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.
9.21.2012
7.25.2012
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 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 |
6.26.2012
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.
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?
(see) Tickets
(support) Kickstarter
(learn) Blog
(like) Facebook
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?
(see) Tickets
(support) Kickstarter
(learn) Blog
(like) Facebook
5.27.2012
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...
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.
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."
“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:
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.
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.
4.04.2012
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.
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.
3.12.2012
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!
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!
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