Maturity

I'm about to head to Spokane (well Cheney) for the holidays. Yes, ten days of "relaxation." I put quotes around this because relaxation in Cheney really means boredom after so long. However, I am hoping to use this opportunity of little to do and no access to friends as prime time to do something I have been neglecting for far too long: writing.

I have a lot of excuses for why I haven't been writing. They are, in no particular order: writer's block, too much work, not the right environment, too much work, no enough ideas, too much work. Convinced?

No? Well good, you shouldn't be. Regardless, over the past few months (since the last time I've posted), I've gotten very little to no writing done. I have ideas, inspirations I could call them but nothing much has come of it. A poem here or there, a lot of journaling but that's about it. So it is time...ahem...as I have said before...to sit down and just do the writing.

I have this notion, this fact really, that writers set aside time to write daily. When I speak of this idea, I always manage to stammer out something about how I am a writer of inspiration and sitting down to write doesn't work for me if I don't have any inspiration. At this point, I'm going to call bullshit on myself. I think what really kept me from setting and keeping a schedule is immaturity. It is time I grow up and remember, it doesn't matter what I sit down and write every day, I just need to do it.

Yes, I do fancy myself a writer and an actor. A theatre artist really. But I still have a lot of growing in my art to do. I'm forcing myself to use this time at my parent's house as an opportunity not to be really bored, but to be really smart. I'm going to enjoy the holiday and get back on the horse so to say. Or the keyboard.

I'm gonna write.

P.S. A reading of that previously completed one-act to come after the new year. Probably in my apartment. I'll keep you updated.

Trying Something New

I feel like I run into the same problem with every script I write. I start out with one idea or sometimes a line. I can get six or seven pages into the play and then blamo! I get stuck with the plot. I think the main reason for this block is my overall lack of foresight. An idea or a line is a good way to start, really the only way to start, but it doesn't write a whole play...unless you only want it to be four pages long. Maybe with some scripts I need to start planning a trajectory.

When I moved to Seattle, I set up a space next to my desk as my "writing center." It has a white board and cork board. The white board for exactly the thing I mentioned above and the cork board for potential inspiration photos. While the cork board hasn't been used yet, I think the white board is getting a good start:This is my first attempt at really planning before I start writing. Usually I just write and go back and rework the plot later.

Let's see how this goes. Every new writing day is an adventure.

And then...

A draft!

Finally, after months of struggling to get some sort of inspiration, months of pulling up blank word documents and eventually closing them after many exasperated breaths, I finally have completed a draft of The Last Tree. I can feel the creativity coming back into my finger tips, surging through my body. I think the draft is the proof.

When I closed the word document yesterday, I must admit I felt a sense of accomplishment. Usually, this is considered contrary to how theatre works. My college costume design professor always used to say "Theatre artists don't finish, they just stop." I do believe that's true. Plays go through draft after draft after draft and even after the play is in performance or published it can and will change. Of course, the same is true of acting.

But the point is, I have a draft of something that I can take to a reading, to have read. I feel connected to my art once again which is something I have been lacking. Maybe it is the inspiration of meeting with other people. Whatever it is, it's working.

Speaking of connecting, a group of friends and I are trying to get together to read and act and all that good stuff. Professors always told us we were going to have to create our own opportunities for theatre. We always believed them but I don't think we knew what that meant.

I think we're starting to.

An Opening Night

Over this summer I have been lucky enough to intern at Book-It Repertory Theatre. While my official title is "Management Intern," I really have taken on a variety of tasks. No matter how you slice it, I love Book-It and what they do.

Saturday night was the official opening of The Cider House Rules: Part Two. This was my first official opening night as an attendee. (I did work the opening night for A Doctor in Spite of Himself but I didn't get to attend.) I always love the feeling of an opening night. While most professional shows do at least a week of previews, there is always something very special about the official opening. The heart beat in the room is palpable both for the performers and the audience. Everything feels so new and exciting.

Cider House is a special show for Book-It because it was one of their first shows as a company. They brought it back for the 20th Anniversary and I don't think they could have made a better choice. If you want a crash course in the Book-It style, which is a whole language in and of itself, Cider House is the show to see. Here's a little glimpse into the night (photo, of course, by Cassandra Gallagher):

For a more complete glimpse into the opening night party, visit Cassi Gallagher's photo blog. You can at least see the free food we were able to indulge in.

I will admit, as I have been for months, watching the show made me miss doing the creative part of theatre. I know I'm only a few months out of college and I've found myself in a very good position: to be working at all in theatre. Now, I'm just searching for a creative venture. And it's becoming a very active search.

It's time...

to put this degree to good use. I am craving craving creative interaction. Everyone always says to create your own theatre. And that is exactly what it is time to do.

So.
Be on the look-out for that.

Stalled

My writing is a bit stalled these days. The ideas are constantly going through my head but so far nothing is find it's way to paper. I wonder if my missing acting has anything to do with my supposed "writer's block." I think writer's block is a bad term for what I'm experiencing but it is the only thing I can think to call it. (Funny, right? A writer with a lack for words.)

Although, I was just asked to write a monologue and a scene for someone. Hopefully, it will be a good exercise in writing towards a specific person and working towards an end goal. Right now, everything I write has an eventual goal (to be produced) but not necessarily a goal for a specific person to use. This will change that.

If anyone else would like to commission me to work on something with them in mind...I could do that. :)

The Last Tree

The play is not working for me. All I want is for it to work for me. Maybe it's time to go back and start over?

Also make sure to see Ruined and Spelling Bee if you are in and around Seattle. Both promise to be very good.

That is all.