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.

Working with a degree.

I have to say I almost don't believe it. About a month after graduation and I am working in two different theatres in Seattle. And *gasp,* that's what my degree is in. Okay, I have to modify that statement: I'm interning in a theatre (Book-it) and working at another (the Intiman). At this point I am no great professional. I am an intern and a ticket representative. But we all have to start somewhere right? Well, this is where I'm starting.

Yet, in all the hubbub, the moving and all that, I have yet to work on anything new. I haven't acted in awhile (since Miracle Worker) and none of my scripts have seen any great work since two weeks ago up in Bellingham. I am almost constantly thinking about my writing. The script that continues to plague me is "The Last Tree" - the one about the adopted girl and her birth mother. It has stalled. I know what I want to say and where I want to go but I can't figure out the right words to say it in. I'm hoping showing the beginnings of the script to a few people will help me work that out. I think my friend Emily and I plan to read it out loud together to work on it at some point. Until then, it is always on my mind.

Other writing updates (these are mostly for the future):
Dawn - a few more edits are to be had although I do think it is in a really stable place at this point.
Car Parts - good right now. Yikes! I need to remember to email the Annex this week. (Thanks again E. Ray for the introduction!)
Bathtub Safety - probably another to email the Annex.
Regarding Eden (part of the Apocalypse Plays series in case you forgot) - I think I'm finally ready to revisit this one. It is time to look at the conversation between Eden and the boys right after she is introduced. I'm sure there is more character interactions to mine there. (Christy Denny, I think you'll like this one.)
War and Cigarettes - an oldie but a goodie. I definitely need to go back and work on this one. I think the last year and a half of experience as a playwright will inform the way it moves. Plus I can get rid of the superfluous secret fiance. Silly me.

That is all for tonight. Nothing too terribly exciting. I did finish my thank-you notes to the Seattle Rep-ers finally and emailed and sent those off. It made me miss that week up in Bellingham. I'm so glad that got to be my final good-bye to my home of the last five years. It was a good closure and push towards my life in Seattle.

Hello Seattle.