Name of the Game OR What You Want And How to Get It

While I'm still in the revision process of several of my scripts, and therefore taking a break from posting them here, I'm going to continue on this tangent I've had for the past little while: actual blogging. This one isn't a rant, or a celebrity slam bio, just thoughts that have been in my mind for quite a while. And need to get out in the open. And hopefully, these rambling thoughts will make sense, somehow.

Last year, I posted something that basically says that everything happens at the right time for the right reason. As that was a year ago, some of the things I say here may be repeats, and for that I apologize to anybody who reads some of these things twice. Or maybe you need to hear it twice. Whatever.

Wherever I go, I hear people saying things like "I want (item A) and after (item B) happens, then I'll get it." And that's it. They wait for something to happen which will lead to something else, and then everything will work out. But that's not how life works. Even in the movies.

People want things; I get that. And maybe it's not a publishing contract, or an athletic scholarship or college degree. It can be simpler than that--the wish, I mean, the thing someone wants. Example: "what? what's wrong with the job market? or the professor? or this person? or the school?" etc. You've all been there. And those questions are always there. Endlessly.  And all I could think about was this: "I know what I want. I'll get it when it's time."

Faith, you see? Having a knowledge of something that is not seen, that is true.  As a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, this was taught to me from a very early age. I know I have a loving Father in Heaven who wants me to be happy. Knowing this, I am happy. But there are still things I want. Good things. And part of me was still at a loss of how exactly to get it.

In spite of my faith, this question really used to bother me. Why didn't I have the things that I wanted? How long would I have to wait for them? Was I doing something wrong--deliberately or otherwise--that was stopping me from achieving the good things I wanted? I still get asked that question at least once at every family gathering, but it doesn't bother me as much. I still think about it, but it doesn't make me as sad as it used to, because over the past little while I have learned several important lessons. And these are the things that have been stuck in my head a need to come out. So here goes:

In May, I finished twelve years at a local elementary school as a Drama Coach. While the night was full of both euphoria and tears, I got to thinking. All my life I had wanted to do something like this. I had started directing shows in my backyard as a teenager, but when I started college I couldn't do that anymore--for a very good reason. But I still wanted to direct. When I finally landed a job as the Drama Coach at this school, the program was--not to put to fine a point on it--a mess. No costumes, not sets, no props, not publicity, not meeting times, and no performance space. Fantastic. I spent the first month totally freaking out, and I don't need to say that our first two performances would win an Academy Award for Biggest Mess(or whatever equivalent you want to stick here, if you've got a better one).

It only got better once I lost my car. I say lost, but maybe I should say I lost access to a car. Because I moved, and had to use my bus pass instead--and walk. Which added two hours to my trip job that I didn't get paid for. But I kept at it. I cut down the plays. I adapted some of them. I made posters, I held auditions, made copies, spent more time on the phone and emailing than I ever had before. I walked to and from work and the bus stop, two days a week, in rain, in snow, in the heat. I set up meetings with the After School Coordinator, the principal, and the other teachers who had the space I ended up getting--the cafeteria--so that we could all coordinate use of the space accordingly(and we only had minor mishaps after that). There were days I was so tired all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep--but I had homework to do on top of that. But there were also days I was on a euphoric high, because my program was working.  All my hard work, and groveling, and tears, a sweat, and prayers paid off. Our final production was thirty students, and we performed in a university theatre space. My lesson: hard work pays off. Work--kill yourself if you have to--to get what you want.

This past summer I attended the Hill Cumorah Pageant. This experience was truly the most incredible thing that could ever happen to me. Where else did I know of--other than the Temple--that I could feel the Spirit literally twenty-four hours a day?

I met two people there who have become my heroes(and part of me selfishly hopes they read this, because it's hard enough to say this to their faces. Here goes). Both of them are two of the most spiritual, humble, kind men I have ever met. Both  taught me things I don't think I would have learned otherwise.

The first I met at the airport. It was his second year, and he was from Vermont, played Rugby and was going to serve his mission in Salt Lake City(near where I live).  I didn't see him every day, but I got to know him well enough. He told me he had needed to change and how coming to the Pageant had helped him do it. He also told me he'd been injured in a Rugby accident and still felt it sometimes. Now, I didn't know him before, but I could see what kind of person he had become. I have no idea what specific trials he had to go though, but he had been willing to go though them. He was happier for it.

I found myself watching him in his rehearsals when I happened to be in the same area--not as a stalker or anything, but observing. He was playing a Battleman, which meant a lot of jumping and leaping(there is a difference, trust me), and waving a three pound sword around. With a knee and ankle injury, that hurts. But as I watched him, he didn't seem to have any trouble with it. He told me later that while he was performing and while he was rehearsing, he wasn't in pain. Some people would say that this was because he was constantly using it, so of course his body felt nothing. But I don't think so. What he wanted was good, and he knew how to get it. The lesson he taught me was be willing. Willing to listen, willing to grow, willing to take risks, to change whatever aspects of  your life need to be changed. No matter how hard it is, no matter what circumstances you happen to be in, be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve what you want. And if it's a good thing, you'll get it.

The second guy I didn't meet until I was actually at the Pageant. Ok, that's not true. He added me on Facebook like two months before, but that's not important. I don't know what I was, but every time I looked at him, I could see his self confidence and his humility in perfect balance. He spoke to everyone--really spoke not just a "hi, how are you" but he took time to get to know the people he was around. He's a life coach so I guess that part of him is a given.

One of the places we went during Pageant was the Sacred Grove--which is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I didn't talk much while I was in there, because of the amazing Spirit. But when this guy and I did talk on our way out, be said something that stuck in my head. I was teasing him about something--can't remember exactly what--and he said "that's not the point. The point is to re-evaluate who we really are. To re-center our lives to where they(our lives) are supposed to be." That stuck with me. For the rest of the trip. And it's still with me. What he was talking about in a spiritual sense also applies in a secular sense. He lived what he taught. His lesson: he knew who he was and where his life was supposed to be centered.  I could tell he believed that with all his heart and he encouraged others to do the same. And now that he knew that, he could get what he wanted.

So, lessons I have learned, to sum up:

1.Work your tail off; what you want won't happen if you don't work for it.
2. Be willing to do whatever it takes; even hard things can get you want you want
3. Know who you are; this way you can get where you need to go to get what you want.

Anything you want that is good, you will get. But you need to be able to hold up your end of the bargain.

Lucille Ball--Queen of the B's. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Happy birthday to gorgeous Lucille Ball!!!

Name of the Game OR Kidstuff...And Why I Write It

Ok. So usually, I am not this kind of a blogger. I do have posts on here that are musings, or rants or opinions, but the real reason I set this whole thing up is to have somewhere to put my writing...just in case I lost it. Nothing on here is totally polished, just the first fully revised drafts. But it works. And now that I am in the process of revising several scripts and submitting others(and have had at least one produced! see review here), I have been thinking about my writing in general, and why I write what I do. So here goes:

All my life I have had this weird craving for adrenaline rushes. Which is ironic sometimes because I can be the world's biggest chicken. I was scared of the dark until I was thirteen, and still refuse to put my head under water when swimming due to an incident in the local pool when I was six--and I hate getting water up my nose or anywhere else it doesn't belong. But I digress. When I was little, my grandfather would show us movies.  Usually, he would show us old Hollywood stuff like The King and I and The Sound of Music(hence the reason why I have such an obsession with Silver Screen Hollywood, I suppose). But on one of those occasions, he showed me The Princess Bride. I know, I know, everybody's seen it; it's a classic. I was too young to get some of the jokes and other things that were in there, and I don't think I quite understood the plot, but I did enjoy the fencing matches. More than enjoyed them--they were the only thing I remembered, apart from the giant eel and the big rat thing(I know, I know ROUSes, but gimme I break I was six--or maybe seven, anyway---). I did hide under the blankets and cover my eyes when those things happened, and yes I did hide during the freaky bits in Never Ending Story. As a kid, I was chicken, I will openly admit that(I still am, sometimes).

Movies have always had a great effect on me and my writing. I write what I love, and that usually ties in to the types of movies I happen to be watching. I was raised on Disney. Most of my childhood movie watching experiences include Peter Pan, Fox and the Hound, Great Mouse Detective, and Beauty and the Beast. Pattern? They were all exciting. Peter Pan had sword fights, flying and the bomb; Beauty and the Beast  had that epic fight on the tower between Gaston and the Beast; Fox and the Hound had the bear confrontation, etc. Since I was watching kid stuff, I wrote kid stuff. I wrote about pioneer girls doing pioneer things and happy endings and stuff like that. Typical little girls stuff.

My writing took on another facet when I was introduced to Romeo and Juliet at the age of seven. And while I did go around crying "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo" all the time, I also started putting death into my stories. I wrote one where every single character died for no reason other than I wanted a death. I wrote several "kid tragedies" that I never want to see again during that phase of my writing "career". I also found out that critcs tend to latch on to the cornyness of anything that is in a story. I'm sorry, but sometimes corny works! I'm sidetracking again. Moving on....

When I was ten, my dad got tickets for him, my sister, and I to go see West Side Story at Sundance. My grandfather, of course, owned the movie and decided it was a good idea for my sister and I to watch it so we understood what was going on(he did the same thing with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, but that's for later). I remember two things about my experience with that movie:
               
     1. I was very upset that every single good looking man in the movie died and all the ugly ones
         (with a couple of exceptions) did not.
   
     2. My physical and mental reaction to the rumble scene.

Those who know me already understand the fact that I am a hopeless romantic freak who falls for every male celebrity with a centimeter of stereotypical aesthetic attractiveness, and/or charisma, so number 1 is a no brainer.  Number 2, though....well, watch this:

Two clips, one on stage one from the movie; one professional, one form high school, but now that you've got the visual...here we go. So I get really into movies--like scary into them. And I was already invested in those when the rumble started. So when the knives came out, I started trembling, and then shaking. My pulse picked up, my heart was banging against my ribs, and my insides felt like they were being twisted around the tines of a fork(corny, I know, but roll with me on this). I wanted to watch it again, because of the way it made me feel. Good storytelling ties into people's emotions. And brother, if this scene didn't grab my emotions I don't know what did.

After that experience, I craved those adrenaline rushes. I love the sensation I get during a thriller or a noir, or and action/adventure--from my pulse picking up to the point where I can breathe. I wanted nothing more than to experience that as a writer. So that I what I tried to write. For the next six or seven years I subjected my poor characters to violence, fear, blood and...well, you get the idea. I was great for helping me control my temper too. Anytime someone made me mad, I would turn them into a character, locked them in a room, or put a weapon in his hand(usually it was a "he"), and unleash my writer's wrath on him. For pages. (Yes, I can be bloodthirsty, don't make me mad, get over it.)

But I noticed that while I was getting these rushes, it was only when I was writing. I didn't feel happy afterwards. I felt dark and depressed--which is not something a writer should be feeling. But I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to stay darkside, but I wanted to write and get that same feeling every time I wrote.

When I couldn't stand it anymore I took a mini writing break. I took all my dark stuff and threw it away. I shredded some of the awful stuff I had written, and went back to my first love: Disney and kid capers. Those were calm, and made me feel happy. But I missed my adrenaline rushes.

About a year ago, I got introduced to Goonies and Dead End/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys(see previous posts--all them--it's bad how obsessed it get!). There was still excitement, still danger, still occasional violence, but it also had kids. And I love kids. So I thought "hey, I should try putting the two together and see how it meshes in my head." You know what? IT TOTALLY DOES!!!! And the best part is that it's ok to be corny in the process. I can be funny and corny and appeal to a general audience and get my writer's adrenaline rush without going darkside. And you know what? It feels SO GOOD!!!!!

You can see my drafts of my "kid caper/noir series" here.

My New Obsession

Meet my new obsession. Rebel BadA and Leader. Raph and Leo. Sean Astin and Jason Biggs. Need I say more?

Another Lucy, and My Analysis of Same

In an earlier post I salute Lucille Ball and her clever little quotes, albeit taken from the brains of Madeline Pugh and Bob Carol Jr. However, one quote has been stuck in my head for years and, even though I already posted it several times, on Twitter, Facebook, and even here(see earlier post) I would like to post it again and provide my own translation. I do this because I have been thinking quite a bit about the view of dating and marriage with regard to society's current view. And hopefully my random ramblings will somehow tie together into some coherent version of what I'm trying to say and how I feel about--gender roles. Here goes:

 For some stupid reason, society is teaching us that men can be looked after by women. They can be as dumb as they want and women will solve everything. Um, hello, I'm all for women taking care of themselves when they have no helpmate and no one to provide for but themselves, but guess who's job it actually is to take care of people and solve the problems. That's, right: the man. Good strong men know who they are and what responsibilities--marital or otherwise--they have and they actually do their job instead of waiting for other people(ie, women, or their wives, or members of the female half of the species) to take care of them.

Some people who have seen my movie collection question the ones that I own--for whatever reason, I'm not going into that now. But I looked over them, again, and I realized that all of the movies I own have men and women where they are supposed to be--that is, the men as breadwinner, patriarch, leader; women as homemaker, care giver, and occasionally damsel in distress(which is a fine place for a woman to be once in a while--believe it or not).

I had a talk with my mom about this, and have come to the following conclusion. First, the quote:

"There are three types of men in the world. The Bachelor walks around the car and opens the door for you; the Fiance reaches across you and opens the door from the inside; and the Husband gets out, stands on the sidewalk and says 'well, we haven't got all night'."

So there is the quote, and now I'm going to--analyse and commentate on it. Be advised, this is my own opinion and I am stating this at the risk of being bombarded by...whatever. Here goes:

There are three types of men in the world
Lucy calls them the Bachelor, the Fiance and the Husband. I call them the Gentleman, the Casual, and the Jaded Jerk. You'll see why I call them "jerks" in a second. All three of these types are men and boys that I have met for most of my life. I've just never been quite so good at telling these types apart. And ok, I get that society plays a big role on the type of person you become, but the thing is, people can also choose to change, and to go against what society expects. In a positive way, of course.

The Gentleman.
Anybody who has read a Jane Austin novel or seen a movie from 1930-1950, would know what a gentleman is, and that's not meant as an offense, I promise. These are men who know how to talk to and treat a woman--sure, ok they can still be rogues, but you know what? Benedick was still a gentleman even if he did crack jokes that were--not so nice. He bantered and insulted Beatrice, but you know what? When she was upset he still wanted to make sure she was ok, and I don't think it was just because he was crazy in love.  Or Rhett Butler. He was a rogue, but he stayed behind when Atlanta was burning to get the woman he loved out of danger. This guy is the stereotypical Prince Charming and stuff. He solves his own problems; he can take care of himself. He chooses to ignore the role society is trying to give them--the lazy rogue who is taken care of by women. This is the type who knows he is supposed to look after women and be a help mate, not a burden.

The Casual.
So this type is in between the other two. He can be nice and gentlemanly, but only when he wants to--which is about half the time--if we are lucky. He treats women ok, but still has faults and has to be reminded to do things. Like open a car door. This doesn't necessarily mean they don't want to; they just don't know if they should. They are starting to listen to society. They aren't sure if they should treat a woman like a woman, or as a casual acquaintance. Hence the reason for the gentle reminders.

The Jaded Jerk.
Ok. So first off, this is not an insult. Ok, not quite. This is the type I feel kind of sorry for. These poor things have been totally taken in by society and not give a (insert appropriate word here) about the way women should be treated. They have been jaded and act stupid and want women to be their problem solvers and take care of them, not the other way around. Need an example? Watch any episode of either King of Queens or Everybody Loves Raymond. The man gets into trouble, and the woman solves the problem. Over and over again. I'm not even kidding.

The car.
Lucy uses the car door as an example. This can be applied to anything--including building doors, car doors, dates and...anything. Gentlemen open doors and stand aside for the lady to pass, come up to the door on dates, pay for tickets, or dinner, etc. Casuals still open doors, but walk through first and lever the door open for the ladies to enter behind him, they don't get out of the car to pick one up for a date, they just honk or text  "i'm here" and wait for the girl to come to them. One time when this happened to me, I had to text the guy to get out of the car because I was not coming to out until he came to get me. And when they do pay for tickets or dinner or whatever, it's only about fifty percent of the time, or go dutch. Which, in my opinion, is stupid. The Jaded Jerk doesn't do anything either the Casual, or the Gentleman do. He's a jerk. Period.

Tying it together. Sort of.
So, here is the quote again, with my translation, and then my conclusion.

"There are three types of men in the world. The Bachelor(or Gentleman) walks around the car and opens the door for you(or a building door, or buys the tickets, or comes to the door for a date). The Fiance(or Casual) reaches across you and opens the door from the inside(or texts or honks when he picks you up for a date). And the Husband gets out, stands on the sidewalk, and says 'well, we haven't got all night'(self explanatory, I hope)."

My conclusion: guys, if you become a Jaded Jerk, it will kill you with the girls. Girls, believe it or not, like Gentleman. Any girl who doesn't has something wrong with her.

Also, guys, the ones who get married are those who figure this out. Just a tip. The end.
*********************************************************************************
Again, the above it purely my own opinion and not meant to offend in any way. Thank you so much.

Read This!!! Female Characters--and Stuff

Haven't been here in a while. Busy with revisions, Writer's Slough(NOT Block- there is no such thing!!!!) etc. But I found this article this morning about characters belonging to the female half of the species and it is totally worth the read. There are a couple of three people I think should read this--though I won't mention any names.

I'm nice like that.

You can read the article here.

One of My Many Mottos

"Actors and Actresses[and ALL theatre people really] strive for affection. We get up on stage[or put things onstage, or write things for the stage] because we want to be loved. The stage fulfills this need better than anything else; especially if you've found a rapport with the audience and can wrap them up in your arms and hug them close." ~Lucille Ball, with additions by Yours Truly."

WOW....

I WANT "ANGELS ALLEY" ONSTAGE.


So, I have actors that are interested. I have a potential dramaturg who is interested. My script is almost done. And I still have no producer and or director and I don't want to do it myself, for several reasons.


Frustrated? I think yes.

DUCT UP: My First Review

So one of my shows got put on stage! Yea! Read review below.  I have my own opinions, but that's what they are, so whatever. Text below from Utah Theatre Bloggers.

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATRE has some diamonds in the rough

April 5, 2013 by Russell Warne | 11 Comments

OREM — “A new play every ten minutes.” That’s the promise of Utah Valley University’s Short Attention Span Theatre, an evening of short plays playing in the Exbox Theatre this week only. The promise of a different story every 600 seconds is fulfilled, although I found that my satisfaction of the evening often changed as frequently as the program did.

Show closes April 6, 2013.

Writers Workshop, written by Stefan Oberlander

The evening started off with what I believe is the weakest of the plays. A playwright gets two friends and his former professor together to read a new script he has written. Soon the actors realize that the story sounds veryfamiliar. The play started out with clunky exposition, including the always-clumsy technique of one character reminding another of what the latter already knows. (i.e., “You know that . . .”) Oberlander’s script also suffered characters who did not act like normal people would in that situation. I didn’t understand, for example, why the actors in the play would stay around and keep reading a script that they knew was about them; the only purpose sticking around would serve would be to humiliate them.

Moreover, Coral Chambers‘s directing is without focus. I didn’t understand why she had the characters read the play within the play in such extreme acting styles (very wooden, excessively melodramatic, etc.). Chambers also had her actors wonder aimlessly around the stage, and many actors didn’t make eye contact with their fellow castmates that they were talking to. I suppose that the delivery could be a performance problem, but I have seen one of the cast members (William Kalmar, who played Philbin) in several other productions, and I know that at least he can produce a university-quality performance. Writers Workshop felt, however, like a high school show.

One and Two, written by Luci MacNair

MacNair’s script has the least traditional structure of the eight plays of the evening. It features people’s reminiscences of a traumatic event, the nature of which is gradually unveiled to the audience. The method of delivery is not terribly original, but it is effective. I found myself curious about the event, and interested in how the characters reacted to it. Director Shawn Saunderseffectively created stage pictures as the mood of the script grew more intense, and I like how crisp the cast of six actors executed Saunders’s blocking. The ending especially makes this play the most poignant of the evening. It’s not often that a play preaches a message while simultaneously practicing it.

Duct Up, written by Chelsea “Chex” Frandsen

Two co-workers who have been fired from their jobs break into their former place of employment by infiltrating the building’s air conditioning ducts. I feel like this script suffers from a lack of the most basic ingredients needed in a story: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Instead, Duct Up feels like a premise that has been stretched to 10 minutes. The conflict in the plot feels very contrived, and (like Writers Workshop) has a character who chooses to remain in an unpleasant situation for no apparent reason.

Although the flaws of Duct Up are obvious, it still served as a nice vehicle for Brian Kocherhans (as Justin) and Briana Lindsay (as Cody). Thanks to the talents of both performers and the work of director Jordan Hall, the characters are some of the best defined of the evening. Both performers delivered their lines in believable ways, which helped me feel better about this play than some of the others in the evening. Kocherhans and Lindsay did their best to create a nice tension between their characters; unfortunately the conflict in the story was too trivial and diffuse to let them display the full extent of their talents.

Trial of Artemisia, written by Megan Flox-Lambert

Based on the real-life trial of Artemisia Gentileschi, a renown female Renaissance painter who was a rape victim that was placed on trial for the act because of the sexist and convoluted laws of the time,Trial of Artemisia has the potential to pack a powerful punch. Yet, it falls short. I think that the 10-minute limit is just too constraining for the courtroom drama format, and I often felt like the actors (especially Adam Hutchinson as the judge) were rushing through their lines as quickly as possible in order to not let the play go over time. The result is a dilemma that is resolved almost as quickly as it is set up. There are some nice moments from Maddy Forsyth (as the besieged Artemisia) and Alexander Woods (as Agostino) that director Ashley Ramsey effective fosters, but because of the rushed pacing, the story feels less like a historical drama than a caricature of antiquated legal practices and customs.

Pantheon, written by Jordan Cummings

Pantheon was one of my least favorite performances in Short Attention Span Theatre. Zeus and Yahweh meet to discuss a crisis in their family after their sister Allah has harmed herself. Cummings’s premise in this play is that the many deities worshiped by human civilization are all members of a large family of gods who (much like ancient Greek or Roman gods) have human failings and problems. It’s a nice premise, but Cummings never develops it beyond that—a premise. The script has a couple of nice lines in it that are a natural outgrowth of this central idea, but nothing that is fully developed as a story worth telling. Add in some potentially offensive Jewish stereotypes and telegraphic dialogue, and Pantheon becomes almost too much to bear.

Another problem with Pantheon is the directing from Coral Chambers. Just like Writers Workshop, the directing in Pantheon is full of characters who don’t act in any natural way. There is lots of affected posing, melodramatic actions, and expansive acting (the latter of which doesn’t work well for a domestic drama in the intimate setting of a black box theater). Overall, Pantheon taught me that sometimes even 10 minutes can be too long for a play.

Rocket Man, written by Scott Olsen

Olsen’s script provides a great showcase for Clarissa Lavon Knotts’s portrayal as a woman who recently lost her husband to a space travel accident. The story seems to take place in the not-too-distant future, but some of the details seem contradictory, such as cheap interplanetary travel that still seems to be unusual for everyday people. Nevertheless, I like a good science fiction story, and it’s a genre that I believe is not explored sufficiently on stage. Like all good science fiction, Rocket Man, is really about a human experience, in this case how to deal with sudden loss—a theme that director Heather Ashton seemed eager to explore.

I felt like Rocket Man, though was too quiet and subtle to take on a life of its own in just 10 minutes. Rather, it felt like the last scene of a independent film. I don’t mean this as an insult; instead, I think that the story would work better in a different genre (just like Trial of Artemisia).

One, written by Alex Barlow

One was the most successful play of the evening. In this play a loner receives two visitors in one night with shocking results. Barlow’s script was a example of what every beginning playwright needs to have in a story: well defined characters with clear wants, conflicting goals among characters, and the classic Aristotelean structure (i.e., exposition, rising action, climax, denouement). Moreover, this horror story fit into the short play genre better than any of the other plays in Short Attention Span Theatre.

A wonderful strength of One is Barlow’s direction, which carefully introduces the three characters one at a time. Barlow also created genuinely creepy stage pictures that are almost certainly the most endearing images of the night. And I appreciated Josh Brown’s performance as the somewhat elderly loner Roger. Brown’s character was accessible in the first few minutes of the play, which made his later actions appropriately disturbing. Samantha Pace (as the Spectre) and Briana Lindsay (as the girl) had much smaller parts, but appropriately played off Brown’s character’s insecurities (which led to devastating results). I hope that Barlow keeps the script of One handy for the Halloween season.

May He Rest in Peace, written by Megan Flox-Lambert

The final play of the evening, May He Rest in Peace, is also the one that I wish most to see as a full-length play. Two feuding elderly women, Helen (played by Clarissa Lavon Knotts) and Mrs. Snable (played by Briana Lindsay) feud over a necklace that is to be buried with Helen’s brother, who also was Mrs. Snable’s lover. The rivalry between Helen and Mrs. Snable was a hoot to watch, and the combination of the witty dialogue and the terrific physicality of the two women (especially Knotts, who plays a convincing senior citizen without the aid of makeup or a frumpy costume) made this play the funniest of the night Flox-Lambert has created lovable characters that clearly have decades of trying to best one another. I enjoyed imaging other encounters they had in the past, which is why I think this play would work well if lengthened. I strongly urge Flox-Lambert to expand this script so that others may learn these two hilarious characters’ histories and the root of their enmity towards one another. Director Brooke Grant was superb also at establishing the tone of the play quickly and moving the story along naturally, despite the absurdity of the action.

My overall impression of Short Attention Span Theatre is that it is uneven, but that doesn’t concern be terribly. As I have stated before, creative staff on university productions sometimes have academic goals that other theatre artists don’t share. Short Attention Span Theatre is a great venue for developing stories, skills, and talent that Utah Valley University can later use in other productions. Some of these scripts will probably languish and die, but, in a sort of artistic evolution, the fittest will survive and flourish. Short Attention Span Theatre as a whole won’t rank among my favorite theatrical events of the year, but there are some jewels—especially the final two plays—that are quite commendable.

from: http://utahtheatrebloggers.com/15165/short-attention-span-theatre-has-some-diamonds-in-the-rought

On Playwrights, Directors and Their Work

Ok, so ordinarily  I try REALLY hard not to rant about thing that are out of my control, but this time, I've got to, so here goes.

I want to say something about playwrights: what they do, the risk they take and how dumb it is when their work is not presented exactly as written. Because that's what happens sometimes, which sucks.  I also want to say something about directors, and the risks they take and why it is important to have as close a relationship with a playwright if possible. More on that later.

It is my personal belief that when a playwright writes something, it is written in that specific way for a Specific  Reason. The classics are classics for a reason. Each character is written in a specific gender with a specific purpose and all of these characters lend themselves to the plot in a way that the playwright chooses to convey it. I am a playwright, and I know this. When a playwright sends his play out into the ravenous world of wolves aka theatres, directors and competitions, they are basically laying naked in from of them and saying "here, take me now and have your wicked way with me". It's scary. And it's so hard when the message you put on paper isn't necessarily what you put on the page. Granted, there are times that what goes on in the playwright's head doesn't read on stage. Then, the problem is to trust the director to make the best of what he has been given. Sometimes you got no other choice.

However, directors have some of the same problems sometimes. I know this, because I am a director too. There are times when they lose actors, or get more actors than they want(been there, both times). When a director gets a script, he is also taking a risk because all he's got is the words on the page and he somehow has to take those words and paint a picture for his audience. However, what directors need to be careful of, is spoiling the picture already created by the playwright. Not to say that playwrights have to write every single teen tiny action for the director(Shakespeare only wrote dialogue), but directors do need to pay attention to things like character relationships, motivations, written blocking, if any, and set design. That set description, if it's there, and the entrances and exits are particularly helpful to the tech crew. If the director tells the tech crew to screw and directs it the way he wants, there are bound to be problems run into by the time Tech Hell Week comes around(not to mention the headache the poor PSM has to go through--and I've been there too, at least once).

The other thing that both playwrights and directors will run into and have to be careful of is meshing and communicating with each other as much as is possible. See, playwrights have reasons for making the characters male or female; they have reasons for setting their story in a specific place and time; they have reasons that the character relationships are the way they are(see above). You know what the biggest and simplest reason for this is? It doesn't work any other way.

I did a production of ROMEO AND JULIET a couple of years ago. The director wanted to try and make Mercutio a girl. It was an interesting concept because in the beginning it created a little love triangle between Benvolio, Mercutio and Tybalt. The downside was that half of Mercutio's lines--and one entire scene--looked and sounded terrible. Mercutio has a scene with Juliet's Nurse in the beginning of the play. In the original text, it is clear that he is trying to A)flirt with her B) seduce her and/ or C)bed her. And the Nurse is charmed and attracted to him. That's clear. When it was tried with a female Mercutio, it crashed and burned. Now, I am not saying that this girl was not a good actress, nor am I saying that our director was bad. The problem was that what the playwright wrote and what the director wanted didn't mesh. It felt weird and awkward and sometimes just plain wrong. Mercutio is male and should be played by a male in order for his character to work.

 Now, there are exceptions to this rule. In that same show, Romeo's messenger was made into a female. This character is relatively minor so it shouldn't matter. But on my goodness, it did! The scene where the messenger brings Romeo news of Juliet's "death" is sad enough, but seeing a woman deliver that message was heartbreaking.

There are also times when a director has very little choice in the matter. Currently, I am directing MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. This is a children's production, so naturally I have more kids than parts. What did I do? I took every guy that was not already romantically attached(except the members of the Watch and the Friar.) and gave him a female counterpart. I did not invent lines for these new characters. Instead, I split the bigger lines between the two of them. There are a couple of times when it feels weird, but there is something rather satisfying in making Don John and Conrade more human by giving them a little more of a home life. And for some reason, seeing Hero's mother go ballistic after Hero's "death" has more of an emotional impact than when her uncle does.

Now, Shakespeare is not around to let us know what he is and isn't ok with when directors do his stuff. But it is the role of a director to research that playwright as much as possible to convey the message he wants to give. It's defiantly easier when the playwright is alive, or in both the role as playwright and director. One of my favorite playwrights--Sidney Kingsley--wrote and directed nearly all of his works so that he didn't have to worry about what the director would do to his precious baby when it was put on the stage.

I guess my whole point is this: being director is HARD. And being a playwright is HARD. And when the possible communication channels between these two are broken down, or ignored, or non-existent, that's HARD. So directors, if possible, keep an open communication channel between you that the playwright who's work you're doing.
And playwrights, cut the directors some slack, but don't let them chop up your baby.

ANGEL'S ALLEY TIDBITS: Character Inspirations-ASH, DUTCH, and Bad Poetry

Alessandro Salvatori Horatio Valerio. Italian(or some other ethnic background--he's dark skinned; not black, just dark skinned). Really good looking. Quiet. Keeps his lips closed. Does what he's told. Tends to be viewed as emotionless. Hates his given name so he changed it, using his initials: A.S.H.

Ash has got to be one of my favorite minor characters. He's one of those awesome people that only says something when he absolutely has to; and most of that time it's succinct and to the point. The only time he ever makes a speech is when he's really upset, but that's about the only hint you get, cause his facial expression stays pretty much the same.  He likes spitting out words just to irritate people. Except Nick.

As mentioned in ALL of my ANGELS ALLEY(formerly TAKING THE RAP) prologues, this whole thing came about due to my obsession with the Dead End Kids. Yeah. So it's only natural that my first picture of Ash in my mind was that of Gabriel Dell--an original Dead End Kid. 

Of course, after that the image kind of blurred and now is mishmashed with two other people. One is Shiloh Fernandez(see below):

and the other person of my acquaintance, who ironically enough has the same last name as the celebrity.  Actually this person is closer to the physical way I now view this character. Tall, dark--his ethnic background is....Filipino Iranian, I think? Yeah....). When I read Ash's lines now, it's kind of fun to hear this guy's voice in my head.  Particularly since  the inspiration for Dutch is two and a half feet shorter than this guy is. 

And, as always, his life sketch: (Note: do not highlight if you don't want spoilers)

Name: Alessandro Salvatori Horatio Valerio

Known As: Ash

Appears In: Not a Criminal, Angel's Alley, Spider's Web

Relationships: Nick Callahan, friend

                         Dutch Kelly, friend

                         Mark Vecchio, mentor--sorta

                         Ivy Callahan, friend

                         Gabe Lindsay, stepbrother(see Spider's Web)

Martial Status: "molls" more than girlfriends, strictly for appearance's sake

                           NOT interested in members of the opposite sex

                           Unmarried at time of death

In Later Years: arrested on numerous occasions for numerous reasons

  *MAJOR SPOILER ALERT* (unless you've read Spider's Web):upon learning of 

                      Nick's death, he goes after and kills Gyp; arrested and pleads guilty for murder and

                            sent to Sing-Sing.

Death: Dies in jail(life sentence); survived by stepbrother Gabe

Last but not least, there is Dutch. So here's a little insight into that character. And, boy howdy, is he ever a character.  Dutch Kelly, also known in later installments as Gil Kelly(I personally prefer "Dutch", how about you?) was one of those characters that pops in out of nowhere and won't go away.  This might have something to do with the fact that his personality was heavily based on my little brother, who I was writing for at the time(thank you Orihah)--who, by the way is the person mentioned in the paragraph above. 

Dutch's first visual inspration came from--guess who?--the DEK. Now, while this visual model isn't short, he's one of those delightful characters who keeps on talking and talking because he has so much to say and keeps going rather like this sentence until someone gives him a good clip round the ear. This character is the one played by Huntz Hall:

A very "Dutch" expression, don't you think?

And then, like all others of my character inspirations, he morphed into someone else. This was largely due to my current film watching, in particular Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Seeing Robert Capron and all his antics was so reflective of Dutch it was unreal.

Cute little Dutch, no?

Finally, as happens sometimes he morphed a third time. He turned back into my brother. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of that, so it's left to your imagination. In order to make up for this, here is "Ash" and "Dutch" (aka Gabe and Huntz) have a good "character moment". This is a great visual for both DEK and Angels Alley:

Dutch's Life Sketch:

Name: Gil Kelly

Known As: Dutch 

Appears In: Not A Criminal, Angels Alley, Alley Cats(as Gil)

Relationships: Johnny Moreno, friend and colleague

                         Nick Callahan, friend

                         Ivy Callahan, crush

                         Ash Hurli, friend

                         Mark Vecchio, mentor

                         Kat Kelly, younger sister

                         Danny Kelly, younger brother

Marital Status: Unmarried during series

                           Marries eventually, father of seven

In Later Years: Law school graduate, magna cum laude

                            successful lawyer

                            Integral in Junior Police Clubs

Death: Heart Attack at age 74

             survived by wife, children, and grandchild

The most entertaining thing about Dutch is his poetry. His really bad poetry. Now, I don't by any means consider myself a poet. I'm a writer, but my poetry is---D grade level at best. But I will say that even my worst poetry looks and sounds better than Dutch's, poor guy. So it was very nice to write bad poetry that wasn't mine. Confession: I actually asked another writer friend of mine to give me the worst poetry line she could think of, and then we went "downhill" from there. It also helped that I happened to be re-reading Lauren Willig at the time, who also has a character with a reputation for bad poetry. Two, in fact.

So. There's the yin and yang of Nick's "crew". Next time, we meet Mark, and then Ivy. And we'll go from there. 

ANGEL'S ALLEY TIDBITS-Character inspirations-Johnny

Ok. So I started with Character Inspirations just because I couldn't get Chachi out of my head(confused? check this) But then I thought it might be cool to put up other pictures that have been dancing around up there. And as I started with Nick, the logical move is to put up Johnny!

Johnny Moreno
The reason why Johnny is the logical choice after Nick goes back to my Silver Screen DEK kick. Brother, was that an OBSESSION. All those movies had Leo Gorcey(see link above) and Bobby Jordan as protagonists.
Johnny was very much an incarnation of Bobby Jordan. Sweet, naive, absolutely adorable. Sure, he had bite, but it wasn't as hard as Nick's. A lot of the things that happen to Johnny tie in to the events that occur in the lives of the characters Bobby Jordan tended to play. Also, Johnny kind of looks like him, at least in my head:

Hearing Bobby's voice in my head while I was writing Johnny was so cool, because I didn't have to worry about how it sounded. I was so familiar with him I knew exactly! As with Nick, I present as a final tidbit, his sketch.

Name: John Moreno
Known As: Johnny
Appears In: Not A Criminal, Angels Alley, Alley Cats, Fire Escape
Relationships: Julia Moreno, older sister
                         Mark Vecchio, brother-in-law
                         Ivy Callahan, childhood sweetheart; eventual wife
                         Nick Callahan, best friend, later brother-in-law
                         Ash Hurli, friend--sorta kinda
                         Dutch Kelly, friend
Marital Status: Happily married to Ivy
                           father of six
In Later Years: Deputy Commissioner of police
                            Runs Junior Police Clubs
                            Assists in FBI Investigations
 Death: Natural causes; dies shortly after birth of first great-grandchild

ANGELS ALLEY TIDBIT: CHARACTER PARALLELS

I was overhauling the second half of my script the other day,("TAKING THE RAP" which I have renamed "ANGEL'S ALLEY"--like my series) and I noticed something: every single one of my characters--ok, half of my characters--in each script has a strong resemblance to somebody I know. And the really scary part? Some of these half are related to me. For example:

NICK CALLAHAN-my cousin Collin. Now, while I don't think Collin would ever knock somebody's lights out any time he wanted to, I can see him saying quite a few of these things if he happened to be in the context of a play. Plus, it's kind of fun to make him hide under something so he doesn't get caught--because I could totally see him doing that.

ASH VALERIO-my brother Ian. Yes, this is the same Ash who was in Rap and Spider's Web, but I've fixed him a little bit. His name is now Alessandro Salvatori Horatio Valerio(oh, the things I do to characters I like!) and he changed it to Ash(A.S.H.). Ian never says anything unless it's worth saying, like Ash. When he does speak, it's in as few words as possible, like Ash. If anyone is doing something wrong, he doesn't exactly call them up to the carpet, but he does point it out--like Ash.

DUTCH KELLY-my brother Orihah. This is the most perfect parallel in the whole bunch. Dutch talks like Orihah, Dutch acts like Orihah, Dutch probably even thinks like Orihah. I was in the car with him the other day and the antics he was pulling were so reminiscent of Dutch I about died. Granted, Dutch would never be in a car with automated windows, because there were not automated windows in 1942, but still.

JULIA MORENO-my sister Alisse. This girl is the sweetest little woman I have ever known. She's got spunk, but she also has a strong moral compass, and if anybody she knows is in trouble she goes out of her way to help them. That's Julia. That's my sister.

There's more, but after those four it just gets complicated, because the rest of these characters turn into mishmashes of other peoples personalities and that's really too complicated to go into unless you've got about two hours, lots of paper and pens or fifteenish pages of screen room on the computer. Not of which I have.

Sometimes, I really love being a writer.

Angel's Alley Tidbit: Character Inspirations-Nick Callahan

Writers get these things sometimes. Awesome images of people or characters that fit your own so well. So, yes I am one of these crazy nutso people, and you know what's funny? So many of my characters look like some of my favorite people. Observe: 

Nick Callahan

This is the first character in "Taking the Rap"(now called "Angels' Alley") that started dancing around in my head. Now, when I first met this character, he resembled James Cagney. He was built like Cagney, spoke like Cagney(oh, that rapid-fire speech pattern I love so much!) probably even looked like Cagney. Like this:

 But then he began too evolve. Several times. There were even a couple of drafts where he spoke in my head with a Washington Heights accent, and spit words with the same rhythm, though not the same speed as Cagney. In short, he turned into Leo Gorcey. See pic below:

Which wasn't much of a surprise anyway, since both Gorcey and Cagney have the same speech pattern, and the characters they play have the same type of personality. Observe:

So of course, the two actors with the speech patterns that appeal to me get the lead character in a play I writing. Go figure. 

James Cagney in color! You're welcome.

Also, being a writer, and someone who is constantly thinking and writing of her characters during her revision process and then I do things like this:(NOTE: If you want to avoid spoilers do not highlight where indicated.)

Name: Nicholas Callahan

Known As: Nick , or Nicky(only to certain people)
Appears In: Angels Alley(aka Taking the Rap), Not A Criminal, Fire Escape

Relationships: Davey Callahan, older brother; deceased

                       Ivy Callahan, younger sister

                       Johnny Moreno, best friend; *SPOILER ALERT*later brother-in-law
                       Mark Vecchio, mentor; *SPOILER ALERT*later brother-in-law
                       Ash Valerio, friend
                       Dutch Kelly, friend
                       Gyp Merrick, nemesis
Marital Status: confirmed bachelor
In Later Years: Employed by Federal Bureau of Investigation Justice Department
                         Undercover criminal investigations(circa 1950)
Death:  Gunned down *SPOILER ALERT* by Gyp during and undercover operation; died from
             injuries incurred.

Another Silver Screen Idol

This is Nelson Eddy. I would kill to have someone with a voice like his sing to me. No joke.

Do You Know Who This Is?

This is Corey Sevier(above, in his teens; below, as of 2012.) I had a crush on him when I was in my early teens, simply because I saw an adorable adaptation of Wilson Rawls' Summer of the Monkeys. I must have seen this movie fifty zillion times before my VHS broke and I am still  trying to find a copy on DVD. I was recently re-introduced to him on Netflix, where I have been watching the "Little Men" series he did in '98, and both episodes he did of "Psych".  I'll go into more detail about this talented actor on his birthday(July 3rd), suffice it to say, his is currently the face that is dancing around my head as the protagonist in my next play, which will go up after "Like Wolves"(except the character looks more like the top image than the bottom one, but whatever). This guy is AMAZING, and I really wish he would do more work so that I can enjoy him more often.

UPDATE 2/13/13: I lied. This is Davey. This is what Davey Callahan looks like. Don't know what I'm talking about? Check this!