Rambles

I've been taking the Beulah piece into the Fringe this fall and it is being well received. This is always good but then the part that is perhaps hardest: going back to it and ruthlessly rewriting. That's what separates the hacks from the rest of us. I really like the characters in the piece and spending time with them is fun, so it actually might be fun! I also recently read my new solo piece, the one about posing for a painting and such, for Bette and she liked it with reservations; her reservations were actually insights that were very helpful regarding structure and focus . . . I knew it wasn't ready to roll, first drafts seldom are, but I am intrigued by the idea and what I can maybe do with it. Heck, the first draft of Old Hickory had our hero talking about how many women he had killed, he was a serial killer! There was some wonderful imagery at the end of it, but it lacked the impact that it eventually achieved by sticking with a more simple story of one guy and his problems dealing with one woman ...it's come a long way, and I can only assume that the new piece, as yet untitled, is at the initial step or two of a very long journey. Of my solo pieces I think Like a Sack of Potatoes had the shortest gestation period, with the fewest rewrites . . . would that they all just sprang into existance so readily! I also keep coming back to an idea for a suspence piece about people waiting out a storm (it tends to come to mind while I'm waiting out a storm). Don't know if I can or will pull it off or even attempt to, but I haven't written a Damage Control kind of thing for a while.

Marketing

It occurred to me the other day, that if I put the same effort into selling my plays as I do selling in my job, it would be an amazing thing. Now not necessarily eight hour a day effort, but consistent sending stuff out and follow through on that. Gotta get revved up to do that.

Chipping away

Progress is being made on my new solo piece. After my final session posing for the painting I took Bette to see it. She told Diego and Emma and Victor that I had the idea to write a solo piece of someone sitting posing and what goes on in their head. I hadn't mentioned it, but her putting it out in the world sort of made it so. I had taken my camera to get a picture of the painting and we actually took one of me in the chair posed, with the painting in the foreground .. . I said 'Ah, there's the postcard for the solo piece' . . . so there you have it. the die is cast. I have been working on it and it seems to be taking shape in my head and I hope to be able to pull off what I intend . . . which is really honest writing, not camoflaged by a make believe story. I'm not sure that conveys what I'm thinking and I'm not even sure how to express it, but I hope the piece gets to where I think it can go. We shall see. I also took a few more pages of my newest play into the Woodstock Fringe this week. That place seems like family to me . . . it's so comforting to be there among friends, working on theater. the piece was well received, though writing in a kind of appalachian patois doesn't make it any easier for the people reading it. The people there were split between the 'something has to happen' and the 'something is happening under the surface'; in fact, Wallace even invoked Chekov, which was a real shot in the arm . . . more on everything soon.

An aha moment

Funny how these things creep up on you. One thing just sort of leads to another, or maybe not even leads, but you see connections and everything falls into place . . . or at least points in a direction. Wondering where the next solo piece will come from and working on other stuff when I see a photo on Facebook of my cousin from Memphis posed with the mascot of my alma mater (Marshall University). He mentions a place in Kentucky with shared roots . . . which I have never been to. Seems his connection with the place goes a lot deeper than mine as I have never been there. So that gets me thinking about digging a little deeper into that side of things. Then there's jury duty which brings up some stuff I had never even shared with my wife (on the day after an audition for August Osage County which is about a very troubled family)AND then there is A Thousand Acres, which is a phenomenal book which slowly but surely exposes the nerve endings . . . I put the book down yesterday and sat on the porch with my dog (it was my birthday and I took the day off) and my mind was so blown by that book . . . which I haven't even finished yet . . . and the realization that despite all my work with the writing and performing . . . I hadn't really gotten into the deep personal shit . . . I do fold little autobiographical tidbits into everything . . . but to really dig deeply into what I feel and who I am? Hasn't happened . . . yet . . . and the question becomes: do I have balls enough to confront myself in that way in public . . . to be really honest. And if so will that take me to another level or will it end up being a brief detour . . . nothing really horrendous in my family backgroud . . . that I know of . . . but maybe the journey to dig into my shit will be enough . . . worth experimenting a bit to see where it goes. In any event . . . this whole aha moment unfolded slowly and slapped up side the head yesterday afternoon . . . the sign is pointing 'This Way' . . . I guess you go this way.

Meanderings

Had an interesting time auditioning for 'August: Osage County' last week. I felt ready and the parts are all wonderful and nearly all the men are in my age range. The audition went ok, not tons of laughs and it was on the stage in a 400+ seat theater, with two people in it . . . so it was all very workman like. In any event I didn't get a call back. Probably for the best really. Trying to make money at work and rehearsing would have been a delicate balance to say the least. But I have plenty to keep me busy. The Fringe Playwrights Unit starts up again on Tuesday and I am diligently working on getting my new piece typed into the computer (diligently except for today as I'm blogging instead of typing!) It will be great to have that third piece of the puzzle done for the 'miners trilogy'. I've taken some stabs at it before, kind of knew that it would take place in Beulah's; but my previous version was about Beulah's shutting down, which was kind of not that universal alongside the first play (miners on the picket line) or #2 (miners trapped in a roof fall). So in working on this one it's more about the declining fortunes of miners as the mining jobs dry up. We'll see what happens with it. On another note: entered Letter of Resignation into One Man Talking. AND I have the possible beginnings of a new piece about my family history, which is starting to take an interesting turn as I find things out about my shared history from my cousin in Memphis, could be something to explore, especially when it comes to universal themes and such . . .

Post show discussion

Everything went well at the Fringe. 'It Can't Happen Here' was well received, and a lot of fun to do, though the commute could be a tad daunting at times. It was a real joy to work with everyone, no head games, no divas just a group of people cherry picked by Wallace to bring his play to life . . . we were pretty simpatico. Bette and I had two scenes together and it was just so much fun to let it rip as the troubled parents of a troubled teenager. Bette and I ended our involvement for this year with readings. I read my newest solo piece, Letter of Resignation and Bette read Next. It went very well. Nice turn out, warm response from the audience . . . all in all a nice way to end it (though we're going up on Sat. to see the readings and Rain Pryor). So 2012 has been an amazing theatrical year for me. From Old Hickory in Nyack to Like a Sack of Potatoes at the One Man Talking then Letter at the Fringe (unless my calculator is broken, that's three solo pieces this year . . . I need to figure out how to package them as an evening) No idea what comes next, but I'm ready for it. Actually I do have an idea what comes next: back to the writing. I've been negligent in the last few weeks (can't imagine why) but I need to go back to work on the Beulah piece, which is part three of my miner's trilogy, and I have some ideas for a new solo bit that might gestate into something. But it's nice to take a moment to reflect and appreciate. My daughter is safe in Peru (though Isaac disrupted her getting there) and all is well on the home front. And last but not least on the artistic front as well! In fact I just completed my application for New Dramatists, haven't done that for several years, but they made it easy - all electronic so you don't have to print and mail and all that daunting stuff! So . . . a day or two to be lazy . . . and then the great work continues!

First week at the Fringe

Today is the final performance for this week of It Can't Happen Here at the Woodstock Fringe. It has been going remarkably well. Audience response has been good and the performances seem to grow with everyone finding new stuff all the time. To be honest, I was a little wary of how this would turn out. This time last week we had yet to move into the theater which of course means that NONE of the technical aspects of the play had been addressed. It could have been a real disaster. But thanks to the vision and patience of Wallace (director/author of the piece and Artistic Dir. of the Fringe) it all came together beautifully. Of course, it involved lonnnnnggggg rehearsals (3p-10p Mon-Wed) but it was worth it. I worked half days on top of that, so my days were really long (didn't want to chew up too much of my remaining vacation days at work). At any rate, the set is about 16 boxes which are moved around during transitions, so the first order of business was choreographing that, and there are major sound and light cues along with projections . . . and . . . oh yes, we did rehearse the play a bit too. The first time we ran it in a stumble through on Wed. night I didn't expect much but it went very very smoothly . . .amazing how these things pull together. A great group of people to work with as well. The cast is pretty special (not to mention getting to do my scenes with Bette - my wife for those of you who don't know - it is just an incredibly cool moment for us). My daughter came with her fella last night and she was a tad freaked, that she was watching her parents play the parents of someone else her age . . . but she liked the production over all and said nice things about her acting! At any rate, one more today for this week, then three next weekend with the last one followed by my reading of Letter of Resignation (I found a bow tie to wear yesterday, now I need to learn how to tie it!) and Bette's reading of Next. More on all that soon.