Writing Closet: Self Care of One Theatrical Artist, and a LIST of Same!!!!

So I have S.A.D.

For those not in the know, the full term for this acronym is "Seasonal Affective Disorder", which basically means that when it gets cold and dark(so like October-March) I have a hard time sleeping, my energy drops and my personal insecurities go through the roof.

And I have ADD.

Everyone knows what that is, so I won't go into detail--suffice it to say S.A.D. and ADD make for a really fun combination

I'm also a Slytherin(I took the test like six times to make sure). Which means that when I comes to self care apparently I have to do this:


Yeah. Being a Slytherin Artist with S.A.D. is so fun.

The upshot?

My creative ability plummets.

And as a Theatre Artist, this sucks.

Like, you have no idea how much.

Ok, you probably do, but still.

When I was in school, I used to think that the reason I didn't want to be involved in theatre--or much of anything, really--during the Fall/Winter months was because academia was getting in the way and that was sapping my time and energy.

So, until Summer hit, the only thing I did that was theatre related was scribble away at my scripts(because I'd rather cut off my own arm and poke my eyes out with sharp sticks than stop writing).

There were exceptions, of course, but every time I made one, it had--Not So Great Results(not including the Cast Plague).

It wasn't until fairly recently that I figured out that it has nothing to do with my secular activities, but with my genetic makeup. See above.

Yay.

The good news is that once I figured this out I could figure out ways to tackle this problem(because that's the kind of  tenacious person that I am--thank you parents!).

Which means I got to make a list.

I love making lists(I started this blog with a list, a million years ago).

And since it's New Year on Wednesday(yay! yikes!), which is the time of year for making lists anyway(or New Years Resolutions, or whatever, again, see above), I'd thought I'd share with you my list, which I not only use for combating SAD, but also my Creative Slumps.

1. Light Therapy
You guys, I wish I'd known about this sooner. It's better than going to a tanning place(not that I've ever been), and cheaper too. All you do is buy a little "happy light"(which you can get from Amazon for pretty cheap), and put it in a place where you have easy access to it. Mine is at my desk at work right next to my computer.

Then turn it on for like thirty-ish minutes and sit in front of it(or angle it so that it gets light into your eyes but not enough to blind you) and it helps so much!

This is because the light from the lamp imitates sunlight(which there is not enough of in the winter grrrrrr). My mom got me one and I use it every day there is no sun(except in the summer) and I love it!
 
 2. Ginger Cocoa.

I have a notorious sweet tooth, and anything that has chocolate in it is my favorite. I also have this minor obsession with ginger--it's sweet with just enough of a bite at the end to give you that nice little energy kick you need.

But it's only good if you make it from scratch: 1 tbsp cocoa(I go for Hersey's Special Dark), 1 tsp ginger(or more if you want it); mix; add enough water/milk to the mug to create a paste; stir; top off mug with milk/water; stir; pop in microwave(unless you've pre-boiled the water). Caveat: don't mix up the cocoa and ginger proportions or it will not taste the same!!!!!


You can also create it on a stove-top and add chocolate chips if you want thicker cocoa--Second Caveat: don't let the sugar burn cause that's a mell of a hess!

I drink gallons of this instead of the packets or pre-made crap and have also begun experimenting with the recipe:

-melting almond bark or those chocolate button things is a great replacement for chocolate chips or cocoa...just make sure you add more milk/water or you get dipping chocolate instead of a drink

-Boiling ginger in the water adds more of a kick--and ginger water is awesome on it's own(also, it prevents Heat Stroke)

-If you don't have ginger, then try adding some kind of extract i.e. vanilla, mint, orange, hazelnut, whatever to get a different kind of flavor. I recently started adding a bit of rum flavored extract and that adds another layer of goodness(don't use lemon extract though--it's a whole other level of disgusting!)


4. Music.

Loyal followers know how much importance I put into music when I'm writing. I have a Soundtrack for every single one of my scripts(the full-length ones, anyway); but I also have Mood Music.

I tend to go on "music kicks", so I've spent months playing different artists on loop(and probably driving housemates and family members up the wall, but that's a "them problem"😛)

In middle school I had a French teacher who would turn on the radio when we were doing "busy work" (like verb conjugation) and the station was always a rap/hip-hop station, so I learned to conjugate verbs to a particular rap song--and now every time I hear that song the conjugations pop up in my head:

Another result? I got obsessed with Eminim, 50 Cent, NWA, Eazy-E, Eve, Ice Cube, Dre, Machine-Gun Kelly, Tupac, Fat Joe,Ja Rule, Ashanti, Jay-Z, Benny Cassette, Black Eyed Peas, Baby Bash, T-Pain, T.I. early Kanye West, Fabulous, Common--and on and on and on. When I voice my love for this genre, my brother tries to say that I only like it cause I saw "Straight Outta Compton", which is...the reason for the re-awakening of my love for rap, but not the roots.

When I was in high school, I got sucked down the 3 Doors Down Rabbit Hole and have never really crawled out of it. I also have like fifteen million songs from Breaking Benjamin and more recently(thanks to an awesome friend's recommendation) Starset and Red.

My current Mood Music kicks? Adam Jensen, Sam Tinnez, and the solo careers of the members of One Direction.

Yes. Yes, I have a very eclectic music taste, thank you.

5. Reading: Plays, Novels, Non-Fiction

I could read by the time I was four.

I was reading Dumas, Robert Louis Stevenson and Austen when I was in third grade. And not the Great Illustrated Classics versions either. "Voracious" does not even begin to describe my reading habits.

 One of the hobbies that my grandpa had was collecting old books. I love the smell of them: the leather, the paper, the glue. Whenever I have a long day, no matter the season, I drive to Barnes and Noble just to smell the books--it calms be down.

And just like I have music kicks, I go on book kicks too. I found one of those "Books Everyone Should Read Before They Graduate College" lists on the interwebs and--not surprisingly--I'd read all of them at least twice before I even started college.

Last year, after my bi-annual viewing of "Band of Brothers" I bought the book and then found out that not only had Stephen Ambrose written about the 4077th, but several members of Easy Company had written their own memoirs.  Did I buy those? Yes. Yes, I did.



Speaking of memoirs, that was this year's kick: Julie Andrews, Tan France, Kevin Hart, Rob Lowe, Cary Elwes and the Princess Bride Crew, James Cagney, Ronald Regan, Sean Astin(for like the fifth time) all of whom had amazing lives that I knew little to nothing about and have become some of my favorites.

The colder and darker it gets outside, the more hours I devote to reading. My bookshelves are overflowing with old favorites and new loves and books-I-haven't-read-yet-but-the-pitch-intrigued- me so-I-did-an-impulse-buy. My New Play Exchange Reading List (I've been on NPX for almost three years) is full of new worlds to explore and people to meet.

Because, let's be real, if you're wandering in another world you don't think about how gross it looks or feels outside.

Writing Closet: Tail of Two Shih Tzus

It's Christmas this week, so I'm doing Story-time again.

So my family has two dogs.

Both Shih Tzus.

Who are two of the most ridiculous animals on the planet.

Don't get me wrong I adore them both to death and when I go see my family I snuggle them a lot and miss them tons when I leave.

But they have their quirks.

Tiger we got for Christmas, more or less, and she's the oldest.

And I mean that literally.

She is totally blind.

She is partially deaf.

She has arthritis and benign tumors all over her body.

And has licked one of back legs almost raw(we have to bandage it so she doesn't lick it).

Now, before you go feeling sorry for her, she's also got a snarky, crabby, independent personality that she's had since we got her. This dog is staying alive to spite us all.


And she had no qualms about showing off said snarky crabbiness whether the occasion called for it or not.

If you held her wrong, or played with her wrong(aka took her toy away before you were supposed to) or took away her food(including table scraps) you would know very quickly that you were in the wrong.

You would know, because she would bite you.

And I'm not talking a little nip either. I have scars from some of those bites.

Tiger also loved balls.

She wouldn't bring them back, but she loved it when you threw it and she could go get it. Then she'd put it between her paws and gnaw on it until she was ready for it to be thrown again.

Once I threw the ball under the couch and she went after it. This particular couch is low to the ground--low enough that Tiger had to belly crawl to get under the couch and get her precious ball--

--and she got stuck.

The idiot dog got stuck under the couch because she had a tennis ball in her mouth and wouldn't let go. For some reason the notion to let go of the ball so she could come out wasn't computing, and I eventually had to reach under and yank the ball out of her mouth so she could come out. Either that or you wait for her to sulk so you could drag first her and then the ball out from under the couch.

When we first got Tiger, whenever she wanted something, she would do this very distinctive sniff.

Not a sneeze, not a snort, almost like the she was blowing hot air to get attention from the idiots she lived with.

The twins called it her "hey stupid" sniff.

When she wanted outside, or food, or play or water or whatever, we got the "hey stupid sniff".

That was when she could see.

Now, when she needs something--including help finding her way into a room that she is clearly not in--she barks.

It's a very sharp,

very annoyed,

very demanding,

kind of pathetic sound.

She has no clue where she is, or where whatever she's looking for is, but she's not about to tell us she's lost because we're the stupid people, not her.

The scariest time for Tiger at the moment is Christmas.

Because our Christmas tree will attack her.

We have a setup in our house where you can get to the kitchen/dining area through three different doorways, and we usually put our tree in one of said doorways, so that it's there but doesn't get in the way of everyone/everything else.

Problem: Tiger uses said doorway to get to the warmest room in the house.

Last Sunday, she tried to use said doorway to get to said room

and because she's stone blind she ran face first into the tree

which was not supposed to be there.

So Tiger backed up to go in a different direction.

Second problem: she was standing between two branches.

And when she backed up she got poked from behind by the tree.

So she went forward again and got a face-full of pine needles,

and then a tail-full of pine needles

and that's when I picked her up and carried her to the room she was looking for.

Stubborn adorable little muttfuzz.

Mai Yin is the baby dog.

And I mean that literally--she has the permanent personality of a two-year old.

She doesn't growl, she doesn't yip, she cries.

About everything.

She thinks in extremes: everything is awesome or everything is horrible.

She panics when she wakes up to an empty room, because the world has ended and no one loves her anymore.

Granted, there are exception. Mai Yin is a lap dog and she's not as feisty as Tiger so when little kids want to hold her or carry her around she just--lets them. But even she has her limits. One Thanksgiving after relatives went home she did this

because if no one could see her then they'd leave her alone.


Don't get me wrong, she's utterly adorable and I love her to death, but there are times that she's too busy being kind to be intelligent.

For instance, it is currently freezing as all get out here so we put the dogs in doggie coats and jackets so they won't freeze.

Mai Yin refuses to wear them,

but she will shiver cause she's cold and makes no connection with sweater=warm

She also has one of the most expressive tails I've ever seen. We can always tell what she's up to based on that tail.

When she's happy it's up and wagging.

When she's relaxed or sad, it droops.

And when she's doing something that she probably shouldn't it sticks straight out.

This sticking straight out usually happens when she had metal in her mouth.

Yep. Metal.

 

Paper clips, straight pins, safety pins, needles, BBs, you name it, if it's metallic, it goes in her mouth.

When she first started doing this, all we had to do was get hold of her and finger sweep the object out.

But the little minx decided to have a bout of intelligence one day and figured out that if she moved the object under her tongue then we could open there mouth and--surprise! nothing there!

So then, one person has to hold her still and hold her mouth open

and the other one has to lift her tongue to pull the metal out of her mouth.

Cardboard too, that's another thing she loves to play with.

When the toilet paper rolls are empty, instead of throwing them away, we give them to Mai Yin.

Then, once she's chewed them to shreds, we toss them in the garbage.

One Christmas she got hold of one of my Ugg boot boxes(which are huge, btw) and she chewed on that for three months.

And apparently, my dogs aren't the only amusing canine's on the planet. Follow the links below to hear about Jeff Dunham's Canine Companions.
https://vimeo.com/185249890
https://vimeo.com/185250336

Happy Holidays y'all!!!!

Thespian Rant: Know Your ############ Source Material

You guys ready for another rant?

Again, this is all text and has no pictures so if you didn't like the last one then skip this one. Also, as before please note that the contents are my opinion and we can all agree to disagree and I don't actually hate anybody(ha ha).

Here goes:

This rant is about adaption.

Or adaptation.

Or whatever.

It means the same thing.

So I get that there are hundreds of thousands of classic stories that everyone and their aunt Mamie in Hollywood want to make their own.

I mean, Jane Austen and Shakespeare and Dickens and Thackeray and Tolstoy have been gone for years and have no lawyers or whatever to take you to court over plagiarism(thank you Public Domain).

But, just because you want to "make something your own" doesn't mean that you flay the original text.

It doesn't mean that you cut out crucial plot points.

It doesn't mean that you "update" characters into something that they were never intended to be in the first place.

If you're going to adapt something know your source material.

I'm going to say that again.

If you're going to adapt something know your (insert appropriate emotional outburst here) source material.

Because guess what? If you haven't, it shows.

Boy, does it ever show.

I get that there is a need for perhaps contemporizing certain beloved stories. Like Shakespeare. The Public Theatre did a beautiful adaption of "Much Ado" in Central Park last year staring Danielle Brooks from "Orange is the New Black"(who was brilliant btw).

The show was set in Georgia in 2020 and was a beautiful reflection of humanity and an ending that was the perfect parting salvo (spoiler: Benedick and Claudio have to leave to go back to war like seconds before their double wedding). It was very clear to me that director Kenny Leon knew not only what the text was saying, but what the subtext was saying and he respected the original author enough to make the production his own without violating the original material.

I also get that there are times when it's just plain fun to mess with history a little bit. The CW network did a series called "Reign" from 2013-17 staring Adelaide Kane that was a romanticized telling of the early life of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Yes, when I say "romanticized", I mean everything from her husbands to the lives of her ladies and everything in between. So. Much. Eye Candy.

And yes, I watched this show.

Because for all it's frothiness I still got the feeling that at least the creator had read through biographies of the protagonist or new her history well enough to give the show backbone.

Examples: Historically, Mary and Francis I had no children, and there is an explanation for that(one I hated, but it was valid); May's second husband was believed to be insane and this was illustrated; Francis I died young and this was illustrated.

Did I agree with this execution of history?

Not necessarily.

But I enjoyed this show.

However, not everyone is Shakespeare.

And not everyone is the CW.

Jane Austen wrote a couple of social satires, for cripe's sake. Some of her comic plots are there to make people think while they are laughing at themselves. Yet, some of the adaptions miss this entirely and try to make the story something that it isn't.

(I will say though, that I appreciate that some screen writers make it clear what exactly Lydia and Wickham are doing and why it's a big deal without sacrificing class and good taste. Thank you Deborah Maggoch.)

If you're going to adapt something, read the original text. 
I don't care if it's a short story or a 500 page novel, be familiar with the original before you make it your own.

Writers--authors, journalists, playwrights, screenwriters--all write because we have something to say. Something that can't be vocally expressed as easily as it can in another medium. Something that we feel utterly compelled to say, be it through fiction or non-fiction.

And if I get annoyed when someone tries to over-analyze the sentence "the walls were blue" when all I mean is that "the walls were blue" I can't imagine the acrobatics that authors are doing their graves when someone takes their masterpiece and says "this is dumb, lemme fix it".

Take time to figure out what the author's original intention was. 

And when I say "take time", I don't mean 30 seconds.

I don't mean an hour.

Or a day.

I mean actually consider what the purpose of this story is.

Like, psycho-analyze the ever living daylights out of it.

Take a look at the historical context in which the story takes place.

And then look at those characters in historical context and within the actual plot of the story and the intention of the author. 

Just because a man or woman shares a bed in a boarding house with a member of the same gender at a time when it was cheaper to rent out half a bed then a whole bed does not automatically put him or her on the LGBTQ+ Spectrum.

Just because a woman is "not one and twenty" and still unmarried does not automatically mean she's a man hater(hello, it was 1811ish!).

Just because a man "finds it difficult to converse with those with whom [he] has little acquaintance." does not automatically make him anti-social, at least not the according to the contemporary definition.

Don't change a character's gender, sexuality, ethnic background or social standing just because. 

If it's implied in the text, fine. Recently, BBC adapted Jane Austen's unfinished "Sandition" for a mini-series.

Miss Lambe, a character in Jane Austen's "Sandition", is from the West Indies, which means that she is not Caucasian(the novel describes her as "half-mulatto").

Andrew Davies took that description and ran with it. In the series, Miss Lambe is played by actress Crystal Clarke--who is not a Caucasian actress.

But he did not, say, make her a lesbian to "give her an edge", like another television adaption of a classic did.

On the other hand, in the film "The Imitation Game", the protagonist Alan Turing is historically known for being arrested and punished for being gay.

Was that part of his life was written into the film?

Yes. Yes, it was.

He was not written as straight to please potentially more conservative audience members (although critics didn't like that this specific aspect was 'downplayed'. I could write a whole other post about that, but I won't get into it here.).

If you want to steer away from the darker aspects of a plot, fine, but don't make them darker and edgier in order to update them. 
The cable network FX is releasing and adaption of "A Christmas Carol" staring Guy Pearce. And while I've only seen the trailer, it makes me furious.

In the original story, three Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future guide Scrooge on life transforming journey.

Apparently,  this was not good enough.

So to update the story Mrs Cratchit is now a witch who summons the Spirits to get back at Scrooge after he--to borrow an antiqued phrase--threatens her virtue.

I'm sorry.

WHAT?!

Where in the text does it say that Scrooge is a pimp(sorry for delicate ears)? Where in the text does it say that there was a darker reason for the Ghosts to visit Scrooge? What twisted soul decided that it was ok to suck all of the goodness out of this classic, stomp on it's heart and feed the ashes to hell-hounds?

Needless to say, I will not be watching this adaption.

And if you choose to use those elements because they are integral to to the plot, do them with class, not as a "shock factor."

Winston Graham's "Poldark" series is one of my favorites. I've read all the books at least twice and seen both the 80s and current television adaptions and love them both!

The series features a scene where two of the protagonists engage in--shall we say activities-one-should-not-get-up-to-especially-if-they-happen-to-be-married-to-other-people?

These...activities are integral to the plot--which sucks--but rather than skip over the scene(which would ruin the plot) or go for the shock factor(tempting, I know), the screenwriter wrote it into the show. And, for lack of a better phrase, she did it with class, and in a way that left me in no doubt how much the respected the original story and it's author.

(but boy, did that scene make me cringe)

A shock factor attempt makes you look desperate, in my humble opinion. Don't do it. Just don't.

If you're a fan of classic stuff  and want to make it your own that's great!

I love "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and "10 Things I Hate About You", and "Castle in the Sky" and "The Lion King" and "She's All That" and "A Knight's Tale" and all three versions of "Magnificent Seven" and all but two versions of "Jane Eyre".

I  love David Farr's "Heart of Robin Hood" and Nicholas Wright's "His Dark Materials"(still waiting to binge the HBO series) and Reina Hardy's "Glassheart" and "Peter and the Starcatchers"(both the play and the book)


I love Pamela Aiden's Mr Darcy trilogy and "Peter Pan in Scarlet".

(the list is longer but I'll spare you pages of text....)

But the reason I love the above (and more) is because the people who adapted these works loved and respected the originals enough to not only make the story their own, but keep the elements of the story that people originally loved and use them to enhance the new adaption.

So do that.

Don't ruin something just to update it.

Ted Talk over, you can go now.

Thespian Musings: On Playwrights and Our Attachment Issues

I guess you can already tell by my umpteen posts including this one,

I am a romantic, so I fall for the Dark Horses.

I twitch whenever I write villains doing diabolical things and sometimes see if I can top what I did last time.

And I hate killing the heroes off.

Even if it benefits the story.

When I first wrote Wolves, I came to the conclusion that in order for the plot to move forward, I had to kill off a Specific Character (no spoilers)

And

I

Didn't

Want

To

The first time I finally bit the bullet and wrote the scene I cried.

And then I tried to revise it and cried again.

And one of my friends came home and found me bawling over the scene, she took my laptop away and sat me down in front of--a movie(I think it was Princess Mononoke, but don't quote me on that) until I calmed down.

And I didn't go near that scene for months after that.

Sure, I re-wrote the rest of the script

but I kept skipping over that scene because if I didn't see it, or read it, then it didn't exist

(because, as you also know, I have this tendency to act like a two-year-old on several occasions both good and bad).

Until the day of my Grandpa's funeral.

For obvious reasons, I was already an emotional mess, and by the time I got back to my apartment I guess I was still emotionally processing or something,

because I opened up that scene and made myself re-write it for the first time in...almost a year.

And it was beautiful.

I also have conversations with my characters in my head.

Like, full on, deep, meaningful, two way communication conversations.

Or arguments, if they're feeling annoyed with me.

Which they do, because sometimes I try to write their story and I get it wrong

and not only do they tell me I got something wrong,

but they tell me the whys and wherefores thereof

and I'd better fix it ASAP

or they'll fix it for me.

I'm dead serious.

This is why it's called Writer's Block, or Writer's Slough, or Writer's Whatever--it's when your characters are pissed off at you for some reason and you have to figure out how to placate them into talking to you again.

That's scenario one.

Scenario two is that there are only certain parts of their story that they don't want to talk about.

Not without a great deal of persuasion, that is.

And a lot of picking and poking and prodding and chipping away with an ice-pick until they finally open up.

Or give one or two tidbits to keep me satisfied until I hit another brick wall and have to resort to bribery.

I am currently dealing with two characters like that.

In the same script.

Want to guess who they are?😜

Thespian Musings and Sherwood Cycle: Plot Driven vs Character Driven

So here's the deal.

Wolves of Sherwood  and the as yet named prequel-prequel(aka my own version of a "Robin Hood Origin Story"--upcoming project for November 2020 fingers crossed), are plot driven stories.

Lure of the Fox and the final script in the cycle(tentatively titled Prince of the Blood, and with tidbits coming to this blog April 2020--yay!!!!) are character driven stories.

What exactly does this mean?

Allow me to enlighten you.

(For those Already Enlightened, you are welcome to skip this post and I won't hate you. Or if your Lazy and Want to Just Google It, that's cool too).

Still here?

Awesome, here goes.

Plot-driven stories are when the plot--the events--are the driving force of the story.

Meaning if you take away the characters, it's likely the events will happen anyway.

Aka "Who/How" Stories.

Aka High Concept Stories.

Aka every single high action "box office smash" that gets a summer release.

Aka:

1. The Fast and Furious Franchise
I love this franchise; I do--enough to own the first seven(I'm gonna see what the last three do before I see them on my small screen cause maybe once in theatres is enough, idk). But don't tell me that you would have a story if you took out all the cars and chases and explosions, cause you wouldn't. 

2. Every Thriller/Horror/Mystery Ever
The Mummy is about waking up something from the Dead. The Forest is about what happens after dark in a forest. Miss Marple/Sherlock Holmes/whoever would have nothing to do if nobody died. The Ocean's Eleven films are all about heists--events. "Knives Out" is the exception. Don't agree? We'll talk.

3. Every Single Event Biopic Ever
Pearl Harbor. First Man.  Red Tails. Midway. Selma. Newsies(Disney-fied, but still rooted--if shallowly--in a factual event). Hotel Mumbai. The Current War. Basically, if it's in the title, it's plot-driven.

4. Every Single Super-Hero Film Ever
Every single Avenger becomes an Avenger because of an event; every single DC character was shaped by an event; if the TMNT hadn't encountered the Ooz, they'd still be pet turtles. Change my mind, I'll wait.... 

Character-driven stories are when the characters are the driving force of the story.

Meaning if you take the characters out of the story, it crashes and burns a horrible death.

Aka Low Concept Stories.

Aka "Who/Why" Stories.

Aka:

1. The Prestige
Two men trying to outdo each other no matter the cost to themselves. I mean, it's bound to get ugly, but it's so fascinating to watch. And each twist of the plot is driven by a choice that the character makes--to outdo his rival.

2. Every Single Person Biopic Ever
 Hidden Figures, Freedom Writers, Julie& Julia, Shakespeare in Love(more fiction than fact, but still), Band of Brothers(Ensemble Character Driven), The King's Speech, Rocketman, Harriet. People make choices, and the story moves forward.

3. Every Single Coming-of-Age Film Ever
The Breakfast Club, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Rumble Fish, The Outsiders, Honey Boy, The Peanut Butter Falcon. People make choices, and they make discoveries and the suffer the consequences(except, can you really "suffer" a good consequence? maybe use the biblical definition on that one), and the story moves.

4. The Joy Luck Club
When my twin brothers were six, PBS did a tv series based on Amy Tan's picture book, "Sagwa". So of course, I had to read the picture book. And then I had to read more Amy Tan, so I read this book and saw this movie about the lives of Chinese-American and Chinese women which was brilliant. And the story wouldn't happen if the women in the stories didn't make choices. 

The Now Novel website does an even better job of explaining both of the above than I did (see image below), so check them out too.

There's more than four of each, but this post is already long enough so Goggle can show you the rest.

Wolves of Sherwood  and the as yet named prequel-prequel are about how the characters are shaped by events to become who they are.

Lure of the Fox and Prince of the Blood are about the development of their protagonists and why they become who they become.

Cool huh?

Writing Closet: That Time I Re-Lived a Tiny Bit of my Childhood, Confronted(but Didn't Defeat) a Childhood Fear, and Spent Way To Much Money on Scripts. Because It's ME.

As I've been pelting y'all with script tidbits(because November and NaNo), I've decided it's story-time.

My sister lives in Brooklyn(like, her subway stop is on the same street that the protagonist from the film/novel "Brooklyn" lives-- yes, I fangirled when I heard that!), and I'd never been(and I'm a thespian so what's up with that?!), so for my birthday last year I got to go to New York.

When my parents called me at work and told me the news I literally almost dropped my phone in the trash(yes, my trash can is right next to my desk)

and squealed like a two-year-old(but I couldn't because my day job is at a library and you can't screech for no apparent reason at a library unless you are an excited two-year-old; which, I'm not).

And because I was tourist I took waaaaaay too many pictures and had awesome adventures.

Neither my mom nor my sister had any idea why I took this photo, but Gossip Girl fans will get it😜

Like the One in Central Park.

I grew up watching You've Got Mail, and Gossip Girl and all those other films/tv shows that feature Central Park somewhere in their story line, so the fangirl in me was really excited!!!!

And it was gorgeous!

Like, all the trees, and the sailboat pond that is mentioned in Stuart Little,  and the Alice In Wonderland statues and all of that stuff.

One thing I told my sister--insisted on--was to see the Balto statue.

You know, the sled dog who saved all those people in Alaska in like 1912 during the influenza epidemic and then they made a cartoon about him starring Kevin Bacon?

Yeah, that Balto.

I wanted to see that statue.

And my sweet sister found it for me.

So naturally when we did, we had to take a picture.

Because childhood.

And naturally when you're re-living childhood, you have to make a face like this one:

I'm internally(and probably externally) squealing--because CHILDHOOD!!!!

And yes, it's just a statue but I'm allowed to fangirl over one of the heroes of my childhood.

One thing my sister didn't tell me though.

Remember that time I told y'all that I'm petrified of one stupid thing?

Well...that one stupid thing was all over Central Park.

And not just one.

Herds of them.

Squirrels.

Everywhere.

And they didn't run away from you. They run toward you.

They

Run 

Toward 

You

(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Needless to say, I kept both my sister and my mom entertained by my efforts to avoid the little...things.


The first time a squirrel ran toward me, I couldn't freak out in public(hello, I'm an adult and I'm in public), so...

I sidestepped and put my mom between me and the furry demon from You-Know-Where.

I know.

And because they are everywhere, there were several times where I'd nearly jump out of my skin because they'd dash out in front of me,

or be behind me,

or you know, it would be pointed out to me that they were there("oh look, Chelsea, it's another squirrel!")

and my heart rate would double for a second because I'm irrational😛

I. Know.

It's funny.

You can laugh.

Both my mom and my sister got a kick out of it.

I even got really brave and snapped a picture of one of them.

Because, yes, even if they give me the jitters squirrels can still be...cute.

I guess.

Yes.

I said it.

Shut up.

There was also Theatre Day!!!!!

Don't know if I've said this before, but I'm the only Thespian/Theatre Artist in my family.

We've got people interested in finances, and politics, and numbers doing weird stuff and banging metal into interesting and useful shapes

But only one person who loves the stage and film scene---probably a bit too much?

Me.

Also, as previously mentioned(or not), I'm the type of person in my family who will participate in whatever activities are planned(and bite the bullet on some of them if I have to) because I am well aware that my interests are not the interests of---anyone in my family.

And I'm ok with that.

So when my sister said "we need to go see a Broadway show"...

Cue more internal(and external) squealing.

Because

Broadway

!!!!

That's why.

The show we went to see--"The Play That Goes Wrong"(which is brilliant btw)--didn't start until the afternoon so we had time to kill.

And Alisse took me to one of the most amazing places I have ever been in my life.

The Drama Bookshop.

People in the Know are aware of how cool this place is. 

Because it is full of all things theatre:

Scripts

Librettos

Books on Design, and Directing, and You Name It.

My eyes popped out of my head and my jaw dropped and I almost started jumping up and down again. And Alisse said: "Should we just leave you here?"

Ummmmmmm

YES!?!?!?!?!?!

An hour and a half, guys. That's at least how long I was in that shop. With a Big Stupid Grin on my face. I went in with just my happy little wallet. I walked out--with a slightly sadder wallet--and a giant bag stuffed with scripts.

(that I had to drag with me to the theatre and everywhere else for the rest of the day but I did not care)

And after that, we went to "The Play that Goes Wrong."

Which is now on my list of Shows I Will Do (Provided I Have The Guts) Before I Die.

If you've never heard of it

A)Shame On You😝

B) Go Google It NOW!!!!!!

I'll wait....

My thoughts during the performance?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because it's me, and it's theatre, and I squeal.

A lot.

And if I can't squeal aloud then I do it inside my head.

Which I did.

For 2.5 hours.

It's fine.

I'm weird.

Thank you for indulging me. Carry on...

Lure of the Fox: Month of Blood

Remember when I said that "Lure of the Fox" takes place in the colder months?

Well, as of now, I know exactly when it takes place.

Which is cool, considering what month it is right now...for the next five days anyway😛.

Ha ha.

Back in the Middle Ages, though, it wasn't called "November"--very much.  It was more commonly known as:

Blotmonað


Yeah, I have no clue how to say that, but that is how you spell it. 

And it means "blood month" or "the month of blood sacrifices".

See, back when the Anglo-Saxon calendar was a big deal, November was the time of year when it was likely that animal sacrifices were made so that the inhabitants could have a safe a relatively mild winter.

And stockpile for the winter as well.

Because, you know, food. 

These animal sacrifices were likely made when the leaves started to change color and fell off the trees, and it got stupidly cold.

But the sacrifices likely didn't begin until after the harvest was brought in, which was usually after All Saints Day.

Aka November 2.

Hence "month of blood".

November was also a time for bonfires and mischief, particularly because the previous holiday, Samhain, was when the veil between the living and the dead was thinnest, so it's also possible that the animal sacrifices were to appease any lingering spirits in addition to protection from the upcoming weather. 

Of course, Malbete would have his own twisted definition for "month of blood".

And he uses it. 

Especially when it concerns Jean-Luc. 

Because he's so very twisted like that. 

Lure of the Fox: Romani

I said last week that Sorcha and Tirzah can code switch right?

And that there's a reason behind that?

Well, the reason has to do with their genetic, ethnic and socio-economic makeup(a phrase that I absolutely love and will use at any given opportunity, and not just cause it's fun to say).

Sorcha and Tirzah are Romani.

The Romani Flag

(Also spelled "Romany"; also referred to as "Roma", "Rom" or  "gypsies"--which is actually regarded as a derogatory term among the Romani people because of the way this term was used--as a source of abuse and racial discrimination; though there is some evidence that this term came from a misunderstanding of the Romani's origin. This evidence suggests that the word "Gypsy" came from "Egyptian", since it was thought that they migrated from Egypt, rather than northwest India. But I digress...)

Actually, in France, they are referred to as "Gitans" but I'd rather not do an exposition dump in any of my plays, so I'm using "Romani".

Romani have intrigued me since I first read "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"--which has a highly glamorized (and some would say bastardized) interpretation of a Romani in the character of Esmeralda.

And researching the non-fictionalized Romani has been fascinating. For instance:

They are nomadic by necessity.
Romani were among the ethnic groups enslaved by noblemen of the regions they inhabited and were among those rounded up and sent to concentration camps in World War II.

Interested parties can find a little more info on this topic here.

Which explains why Sorcha and Tirzah are so capable of looking after themselves--not that non-Romani are less capable, but...you get the idea, I hope.

They adopt the predominant religion of the region they inhabit.
Romani have spiritual beliefs, and complex rules that govern respect, honor, purity and justice. But they don't follow a single faith. If they happen to be in a predominant Catholic area, then they practice Catholicism, for example. They also have thier own worldview, known as Rromanipé.

Which, while religion doesn't totally come into play, in "Fox", it helps back up a couple of plot points(like Jean-Luc and Tirzah's marriage...spoilers....)

Language
Romani speak a language known as Rromanës, which has roots in Sanskritic languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Bengali; and some words have been borrowed from English. 

And this is why Sorcha and Tirzah are able to code-switch. They speak three languages. 

Family is the strongest value held in Romani society.
According to the Rroma Foundation, "Rroma never had a country — neither a kingdom nor a republic — that is, never had an administration enforcing laws or edicts. For Rroma, the basic 'unit' is constituted by the family and the lineage." 
How cool is that?!

Also, lends stronger motivation to Tirzah's actions in the plot of "Fox".

They still face discrimination, persecution and racism today

Romani in Auschwitz

Because or the color of their skin, and/or their culture, and/or anything-else-sure-to-piss-off-anyone-who-fears-and/or-doesn't-understand-a-culture-or-people-different-from-their-own. See nomadic by necessity above.

Also, guess what one of the underlying themes of "Fox" is?

If I piqued your interest, there's more to find out by following this link here.

Also, there is an amazing TEDtalk about the Romani here.

Lure of the Fox: Reflection of Personality

It's NOVEMBER!!!!

Which means it's NANO!!!!

Which means I will use this as an excuse to finish this draft of "Fox" by November 30th, so help me!!!!!

Meantime, here's another tidbit.

One of my favorite authors--Lauren Willig(who I talk about so much both on an off this blog I'm surprised people aren't sick of hearing it yet) said something somewhere about how the atmosphere and plot of a story/plot line can reflect the personality(ies) of the protagonist of said story/plot line.

(Lauren says it a lot more eloquently than I just did and I rooted around on her website for like an hour trying to find that exact quote but to no avail. Grrrr. But I got the gist, soooooo)

You guys, I'm finding that this is absolutely true.

Confession: when I started out writing what is fondly becoming known(to me, at least) as the Sherwood Cycle, I didn't intend it to be more than one show.

But, as it usually the case, I fell in love with so many of the characters(as is my wont) that I had to write more of their stories(and I'm repeating myself, I know).

Wolves of Sherwood took place in the summer.

Wolves of Sherwood was super swashbuckling.

There were 11 fights

(more in the Utah production, because we had three fight choreographers--one main choreographer and two fight captains/assistants--rather than one. Which was cool.)

 And, while there were some dark things that happened in the plot,

for the most part in Wolves of Sherwood, everything was light and frothy and gave you warm fuzzies.

However.

Lure of the Fox is not Wolves of Sherwood.  And not just because the title is different(ha ha).

It's darker.

Fox takes place in the autumn/early winter(the most important part is that there is no snow, cause I hate snow).

It's not frothy and whimsical and dappled sunlight and all of that.

There's shadows and cold and broodiness and darkness--both atmosphere and people-wise.

 It's grittier.

Fox's events occur in a war-torn country,

complete with mercenary thugs and the like,

and, it's me,

so of course there will be combat.

Just not as much--

and those fights are shorter, harsher, bloodier...

because why not(ok, fine, there is a legitimate reason, but still)....

It's heavier.

Stakes are higher.

Consequences are more dire.

Themes are more mature.

Get the picture?

It's sexier.

We get to see what happens when a tiger and a fox-bear get together.

Because yes.

'Nuff said.

It's more cerebral.

There's plenty of emotion and sword fights and the like,

but it's less swashbuckling,

and a lot more internal

 with a heist type plot line, rather than straight up action/adventure.

 Also, it's becoming a lot more character driven,

which is interesting,

as WOS was mostly plot-driven.

Also, also, there's more French.

A lot more French.

All of which actually fits Jean-Luc's personality to a T.

He's cerebral(an emotional cerebral, but still),

he's dark and broody,

he's gritty,

he's incredibly sexy (in my mind anyway, because y'all know how I feel about Dark Horses and their personalities, and it doesn't help my romantic heart that he still looks like Harry Richardson--who is Drake from Poldark--in my head:)

And he's like a dormant volcano,

with thoughts and emotions bubbling beneath the surface

that will explode if not released sooner or later.

But explosions always have consequences.

And it's always really fun to watch those play out!

Thespian Musings & Lure of the Fox: Hazards of Being a Playwright

 So once upon a time, I went on family vacation.

My family really likes to do outdoorsy things(except me) so we planned a hike to---someplace I don't remember where exactly--so we all had backpacks and water bottles/camel-backs and snacks and the works.

And, because I write 24/7(sometimes literally) I had a notebook and a pen in my backpack--the latest draft of a script I was working on. 

We went and did the hiking thing and when we got to wherever it was and stopped for snacks/lunch/rest(or in my case recoup), I took out my notebook and my pen and did some writing. 

And when we got back to our rental house I emptied my backpack to get ready for next day activities and saw this:

Apparently my water bottle was not closed, or something because my entire notebook was soaked all the way through.

Which meant that 75 pages worth of writing were next to useless.

Which meant I had to start my script all over again.

Can you spell C-A-L-A-M-I-T-Y?

And, ok, fine, it was not the end of the world but it was still enough to make me grind my teeth and mutter about "stupid-hikes-and-stupid-water-and-ruined-have-to-stupid-do-all-over-a-stupid-gain"(and that's the filtered version).

You would think I'd have learned my lesson. 

HA.

Flash forward...several years to now. 

August.

Wolves is in rehearsal and I'm plugging away at Fox.

In a notebook. 

Which I'm supposed to carry around with me at all times.

Until one night, I left it in the rehearsal space.

I

Left 

It 

In 

The

Rehearsal 

Space.

And since we were sharing it with other people it probably got thrown away.

And it was fine.

It was fine.

It was totally fine.

I had most of Act II(which was the contents of said notebook) already typed up and I'd worry about the mini plot-holes later and just get to work on Act I--which is probably what I should have done in the first place, but as I said before, I write things backwards.

So I started writing again--this time from the actual beginning, and it was nice. I carried my new notebook around with my new pen(because yes I needed a new pen with my new notebook; it's a thing; shut up) back and forth to day job and rehearsals and everywhere else.

And somewhere between getting from point A to point B I lost that notebook too.

Just like that.

All gone.

Disappeared.

Lost.

Kuput.

Which was awesome.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Soooo I got to start over.

Again.

However,

The upshot of all this is that the old saying "third time's the charm" is actually true in this case.

Yes, I was frustrated cause I had to start from scratch each time.

But each time I was getting a new notebook and a new pen and adding to/cutting from my playlist soundtrack for this script I had a lot of time to think.

Which turns out to be exactly what I needed.

Because when it comes to my scripts and my characters I get

I was happy with what I had before.

I was.

But what I'm working on now is so much better.

Things that didn't click before now are falling into place.

Plot holes I thought I'd have to deal with aren't plot holes anymore.

And I've made new discoveries about my characters.

One of which made my head explode 😛

Lesson?

Make sure your water bottle is closed when it goes in your backpack

Make sure you know where your stuff is, and back it up(like maybe in two or three different places just in case).

Sometimes when things "blow up" in your face, it's cause your Muse is telling you that you have to start over

and you if you don't listen to your Muse or whatever the first time

your Muse will beat you over the head until you do.

Result?

"Fox" is so much better!

And so much fun!

Which means I go home every day to the Writing Cave and emerge every night from the Writing Cave with a big stupid grin on my face.

End of entertaining anecdote.