Cola gummies
3. Partial bag of Baked Potato Chips
4. Small amount of dark chocolate covered almonds
And I did not get into the liquor/wine but I seriously thought about it.

With that, another year at Double Shot comes to a close. Thanks to NPA, the Broadway Center, and all the casts, writers, directors, and fine folks to put this shindig on. 

Double Shot: Now it's up to everyone else.

4:41 a.m. - Double Shot Script submitted.
After having just searched through my email (really unnecessarily at almost 5:00 a.m. because I was only searching for my own satisfaction), I can happily confirm that that is a whole 18 minutes earlier than my submission time last year so go me...I guess? Although, I believe the actual "hunker down and write" start time this year, despite not watching a full three hour movie for inspiration like I did last year, was about the same as last year. Oh well. You win some, you lose some and then you go to bed.

And after all of this, the good news is that I didn't fall victim to the sophomore slump...insomuch as I did get a script written and sent. At 5:00 a.m., I don't think you can rightfully tell anything about a script you've just written so...I'm going to leave the speculation about its level of decency until I wake up tomorrow (today).

Thanks for hanging out with me on this coffee induced, sleep deprived, delirious journey for the last ten hours. And special thanks to Emily, Amalia, and Chris who, in the end, inspired me more than scouring Pinterest, listening to a ton of lusty songs, and one completely false started script.

Good luck actors, directors, tech people, etc.
Onward!

Double Shot: A draft! A draft!

Mark it.
2:30 a.m. - a draft is finally done. And it's a draft I don't feel awful about. It's too long currently, so that's my next task.

Maybe I'll get this in by 5:00 a.m. like I did the last time. That would be three hours early. Although, that won't happen if I keep blogging about it. Especially when it's 2:30 a.m. and no one is reading the blog currently anyway.

Sneak peek of the script: it takes place in the abandoned Lusty Lady in downtown Seattle. It's probably not as lusty as you would hope, but I am putting as many of those amazing slogans as I possibly can in there.

Lusty later!

Double Shot: Aha moment!

Sometimes, what is counter intuitive will be the thing that helps you the most.

For example, when everyone converges on your apartment around 12:30am when you are really loathing the thing that you have starting writing. Then, in the midst of some witty banter and light humping, everything becomes clear.

See?

Double Shot: Fingers, Meet Keyboard

I have something on paper now. A little something. A start. But I'm not sure I like this start at all.

I took a shower to maybe help the thoughts along. It didn't really incubate anything like I thought it might. Last year, I showered at 3am when I had already done a couple of drafts of the script. It helped the final script.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

...I probably need to disconnect from the internetz. Yeah.

Double Shot: Everything but the

Still in inspiration searching mode currently. I have a location and some thoughts percolating but I'm trying to round it out. So far, it's really just one character in my head who isn't even a key to the main, to be determined, conflict.

And a wrench in the system: I've lost one of my actors. I mean, to be honest, it's not a big wrench as I don't have a single word of actual script written down yet. The director has offered to step in as the fourth in the cast in case I need him. So, this means I get to decide if I want a three person script or a four. Decisions, decisions.

In other news, it pays to have incredibly intelligent friends.
Text from my friend Jordan: "Have you looked at preraphealite paintings for lust? It's interesting to see how they depict the human form in a way that is both sexual and not."
And that went immediately onto my list of places to look for inspiration.

There has been a bit of a search change though. Actually expansion is a better word for it. The topic has expanded from sexual to money. Because after all, money makes the world go around. (Thanks Liza.)

Edit (10:11): Greed has more to do with money...duh. Although, it'll probably still appear in my play. So...there's that.

Ten hours left. Coffee is happening...NOW.

Double Shot: THE THEME

Double Shot is filled with the seven deadly sins this year. My sin: Lust.

Here's what I've done so far:
1. Looked up the definition of Lust - 1. intense sexual desire or appetite 2. uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite, lecherousness 3. a passionate or overmastering desire or craving 4. ardent enthusiasm; zest, relish
2. Looked up lusty songs on the internet. So far, I like Dance Inside by All American Rejects and Slow Like Honey by Fiona Apple the best.
3. Eaten an entire box of Macaroni and Cheese.

Next up:
1. More lusty songs.
2. Comb through the Pinterest board titled "Writing Inspiration" and hope for some.
3. Look up lusty historical notes and maybe some sonnets.
4. Go the opposite direction of all that.
5. Eat more and start in on the coffee.

And it's only been an hour...

Double Shot: Year Two

I'm using Double Shot as a reason to get back into my blogging because, as you all know, it's been too long. And also, I'll need a way to procrastinate.

To begin--
I will be perfectly honest. I'm worried about the sophomore slump with this one. Keep that in mind.

To continue--
Here is my list of things you need to be successful with double shot:
1. A dinner of Macaroni & Cheese (the Annie's bunny shapes) and chicken nuggets
2. Coconut water
3. Coffee
4. Loaded Baked Potato chips
5. Chocolate covered almonds
6. Pocky
7. Coca-Cola gummies
8. Raspberries
and if things get really desperate...
9. Liquor and/or wine

Notice it's all food and all in hopes of staying awake through the night.

My next post? THE THEME. And more procrastination in talking about how to successfully write this ten minute script in 11 hours.

Stay tuned.

Final Week

Five weeks? Five weeks since my last post?! I (happily) blame Blood/Sailing for this!

Blood/Sailing has entirely been my life for the last three weeks, if not for longer than that. The Sunday after opening week I curled up on my couch, not to be bothered until I could recover from the two weeks of non-stop physical/emotional/metal action that I had just put myself through. Honestly, I'm not sure I ever fully recovered. Once the soreness wears off and I can open my eyes completely again, we move right back into the show. But the tiredness is expected to wear off because...we only have one more weekend left! One show tomorrow (8pm) and two shows (8pm and 10pm) both Friday and Saturday night. (Get your tickets SOON. It's a small house and we have a lot of enthusiastic people coming.) Then the show is closed.

To say this show has been a rewarding experience is an understatement so I'm just going to refrain. We have both reached our Kickstarter goal (Don't worry! You can still support us until Saturday.) and received a review at this point, one that just affirms my love of the show and what it means for an audience...a "wonderfully terrifying experiment." (You can read that review here.) Furthermore, I'd rather not try to analyze the experience before it is over. That may and will come later. Whether it's internally or outwardly, only time will tell. I will say this though, I'll miss it. I'll miss the hell out of this evil volcano factory.

Now to learn how to relive my life again (with new and exciting projects...info to come).

Blood/Sailing - Photo by Cassandra Gallagher

Visual Explorations of Character

In Blood/Sailing I play a child caught on the wrong end of an adolescent love triangle with catastrophic consequences.  She's a child trying to do right, go by unscathed, while still trying to find a way to make a human connection when she isn't sure how to begin. She's an outsider in an outside world, full of questions that seem to have answers that are too monumental to comprehend. She just has to survive. She has to.

Blood/Sailing is a show all about stunning visual communication. (We use the word "stunning" a lot because, trust me, it is.) Because of the lack of dialogue, I found that exploring character in my standard way (using a lot of words - writing long and involved back-stories, analyzing every moment and so on) wasn't working for me in this process. So, I tried to approach my character work in the same way we approached creating this show: through visuals. I can't say they are stunning visuals like the show, but they definitely helped me understand other levels of my character. And through these visuals I was able to move into exploring my character's back-story is a way that I'm more accustomed to (using a lot of words - writing out the long involved back-story, analyzing every moment and so on). The combination of these two ways to approach character are paying off I think. Regardless, I feel more confident than I've felt in awhile. And more taken care-of. Thank you, Blood Ensemble.

back-story exploration. (c) 2012

moment exploration. (c) 2012

I plan to do more of this sort of thing. Maybe a collage next time. It's cathartic and productive both at the same time.

Want more info?
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It's in our blood.

And now, my thoughts on a gorgeous theatrical beast: Blood/Sailing.

A note: Part of this post actually comes from some publicity paragraphs I wrote to help with marketing the show. Some of the post is new.

Another note: Some of this post may seem eerily similar to a post I wrote while I was in c.1993 at Annex (this post). But that's what I love about devising. In some ways, every collaborative experience is very much the same. In other ways, every collaborative experience is different than anything you have ever worked on before. That being said...

Sometime during college, I realized my passion (within theatre) is generative and collaborative work, or “devising.” Over the last five years or so, I’ve been involved in creating no less than six generative theatre pieces and am so pleased to add Blood/Sailing to the list. (Six may not be the right number. I've lost count. I like devising THAT much.) There’s nothing more satisfying than taking your art into your own hands while being lead by creative, intelligent, and talented ensemble such as Blood Ensemble.

I should explain what Blood/Sailing is. I think the Blood Ensemble ladies actually explain it best so I'm using their description of the show fromm their blog:

"Blood Ensemble and heavy metal band Smooth Sailing announce “Blood/Sailing,” a show that combines experimental theatre and live heavy metal music and performs July 12-28th at the boom! theatre space. Blood Ensemble and Smooth Sailing intensely collaborated to create this show that that will draw audiences from both Seattle’s music and theatre scene.

“Blood/Sailing” is a story of despair, violence and redemption. Mr. Clementine, an eerie skeleton man, runs a sweatshop buried deep in a volcano. The children that work there have never seen the sun and never learned how to play. Using songs from Smooth Sailing’s debut album XO as well as brand new music written for the show, the show is full of stunning visuals and face melting music."  

The concept for this show is uncharted territory for me. As a theatre artist and playwright, I usually rely heavily on the written and spoken word. This show relies on a collaboration with metal music before words. And I must admit I’m not very familiar with metal music. But, I am QUICKLY becoming a fan. Smooth Sailing’s music is great overall and perfect for this kind of work: full of tension, emotion, levels. Personally, I’m enjoying the challenge of creating of show based on stunning visual pictures set to a distinctive soundscape. Words come later. Words come only when necessary.

There is an incredible darkness to this piece that I think contemporary audiences are not used to. As an ensemble, we have not shied away from violence, despair, overwhelming tension, and high emotion. These are reality, real parts of life. And, in my opinion, we really need to explore them. I think often in theatre, we try to hide from these themes...or mask them. Sometimes that is necessary and makes a statement in and of itself. But we're going full throttle into the darkness. We're driving the bus straight to the gates of hell and frolicking all the way. 

This is like nothing else I’ve ever worked on. For audiences, I think it’ll be like nothing else they’ve ever experienced. It will be full of stunning visuals, moments of sadness, laughter, face-melting live music and genuine theatrical poignancy in an amazing venue. Blood/Sailing is an experience for this creative moment in time. A great one. There is some serious theatre going on here.

And you can tell we're invested. It's in our blood.

Want to know more and/or support us? Visit:

Facebook

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Trailer
Kickstarter
Tickets       

Between April & May

Tidbit: I recently went to Bellingham for an event called Back2Bellingham. It's an annual alumni and family weekend at my alma mater, Western Washington University. One of the events during this weekend is a kegger in the library. Yes, a kegger in the library. It's a popular event and an opportunity to run into a lot of people you haven't seen in a long time. I happened to run into a former boss of mine. She asked me what I had been up to. I talked about work and training for a half-marathon. Then I sort of off-handed said I was doing shows and what not in my "free-time." The rest of the conversation went something like this:
Me: I'm pretty busy I guess.
KC: That's the way it's always been.
Me: (laughter) Yeah, I guess so.
That being said, I've been pretty busy. I've been working a lot. Probably nearly 50 hours a week a lot. It's a time of transitions for Book-It. We've had some shake-ups at work (good shake-ups, people getting great opportunities kind of shake-ups) and that has meant that there has been more work for everyone. I suddenly found myself responsible for way more stuff than I bargained for. Trial by fire. In the last three months, I have learned so much. Good news is, we're getting some new people in and my work-load should diminish...ever so slightly.

Not to worry though. Even with all the work, I've still kept myself busy on the artistic front as well:
1) I applied for my first grant recently. I'm trying to get in the habit of looking for funding and at least making an effort to get my work out there. Grants require a lot of planning, as I've learned from working in development. Applying for grants taught me a good lesson in the last couple of weeks: You have to say no to other people and take time for yourself and your work. Writing is often very solitary but applying for grants is even more so and you have to give yourself time to make it the best grant application you can. Saying no to periphery activities is an important lesson for anyone to learn.
2) I've been in rehearsal roughly three times a week for an upcoming show called Blood/Sailing. Later today, there will be a specific post about that experience.
3) It is reading time for NorthNorthwest. I haven't counted every entry specifically yet but I'm pretty sure we have over 500 ten-minute plays to read. Good news is, I have a bang-up team of readers helping me. Bad news is, I still will be reading every single ten-minute play myself. Since I am the senior editor, I feel it is my duty to know every play that has been submitted. Now to set aside the time to do that...
4) Grad school is on the near horizon. I'm ready to go back to school. I know I have so much more to learn about my writing, getting work produced, and myself. I plan to be applying this fall and hope to attend somewhere next fall. Regardless, I think it is time to see where my life takes me beyond Seattle. Damn. I need to sign up for the GRE.
5) One of the one-acts from my reading (There Were Butterflies) will be in the August NPA...next to a play by Allison Gregory. That's a little nerve-wracking. Anna Townes and I are going to be performing it, like we did in the reading, but this time I have asked Ashley Johnson to be our director. I "directed" all the pieces in the reading so I think it'll be nice to have a outside eyes on this one. There may be a few edits before then. We'll see.

There you go. That was the time between April & May.

Self Production: Scary but necessary.

Yesterday, I put on a reading of my work. The evening looked like this:
Related Strangers: An evening of new work by Samantha Cooper
at Seattle Center House Blackbox
Featuring three one acts:
The Last Tree
There Were Butterflies (working title)
The Weight
I put the whole thing up myself (with the help of amazing friends and colleagues of course). I booked and paid for the space for rehearsal and performance. I lined up the actors. I rehearsed the work with them. And then we put it on for an audience and had a talk-back at the end which I facilitated. It sounds simple. It sounds like exactly what, as an artist, I should be doing to get my work out in the community. And I did it. Here's what I have to say about it:
It.
Was.
Awesome (Scary).

Why it was "Awesome":
The ultimate goal of the reading was to figure out if the scripts were ready to be produced. The short answer is: Yes. The longer answer is: Yes, with revisions (as always). There is nothing like hearing your work out loud from other people's mouths to really understand what you've been saying all along. Addendum: there is nothing like feedback from people you don't know (or don't know well) to really understand what you've been saying all along. This particular post show talk-back was perfect for that. They are the audience that will be the most honest with you. They don't know you. They care significantly less about your feelings than your friends. That's why I like that portion of the audience.

I also had the advantage of having some very talented actors in my corner, actors who have lots of experience with new work. Bonus points: almost all of the actors have had quite of bit of experience with my work in particular. These were the type of actors who know the right questions to ask to help their performances and to further the work. Awesome.

Why it was "Scary":
When your work is produced with a specific company, there is a certain amount of responsibility that that company then assumes with regards to the production. In other words, for better or worse, there is a name to work under and/or hide under. In some cases, that is great because the work is great. In other cases...well, you can guess. In the case of self-production, you only have one name to work under/hide under -- your own. That's the scary part. But that is also the necessary part. As artists, at some point, we can hide under a production company, a theatre, a director, etc. We must assume all the responsibility for our own work and strive to create something that we can artistically believe in and stand-by no matter what anyone else things. Of course, there's always financial aspect to...well...anything but we can save that for a future post.

And maybe you can tell by now, but the evening went really well. I may have been writing a different post altogether if it went poorly.    

The creative life of a (newly) twenty-five year old.

Is this how it works?

I take things into my own hands and then all sorts of things come to fruition. Everyone always said it's all about being proactive. I feel like I have to learn that lesson time and time again. Maybe one of these days it'll actually stick and I won't be surprised when artistic endeavors seem to come together.

A laundry list of what's going on (just to catch up on the last month without a blog):
1) I'm putting on a showcase of my work. Well, actually it's a "we're"; we're putting on a showcase of my work. I have some very dear friends (Emily Kight, Anna Townes, Amanda Woodard and Shannon Erickson) who are both extremely talented and have been champions of my work basically since I really started playwriting. They have been kind enough to sit through and participate in numerous readings, workshops, drafts, doubts, and so on. And now, I've rented and space and we're going to put on a public reading/workshop. I'm calling it a workshop because I do want feedback. The whole goal of this thing is to see if the work is ready for a full production. If it is, that'll hopefully be coming by the fall.
Necessary info:
Related Strangers: A workshop of new work
April 2 at 7pm
Seattle Center House Blackbox
2) I have been working with a Seattle area group of college chums called Blood Ensemble to help them devise a work based on a concept album by a local band called Smooth Sailing. And actually, during whatever show they create, the band will be part of the performance, on-stage with the performers.They are still working on casting the actual production (which I hope I get to be involved in) but for now I'm really enjoying collaborating with these individuals and working to create a piece that will hopefully fill a void in the theatrical marketplace and draw in some new audiences.

Blood Ensemble is also putting on a Theatre Prom in Seattle to help finance their show. You'll want to be there. It's drinking, dancing, dressing up with cool theatre people in only the best way. For more info go here: http://theatreprom.blogspot.com OR even better, buy tickets here: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/233163.
3) I have signed on to write for the Double Shot Festival again in September of this year. I will blog through my writing as I did (sort of) last time. I'm excited but nervous. My first play went over so well that when I agreed to do it again, I told my mentor/friend Bryan Willis "Yes. I'll do it. Of course I'll do it. But under the stipulation that I cannot be expected to achieve the same caliber this time around. I'm worried I made myself look TOO good. How do I come back from that?!"
...wish me luck.
4) I may be directing a 10 minute play for NPA next month. More info to come upon confirmation.

Whew! I'm glad to be busy. Although, the biggest thing weighing on my mind right now is the impending grad school application process. I need a full weekend to hole up and get a full-length play up to snuff to apply with. I need another full week or two to do the research and figure out where I'd like to apply to. I want so badly to go to grad school, to be back in school. I know I need to go to grad school because I still have so much to learn about...well, everything. Why does real life get in the way?

Is this what it's like to be 25? Because if so, I'm ALL for it. Here's to a great year!

Battle of the Bards or "The Best Money Making Scheme Ever?"

At the end of January, I was lucky enough to be asked to participate in Ghost Light Theatricals Battle of the Bards VI. I think Ghost Light does the best job of explaining exactly what Battle of the Bards is so I'm just copying and pasting the description from their website:
"In BATTLE OF THE BARDS VI, three ensembles have 20 minutes each to perform scenes of adaptations of classic works. The audience votes which play should be produced in full in Ghost Light’s 2012-13 Season. Admission includes one vote - additional votes are only $1 each. All proceeds support the work of Ghost Light Theatricals."

In all honesty, this may be one of the best developmental and money-making schemes I have ever seen/heard about for the theatre. My friend from college, Emily Harvey, asked me to be in her directorial submission to Battle of the Bards: Paper Bullets (written by John E. Allis). Synopsis: "In Paper Bullets two media powerhouses tamper with the personal and professional affairs of four budding Hollywood icons. Scandalized sweethearts fumble with love and illusion in this modernization of Much Ado, a farce replete with sex, glitter and deception."

My part was very little commitment but, as always, I'm all too happy to oblige if I can be on stage at all. I definitely had fun but found I became much more committed to the success of the show because of the competition aspect. All twenty actors and band members seemed entirely dedicated and excited to see what would happen in this theatrical arena. We had two formidable foes so it became a game of how many people we could get to the show, how many others we could convince to support us even if they couldn't make it to the show, and finally, how much money we could contribute ourselves. For most of the voting period, we lagged behind. But in the end, WE WON. And I think it says a lot about our piece (our writer and our director) that we came from behind after our audiences had seen all three shows.

So now, Paper Bullets will be in the 2012-2013 Ghost Light Season which means Ghost Light has twenty actors now interested in participating in their theatre. Furthermore, Battle of the Bards sold-out two weeks before the show and raised $5000 for the theatre, over half of that on closing night of the shows.

My theory on why this formula raises so much money? People are much more willing to donate to the arts if they know there is going to be a tangible outcome. A show that will definitely be in the season next year, one that an audience can come and see and helped put on stage, is much more tangible than donating to an organization and not knowing exactly where your money is going.

I applaud you Ghost Light. Battle of the Bards is a very good idea.

The Novel Workshop Series or "My brief time spent with the UW School of Drama and a British accent."

Right before the new year, I walked into the office to get some end of the year work done. The first person I saw as our Director of Touring, Annie Lareau. She greeted me with "Did you get my email?" That phrase usually stops me in my tracks because it makes me think I forgot to do something that I should have done. I fumbled out an answer that was something like "I haven't checked my email yet." Turns out, she was asking me to be a reader for Book-It's Third Annual Novel Workshop Series.

Okay, let me explain what the Novel Workshop Series is:
Book-It produces only world premiere theatre. Their trademark style takes novels and adapt them from the page to the stage. To act in the Book-It style can be tricky for some actors but when done seamlessly, watching a play at Book-It is like reading a book: all of your sense are stimulated. (Okay okay, I've drank the Book-It kool-aide. But c'mon, literacy and theatre? How can that not be amazing?!) In order for them to produce all these world premieres there has to be a lot of workshopping. That is exactly what the Novel Workshop Series is. It is two weeks of workshopping roughly four new scripts with staged readings at the end. If they go well, the scripts presented as part of the Novel Workshop Series have the potential to be added to an upcoming season. Border Songs and the upcoming Prairie Nocturne are two examples of that.

To say I was excited is a bit of an understatement. It's the first acting I get to do for a Book-It and it worked out just right (mostly just right) with my work schedule. Well, it made my last two weeks hectic but I like this sort of hectic. I'm busy and being artistic and happy.

This year the Novel Workshop Series launched into a partnership with the University of Washington PATP. So I spent the week at UW with acting grad students. It was definitely a good experience but even after one hour on the first day reminded me that when I go to grad school, I want it to be for dramatic writing, not acting. I was discouraged when I couldn't feel the joy in the room, the excitement at getting to do this work...any work really. To me, it seemed that some of the grad students felt like this was a chore. I don't ever want to lose the joy I have when I am lucky enough to be on stage as an actor. As a writer, I always feel lucky to have my work workshopped or performed, but it is such a different feeling the adrenaline I experience as an actor. They are two different and equally delightful feelings. I can't imagine wanting to continue a career in theatre when it feels like a chore. When I lose this feeling, it may be time to throw in the towel.

So in the end I learned two things from this experience:
1. The place I happily spend my work week still has so much to teach me.
2. My fake British accent isn't too bad.
Yes, the second thing was going to be horribly mushy but I figured I had enough of that in the previous paragraph so...yeah.