I'm approaching writing this play in a whole new way. Never before have I blogged, journaled, or taken notes on the story. I'm trying to get things flowing so I'm choosing a new angle. The characters speak to me in the individual scenes, but it's hard to find the shape of the whole play.
I wrote a monologue by the "new Tiresias" on Saturday. This weekend was the CTAM fall conference and I met a lot of people in community theater around Michigan. I passed out cards but didn't have near enough. I did, however, give the CTAM president one. We had a nice conversation about the playwrighting contest and he said he was looking forward to reading CO. The contest is in May.
I'm not revising the first act any more. I think that was my way of stalling. I need to figure out how to spin out the second act. I have certain events that I need to have happen; the rest is stringing them together.
I have yet to read the cycle of plays. I think I'll go to Schuler's and buy them. Maybe I will devote this week to reading them. That will surely give me an idea of where to go next.
Well, I'm getting pretty tired. I have a lot to process for this weekend. I may not get to writing tomorrow, but I'll try. Definitely going to Schuler's first.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Ahhh...
Finished Act I! I finally figured out a way to send Tig and Poly into the water. They "wade" on their knees and he "floats" on his back. It's a good addition to the scene. And then Oedipus at the end.
The Nurse is featured throughout the rest of Act II but I had nothing to do with Cora/Housekeeper. However, something occurred to me today. A friend read what I had so far a few days ago and told me that Tiresias is actually both male and female. So I will have the actress playing Cora and the Housekeeper play Tiresias in the second act! Cool, huh?
I'm revising the first act before I finish the play, which I don't usually do. I'm mostly cutting out sentences and changing words, not making big changes. I think I like the scenes where they are. Act II may be more demanding in terms of putting the scenes in the right order. I have to do the arrival in Santa Barbara, setting up house there, maybe taking them to a state park, Tig and Poly reestablishing their relationship with Oedipus as adults, Antigone growing, and Tiresias interjecting monologues. I may write a monologue between the train scene and the beach scene in Act I; I need it if I am to follow the pattern.
It took me a good fifteen minutes to read the first scene. Granted, I close read it, but it showed me that the play may indeed be longer than I first thought. If it takes that long to read a (granted, long) scene, then I may have a slightly longer play than I anticipated. Sounds good to me.
There may be more California scenes than Greece scenes. Not sure why I get that feeling.
Well, I'm going to continue reading and changing little bits as I go along. Later...
The Nurse is featured throughout the rest of Act II but I had nothing to do with Cora/Housekeeper. However, something occurred to me today. A friend read what I had so far a few days ago and told me that Tiresias is actually both male and female. So I will have the actress playing Cora and the Housekeeper play Tiresias in the second act! Cool, huh?
I'm revising the first act before I finish the play, which I don't usually do. I'm mostly cutting out sentences and changing words, not making big changes. I think I like the scenes where they are. Act II may be more demanding in terms of putting the scenes in the right order. I have to do the arrival in Santa Barbara, setting up house there, maybe taking them to a state park, Tig and Poly reestablishing their relationship with Oedipus as adults, Antigone growing, and Tiresias interjecting monologues. I may write a monologue between the train scene and the beach scene in Act I; I need it if I am to follow the pattern.
It took me a good fifteen minutes to read the first scene. Granted, I close read it, but it showed me that the play may indeed be longer than I first thought. If it takes that long to read a (granted, long) scene, then I may have a slightly longer play than I anticipated. Sounds good to me.
There may be more California scenes than Greece scenes. Not sure why I get that feeling.
Well, I'm going to continue reading and changing little bits as I go along. Later...
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Life's a beach
Having a little trouble with the Greece scene. I've got Tig and Poly on the beach, just a stone's throw from Oedipus' house. Antigone is apprehensive about seeing her father again. They've stopped to rest and are talking about picking up playing instruments again. There is a theme of exploring senses other than sight in their scenes, since Poly is blind. Tig tries to get him to appreciate his other senses and he is beginning to appreciate them in this scene. He is starting to get away from the self-pity and bitterness he first felt about his blindness.
So I have them sitting here talking and I'm stuck. If it were a film, I could send them into the water, but that's not easy to do on stage. I have seen it done before, in As You Like It at Stratford. The actor laid on his back and "floated" while lights suggested the rest. I really like the idea of sound and lights being a central part of this play. I'd love to figure out a way to send them into the ocean.
After I get this scene done, I'm printing out the first act. Then I may leave it til October. Maybe I'll dream about it. A friend says if you think about your problem before bed, you may dream a solution to it. I think I'm going to have longer scenes in the second act, as I've said. That will be a challenge for me. Maybe my increase in running workouts will help. I ran today but I haven't written at all. So I'm here. Probably sitting at Biggby trying to write is not the best idea. There's too much stimulation. The music is too loud and the chairs are too hard. Starbucks was better but I prefer to patronize smaller businesses. Maybe I'll try Gone Wired next time. That's kind of out of my way, though. I guess I'm best off just writing at home.
OyamO, my playwrighting prof at Michigan, said "Don't write a part for a specific actor; write it for a good actor." That's what I do, but knowing so many actors in the area, it's hard to avoid thinking of certain people for roles. I guess it boils down to asking certain people to audition when it comes time. FB invites are a great thing. I refuse to put pressure on a director one way or the other, but I have to say...I do know people that would be really good in certain roles. Ah, well. Back to the beach.
So I have them sitting here talking and I'm stuck. If it were a film, I could send them into the water, but that's not easy to do on stage. I have seen it done before, in As You Like It at Stratford. The actor laid on his back and "floated" while lights suggested the rest. I really like the idea of sound and lights being a central part of this play. I'd love to figure out a way to send them into the ocean.
After I get this scene done, I'm printing out the first act. Then I may leave it til October. Maybe I'll dream about it. A friend says if you think about your problem before bed, you may dream a solution to it. I think I'm going to have longer scenes in the second act, as I've said. That will be a challenge for me. Maybe my increase in running workouts will help. I ran today but I haven't written at all. So I'm here. Probably sitting at Biggby trying to write is not the best idea. There's too much stimulation. The music is too loud and the chairs are too hard. Starbucks was better but I prefer to patronize smaller businesses. Maybe I'll try Gone Wired next time. That's kind of out of my way, though. I guess I'm best off just writing at home.
OyamO, my playwrighting prof at Michigan, said "Don't write a part for a specific actor; write it for a good actor." That's what I do, but knowing so many actors in the area, it's hard to avoid thinking of certain people for roles. I guess it boils down to asking certain people to audition when it comes time. FB invites are a great thing. I refuse to put pressure on a director one way or the other, but I have to say...I do know people that would be really good in certain roles. Ah, well. Back to the beach.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Pardon me, boy...
Finished the train scene. I read it aloud and it's about 7 minutes. So the page/minute measurement is a little off in my favor. I have ONE MORE scene to write to complete Act I--the scene where Tig and Poly arrive in Greece. This scene will introduce the Nurse, played by the actress who plays Eurydice, and Oedipus, played by the actor who plays Creon.
I'm starting to get a better idea of the shape. Act I sets everything up and promises hope for the future. Act II is a process of unraveling. Things don't go well.
Not sure if I want to keep the alternating scenes up. I'm thinking not. It would get tedious after a while. Maybe I will write longer scenes with more unity of place.
Although I want to work more, I think it's time to put 'er to bed. Tomorrow, as the lady says, is another day.
I'm starting to get a better idea of the shape. Act I sets everything up and promises hope for the future. Act II is a process of unraveling. Things don't go well.
Not sure if I want to keep the alternating scenes up. I'm thinking not. It would get tedious after a while. Maybe I will write longer scenes with more unity of place.
Although I want to work more, I think it's time to put 'er to bed. Tomorrow, as the lady says, is another day.
Fate, fate, and more fate
Working on the train scene. I wrote a Tiresias monologue and shifted to the three youths on the train to SB. There's a memory bit with Ismene and Creon where she liberates herself from him. That was a nice surprise. I've written about a page this morning and the scene is about three pages long so far. I'd like to get two more pages done to finish the scene. Right now the script is 30 pages. I wanted the first act to be 45 pp. but it looks like it'll be closer to 35 or 40 at the most. I think each page is more than a minute, though. It would take a reading to really find out.
My typing is getting faster. Good thing. I took a typing test a while back and I was only at 50 wpm. I think I'm at about 60 now. I can type almost as fast as I think. I look at the cursor and the words, so that's better for working on original stuff. Transcribing is harder.
I got a thumb drive yesterday. I wanted to have a backup of the play in case Dora (my computer) died. I love thumb drives! They are so easy to use. If I spill water or something on Dora, I can take the thumb drive to Kinko's and make a copy of the script. It was pretty cheap too--11 bucks for 4 gigs. I would have to write a lot of plays to fill that...!
I'm hoping I'm not beating the theme of fate into the ground. That seems to be all the three youths are talking about in this scene. The part with Creon is a departure, but most of the scene goes: "Can you change things...what is fate and what is chance...how do decisions figure in all this..." blah blah blah. Monsters is not so much about people sitting around talking as in CO, but it's still pretty wordy. I guess language is the most important element in my plays. It's what I look at when I read, and so that comes through in my work.
I want to work on Ismene and Haemon's budding relationship and its opposition to Tig and Poly's incestuous one. What do they have in common and how do they differ? And how does Teo come into all of this? He is the odd man out as far as love is concerned. His "fate" is also different from the others...in the way it unfolds. Trying not to give too much away, but it's hard!
And on another note...I watched the Michigan game in between writing last night and all I have to say is GO BLUE!
More later...maybe a progress report on the train scene...
My typing is getting faster. Good thing. I took a typing test a while back and I was only at 50 wpm. I think I'm at about 60 now. I can type almost as fast as I think. I look at the cursor and the words, so that's better for working on original stuff. Transcribing is harder.
I got a thumb drive yesterday. I wanted to have a backup of the play in case Dora (my computer) died. I love thumb drives! They are so easy to use. If I spill water or something on Dora, I can take the thumb drive to Kinko's and make a copy of the script. It was pretty cheap too--11 bucks for 4 gigs. I would have to write a lot of plays to fill that...!
I'm hoping I'm not beating the theme of fate into the ground. That seems to be all the three youths are talking about in this scene. The part with Creon is a departure, but most of the scene goes: "Can you change things...what is fate and what is chance...how do decisions figure in all this..." blah blah blah. Monsters is not so much about people sitting around talking as in CO, but it's still pretty wordy. I guess language is the most important element in my plays. It's what I look at when I read, and so that comes through in my work.
I want to work on Ismene and Haemon's budding relationship and its opposition to Tig and Poly's incestuous one. What do they have in common and how do they differ? And how does Teo come into all of this? He is the odd man out as far as love is concerned. His "fate" is also different from the others...in the way it unfolds. Trying not to give too much away, but it's hard!
And on another note...I watched the Michigan game in between writing last night and all I have to say is GO BLUE!
More later...maybe a progress report on the train scene...
Friday, September 9, 2011
Closer and closer all the time
I've come so far since I started writing about Monsters. I've finished the Housekeeper scene, which was a lot easier to write because there were four people to bounce off each other. I copied and pasted the cabin scene so it comes after the Housekeeper scene. I want to go back and forth between the two groups. The next scene is on the train and then the last scene in the act takes place in Greece. So it looks like I might have Act I finished before the end of September! That would be awesome.
The characters are really forming nicely and finding their own voices. They each said what they were supposed to in the Housekeeper scene. What I mean by that is there would be a line that I knew someone had to say and the perfect voice came forward for that particular line.
Ismene, Eteocles, and Haemon pick a random city to go to in California, Santa Barbara. I decided what was going to happen to Teo and did a little research into something...that I don't want to go in to. Suffice it to say that Santa Barbara in the mid-twenties is a perfect place for them to be.
This play is turning out a little like that horror movie where the characters avoid a terrible accident and then they all die in other ways throughout the movie. Not sure what that was called. I don't think that will be a concern. It's silly and just a coincidence.
I want this one to be part of a school curricula. It may sound grandiose, but I think the themes and language make it a play worthy of study. Checking Out is a fun light comedy, but Monsters is more brainy; I could see it being included in a syllabus someday. I had a flash of my old U of M senior seminar professor using it in his class. Silly...but who knows?
I wrote that whole Housekeeper scene today and I'm just best. Gonna take the rest of the night off, maybe do some laundry or clean. No rehearsal tonight. I have the whole weekend to write. Maybe I'll write the train scene. That would be a good goal: write the train scene over the weekend. I think I'll try to do just that. Write and ride at the gym tomorrow, run and write Sunday.
I ran today too, since the Strength and Stretch instructor didn't show up. Our other instructor isn't doing it any more and apparently they don't have anyone new. I was there and prepared to run, so I did that instead. Maybe that freed me up to write this whole scene today. I really think there is a body/mind connection.
Well, I'm off to explore other things for my evening. I have Chinese food coming and I want to sweep and mop the kitchen floor, at least. Attagirl...
The characters are really forming nicely and finding their own voices. They each said what they were supposed to in the Housekeeper scene. What I mean by that is there would be a line that I knew someone had to say and the perfect voice came forward for that particular line.
Ismene, Eteocles, and Haemon pick a random city to go to in California, Santa Barbara. I decided what was going to happen to Teo and did a little research into something...that I don't want to go in to. Suffice it to say that Santa Barbara in the mid-twenties is a perfect place for them to be.
This play is turning out a little like that horror movie where the characters avoid a terrible accident and then they all die in other ways throughout the movie. Not sure what that was called. I don't think that will be a concern. It's silly and just a coincidence.
I want this one to be part of a school curricula. It may sound grandiose, but I think the themes and language make it a play worthy of study. Checking Out is a fun light comedy, but Monsters is more brainy; I could see it being included in a syllabus someday. I had a flash of my old U of M senior seminar professor using it in his class. Silly...but who knows?
I wrote that whole Housekeeper scene today and I'm just best. Gonna take the rest of the night off, maybe do some laundry or clean. No rehearsal tonight. I have the whole weekend to write. Maybe I'll write the train scene. That would be a good goal: write the train scene over the weekend. I think I'll try to do just that. Write and ride at the gym tomorrow, run and write Sunday.
I ran today too, since the Strength and Stretch instructor didn't show up. Our other instructor isn't doing it any more and apparently they don't have anyone new. I was there and prepared to run, so I did that instead. Maybe that freed me up to write this whole scene today. I really think there is a body/mind connection.
Well, I'm off to explore other things for my evening. I have Chinese food coming and I want to sweep and mop the kitchen floor, at least. Attagirl...
Monday, September 5, 2011
Dreaming of the man I love
Someday he'll come along, The man I love
And he'll be big and strong, The man I love
And when he comes my way
I'll do my best to make him stay
He'll look at me and smile, I'll understand
Then in a little while, He'll take my hand
And though it seems absurd
I know we both won't say a word
Maybe I shall meet him Sunday,
Maybe Monday, maybe not
Still I'm sure to meet him one day
Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day
He'll build a little home, That's meant for two
From which I'll never roam, Who would, would you
And so all else above
I'm dreaming of the man I love
Soooo....I guess I changed my mind...The Man I Love was written in the mid-twenties and has more of the "sound" I'm looking for...kind of wistful. Ain't Misbehavin' is just a little more upbeat, and I think TMIL has a slightly lazier and melancholy tone to it. Antigone's found her man, of course, but it's still a lovely song and I think perfect for a quiet moment between them.
I feel like I can write today, so I'm going to do the best I can here in a minute. I don't know how far I can get, but I'd like to get at least a page in. Maybe two. It would make me very happy if I could end the scene today.
I might as well grab the day for as much writing as I can. I forgot it was Labor Day and that the gym would be closed, so I have more time to write. I could get a run in and I have rehearsal tonight, so I don't have to lose the day. I took a bath last night but didn't devote any down time to thinking about the play...I needed more time away from it. But today I'm refreshed and ready to attack it again.
It's time...
And he'll be big and strong, The man I love
And when he comes my way
I'll do my best to make him stay
He'll look at me and smile, I'll understand
Then in a little while, He'll take my hand
And though it seems absurd
I know we both won't say a word
Maybe I shall meet him Sunday,
Maybe Monday, maybe not
Still I'm sure to meet him one day
Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day
He'll build a little home, That's meant for two
From which I'll never roam, Who would, would you
And so all else above
I'm dreaming of the man I love
Soooo....I guess I changed my mind...The Man I Love was written in the mid-twenties and has more of the "sound" I'm looking for...kind of wistful. Ain't Misbehavin' is just a little more upbeat, and I think TMIL has a slightly lazier and melancholy tone to it. Antigone's found her man, of course, but it's still a lovely song and I think perfect for a quiet moment between them.
I feel like I can write today, so I'm going to do the best I can here in a minute. I don't know how far I can get, but I'd like to get at least a page in. Maybe two. It would make me very happy if I could end the scene today.
I might as well grab the day for as much writing as I can. I forgot it was Labor Day and that the gym would be closed, so I have more time to write. I could get a run in and I have rehearsal tonight, so I don't have to lose the day. I took a bath last night but didn't devote any down time to thinking about the play...I needed more time away from it. But today I'm refreshed and ready to attack it again.
It's time...
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Misbehavin'
No one to talk with, all by myself
No one to walk with, but I'm happy on the shelf
Ain't misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you.
I know for certain the one I love
I'm through with flirtin', it's just you I'm thinkin' of
Ain't Misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you.
Like Jack Horner in the corner
don't go nowhere, what do I care
Your kisses are worth waitin' for . . . Believe me.
I don't stay out late, don't care to go
I'm home about 8, just me and my radio
Ain't Misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you
"Ain't Misbehavin'" was written by Fats Waller in 1929. I heard it today in Starbuck's and I guess it stuck in my subconscious. Almost everything else I found that I liked was written in the 30s or later. This is perfect. I was thinking the play would be set closer to the beginning of the 20s but setting it at the end is interesting too--thinking of how close to the Crash it is and how that adds to the sense of impending doom. It gives me a concrete year to set it in, and the excesses of the decade leave the time and people jaded. It's just a really interesting idea.
I've been away from the play for a few days being in Kalamazoo and all. I wanted to give myself a break so I could come back to it refreshed. Now that I have the song I have somewhere to go. I imagine I can get two more good pages in this scene.
One of the Merchant peeps is a writer so I sent what I have so far to him. I'm hoping we can help each other with our work (he's writing right now too). I know of a couple other writers in my circle of friends so maybe we can form some kind of writing group. That might be a good way for us to all help each other.
Okay, time for a bath and more thinking. I'm also keeping a journal with more stream of consciousness notes. I feel like I've never worked on a play so hard as I'm working on this one. I hope it pays off.
No one to walk with, but I'm happy on the shelf
Ain't misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you.
I know for certain the one I love
I'm through with flirtin', it's just you I'm thinkin' of
Ain't Misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you.
Like Jack Horner in the corner
don't go nowhere, what do I care
Your kisses are worth waitin' for . . . Believe me.
I don't stay out late, don't care to go
I'm home about 8, just me and my radio
Ain't Misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you
"Ain't Misbehavin'" was written by Fats Waller in 1929. I heard it today in Starbuck's and I guess it stuck in my subconscious. Almost everything else I found that I liked was written in the 30s or later. This is perfect. I was thinking the play would be set closer to the beginning of the 20s but setting it at the end is interesting too--thinking of how close to the Crash it is and how that adds to the sense of impending doom. It gives me a concrete year to set it in, and the excesses of the decade leave the time and people jaded. It's just a really interesting idea.
I've been away from the play for a few days being in Kalamazoo and all. I wanted to give myself a break so I could come back to it refreshed. Now that I have the song I have somewhere to go. I imagine I can get two more good pages in this scene.
One of the Merchant peeps is a writer so I sent what I have so far to him. I'm hoping we can help each other with our work (he's writing right now too). I know of a couple other writers in my circle of friends so maybe we can form some kind of writing group. That might be a good way for us to all help each other.
Okay, time for a bath and more thinking. I'm also keeping a journal with more stream of consciousness notes. I feel like I've never worked on a play so hard as I'm working on this one. I hope it pays off.
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