Breakthrough, kinda

I wrote a bit today! I'm planning to write more soon. Mom and I talked about the craft of writing, how I needed to do it every day. Dave says this in CO as well, that he works hard every day. We saw Hugo and it's all about working, that we are all part of a machine and there are no extra pieces. We all have a job to do. And my job is to write. So I've set the goal of working every day.

I decided it's too hard to make myself go to Interval every Monday. So I'm going to another class, an aerobics class, at Parkwood. I want to take a Pilates class there too and stick with the S and S. So that will be the three classes I will take next semester. I haven't run but I have done the Arc Trainer. My weight seems to have stabilized at 150, but I have set a goal of losing 10 pounds by April Fool's Day.

It is the Nurse who suggests the name of Konstantinos. That occurred to me this morning. Mornings are good epiphany times for me. I think that's why I sleep in so often. I do my best writing when I first wake up. There is a time after which it's just harder to write, about 8 or 9. Last night I wanted to write but it was too late.

This first Act II scene takes up about two pages so far. I want to write another two pages today, or at least one page. I'd like it to be a five-page scene. After this, I want to have the other siblings and Haemon arrive in SB. I see the stage as divided in half, lit to create two spaces. A designer can do a lot with light and sound. Set should be minimal, mostly chairs and tables. Tiresias can be in the middle or off to the side. Originally I envisioned her/him off to the side, but it might be more interesting to put him/her in the center, since s/he lies between the action.

Okay, time to get back to it.

Mired

The relationship is over. Sad. I have to keep creating, though. Dave in CO says nothing else matters when he is writing, that writing is his true love. I get that way sometimes.

However, I'm blocked as far as Monsters is concerned. I'm using Konstantinos but I haven't gotten any farther. I remember long periods when I didn't or couldn't work on CO so I may just need a break. Writing takes time. It's also hard to keep from languishing in FB and not trying to write. I don't do well with disciplined writing. It seems to either come or not. I should probably take time every day to at least try.

Workouts are going well. There's a new woman doing Strength and Stretch. I went Friday and had a good workout. Sunday I did the ArcTrainer and today I rode the bike. The SparkPeople program is great. I spent some time tonight looking through healthy recipes on the site. My eating has been not so great but I'm going to try to do better.

I'll be home for Thanksgiving and I'll try to eat healthy then. I'm making butternut squash from a recipe in the SparkPeople collection. I have just recently discovered butternut squash and I LOVE it. It's easy to make, too.

So, I'm having vegetable fried rice for dinner and trying to create later tonight. We'll see.

Unblock coming..?

I didn't run today but I did do ArcTrainer, and I'm feeling pretty good. Auditions for "R and G" are tonight. I've been doing other things on the computer today--not only Facebooking but working on a new site called Spark People. It's a way to keep a record of your nutrition and fitness. I found out that I'm not eating nearly enough and not getting enough carbs (by far) or protein. Today I'm better-just about perfect on the carbs and getting there on the protein-fat relationship.

Ismene is the only sibling to escape death in the original cycle, so I can keep that. Haemon kills himself in "Antigone" but I don't think I'll have him die in my version. There are two suicides in "Monsters" ,however.

The lovers have to decide on a name for the baby. I was kicking around Adelphos (sibling) and Baltasar (king of Babylon before its fall). Kris suggested Konstantinos. I kind of like that. "Steadfast, constant." I wanted something that would be kind of ironic, but maybe a more hopeful name is better. The kids have a lot of hope that gets dashed as their fates unfold.

I'm feeling like I could write a monologue tonight. Not necessarily when I get done here, but maybe when I get home from the bar (we're going for a drink after auditions). I wonder, if I get in the show, if that can spur me creatively. Stoppard is fun to read and I'm sure fun to do. Sometimes being exposed to a great writer makes me a better writer myself. It will be the third really well-written show I've done this year. It would be so great!

**Other news: I changed my relationship status on FB today and got SO many "likes". I'm really happy they're happy, and it's good to be happy myself. It's nice to have someone I can bounce ideas off of and someone to offer suggestions. Perhaps my new relationship with Kris will help get me past my writer's block. :)

No prayers for November to linger longer....

I was surprised to see I hadn't written since September. October was completely taken up by Conspiracy. I have gone from one show to another since March. I have some downtime now but that may be over soon if I get cast in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

I've been having severe writer's block. I've started the first scene of the second act, but it's been hard going. The dialogue between Tig, Poly, and Oedipus is tricky to navigate. He doesn't condone what they've done but he still loves them. He and Poly have the same challenges as far as their sight is concerned and I want to bring that out.

I read the Theban cycle and it was an eye-opener. I've forgotten a lot about the story. First of all, I forgot Haemon was Creon's son. This is a very helpful way to explain what he's doing there--before he was just sort of hanging out. I find it interesting that Tig and Haemon are first cousins. I guess the Greeks didn't consider that relationship too close to be incest. It's not considered incest in Mansfield Park, either, so...maybe it's not that big a deal. But I like the idea of bringing it up, so I will stick to the original as far as his relationship to Antigone is concerned.

Oedipus at Colonus takes place between Oedipus the King and Antigone. The girls are in it but not the boys. Polynices is actually the older brother. Oedipus is "taken" at his death, disappearing and leaving no corpse. I find this really interesting. I may use that somehow.

Of course, in the original Poly and Teo are dead at the beginning of Antigone. In my version, the battle is a debate and neither of them dies at the end of it. But they are doomed in my version nonetheless. None of them can escape their fate--except Ismene. I may change my mind about that, even.

So, again, I know where it's going to go but I just have to get there. I haven't been running much and that may be making a difference. Maybe the creative juices haven't been flowing because I've been avoiding being physical. I've gained 6 pounds since May, when I was in Guys and Dolls. I need to get back on track with the eating and the working out. It's just hard with the show and the weather, too. It's been so cold and grey. Bad excuses, I know.

So tomorrow I will try to run and maybe spend some time working. I've been spending altogether way too much time on FB. It's sucking my soul dry. I'm still hoping for revealing dreams but the only dreams I've had recently have been about my dad in drag and getting a hamburger at the Soup Spoon. I have a new romantic interest in my life, which is not only nice from a relationship standpoint but also good in a creative way--he's been reading and critiquing my work, as I have his.

So I think it's time to sign off for the night. Too late to start working now, although I might try to write a few lines. Tomorrow, as the lady says, is another day.