Play Submission

SO, two plays submitted so far. One last week to Washington Ensemble Theatre (the Abattoir) and one today to The Black Dahlia (The Sanity of Byron Constantin). Just posting here to keep a record. Will update y'all when I know more.

Early mornings

I should know better by now.

My body doesn't like the early morning. Here I am, waiting at a Starbucks, hoping the world stops spinning because I want to get off. I don't sleep well on the best of nights, and even worse when I have an early call. Despite my best intentions, wherein I went to bed early, avoided caffeine, I still wasn't able to hit that magic sleepland until the bleak hour of four AM. Part of me is just upset because I wasted four hours tossing and turning. Part is upset because I have to be up and around the suits rushing about.

So I'm off to work at the Westport playhouse today. I'll let you know how it goes.

On a sidenote, I was reading a book yesterday, and got to page 122, and the next page was missing. In fact, the next thirty three pages were missing. Bad publisher! Bad.
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Hot damn

So, precious readers, I had a reading this evening. I will post the little poster I maee anon. It was a nice time. Oddly, the reading was fast. The script is sixty four pages, and the run time was about thirty five minutes. Overall, I think it was a success. Huzzah.

I attempted to make an audio recording of the reading, and provided it came through, I will try to figure out how to post it up here. Some good feedback from the viewers. And some laughter.

Another reading next week. Whew. Busy.

Feeling better. Much thanks for those who checked in me.

Write well. Smooches.
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Fever Dreams

Rabbit rabbit, March first.

So, it would appear, despite my best intentions and boasting, I've managed to find something to upset the delicate balance that is my thermal control.

I think I have a fever.

I also have two plays to do this week. Not good. I mean, they're weird plays in any case, this feverish state might increase the oddity of my output. But when confronted with the idea of sleeping vs writing, sleeping seems more attractive to my beleaguered brain.

So, two plays for next week, "Gift Giver" and "Faux Real". Spencer and Baker respectively.

Oh, and Mr. Scuzzy has provided a delicious graphic thermometer I will post on here with all due haste so we can all track my march progress.
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The Hinterlands

I am a prolific writer. It's something I'm proud of. However, sometimes I find myself in what I think of as the Hinterlands.

It's a place where I try and find a new play to write. Where I explore ideas, mull theories and basically stress out over the concept of being a writer. I ask all those ridiculous questions, should I be doing this. Can I do this?

I'm there now. I have a few things boiling on the stove, but nothing feels done, and (to continue in the metaphor of food) some of it might not end up being edible.

On a side note, I've decided to send out ten plays in the month of March. Time to get my work out there. Hold me to it.
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As it happens

Life in this crazy little burg of Bronxville has hotted up to the point of busy busy. Writing here is going well, with all the sorts of success I could hope for, ie, a decent reception from my classmates and another reading coming up in the next few weeks.

As I type this I'm at a callback for a show, so it must needs be a short update. Much love.
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Repetition

So, as some of you might know, I have been, for a time, one of the writers for a comedy group here on campus, the Lampoon.

I wrote a sketch for them based on some historical events, inspired heavily by a fantastic sketch from a friend of mine, nod to you Scuzzy, and now they want a bunch more in the same vein. They want the same essential joke to be repeated over and over again, and I have to pause for a moment and wonder if this will be funny or a waste of my time when they realize these are not ALL going to be funny. Perhaps one will be... Or none. In any case, how many times can things be funny?

I need to do laundry.
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Zazoo: To Do

First off, let me say that I don't understand how the screen of my blackberry continues to develop scratches.

Second, I am writing some sketches this week for Lampoon. Time to be funny.

Third, I took the one act I wrote for Ed Baker's class and transformed it into a full length.

Fourth, I'm in a show this weekend, playing a cameo role, which, on the one hand I do very very well, but on the other, it takes a serious chunk of my time.

Fifth, I have a play, or something due next week for Spence's class, which means I need to decide whether to produce something new or refine something old. Votes?

Sixth, is lent. What do I give up? Food? Hot damn. Marshmallows? Beer? Meh, I'll come up with something.

Seventh, need to come up with the notion of the dance I have comitted myself to make. Been thinking of this one idea, but I don't have the resources to pull it off. I've been toying with the idea of writing a piece that is about the dance that I couldn't make. Describing what the audience would see without having the "things" in front of them. Ponderies....

Eigth, I'm passing my novel off to a person who was, in the past, an intern at a publishing house. Chaper eleven is still the devil.

Nine, webisodes? Do I have the time, inclination?

Ten, need to get crackalackin on the game I'm supposed to be writing.

Shazam. Ta da, there's the to do.
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Time to update

It is a busy little universe I live in, and it can be difficult finding the time to update. But, that's a cross I chose to bear, and it is of my own volition.

That being said, on with the show.

Classes have become a routine by now, as we begin the third week. I've written two full plays and a one act. I'm no longer directing a show, nor assistant directing a show. I have two job offers on the table for the summer, both great, and wonderful, but I'm not sure I know how to choose. So there's the update, and I'll try to get back and postulate (without answering) more writerly questions in the future.
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Just a Morning

So, dear readers, I find myself in possession of a new phone after the kind folks at at&t decided my phone was magically broken and not tossed carelessly on the floor. Here I am to update you on the actions of the week thus far.

First, school has resumed as of Tuesday. It is nice to start getting back in the swing of things. But, that does mean lots of reading and writing to get done. I have a draft of a play due by Sunday at noon. Huzzah! (That's for Spence's class). This play is one I started last semester, and I think has some good prospects. Spence has always seemed very eager to see where it goes, so hopefully it comes out a little better than some of my efforts in the past.

I also start a new playwriting class, with Edward Allen Baker, and I'm quite excited. Mainly because I hear he is amenable to working on screenplays, and I would like to get a few more screenplays on the playing field. Especially this one my friend Ben (of benanderic.com) asked me to write, though I wonder the intelligence of bringing a screenplay with characters I didn't write into a classroom/workshop setting. Can I adequately defend them? I mean, if the characters present a problem to the actualzation of the screenplay, will I be in a position to fix them, or will I need to be concerned about Ben's feelings on what is, ultimately, his IP? (IP stands for intellectual property)

In addition, I am going to choreograph a dance this semester. I have a meeting on Friday to discuss some of the particulars before the actual formal dance meeting on monday. I am excited sbout having the chance to work on something that is so different from where my prior experience lies, I think college is a place to experiment, and a place to be okay about failing. You know?

My final project, for the moment and not counting the game which I see as an ongoing project, is this web series. I see it as a television series, just online. I want to take advantage of the glut of underused actors, the cinematographical nature of the campus (it's beautiful) and present a show that is an update (of sorts) to 21 Jumpstreet, which was an eighties television series starring Johnny Depp about cops going undercover at a high school. We'll see how that one turns out, but it's in the gate.
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Bit of an update

Bit of a discussion.

So, most of you have guessed my blog is primarily composed on my blackberry, and that's great. I love it. Problem is, my blackberry decided to stop working so well, which has made it difficult to blog. So, forgive me if updating is a bit sparse or I misspell words, I can't actually see what I'm typing.

That being said, I was just reading "Advanced Screenwriting" by Linda Seger (too early to recommend or condemn), and I found something to help explain my dissatisfaction with "Cloverfield". The lack of the payoff scene. So much is set up in that film, and so little is paid off. Ruminate on that.

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"Cloverfield"

Okay kiddos, I saw this fine film yesterday, and needed some time to think about it before I wrote about it. Now, writing about screen writing is always somewhat problematic when dealing with just the finished product, as it is hard to tell how much of the screenplay survived the vetting process of editing and directing.

Let me say, from the top, that this is a fantastic way of re-imagining a genre film. "Cloverfield" is a monster movie, but instead of being from the point of view of the monster or the military or the "hero", this film is from the point of view of one of those little people running around and being squashed and eaten in other films. From that standpoint, I loved the film. However, I felt the story relied a little too much on being vague. I think there is a fine balance point where it becomes annoying, as an audience member, to know so little. For a while the mystery is fun, but the realization that you won't be privy to some of the important details of the movie made me irritateds, and were I to use the cries of Foul from the audience as a judge, I'd say I was not alone. When we, as an audience are invited along for a journey, there is this implied notion that we will be able to know the conclusion of the film.

The filming of the movie was done through a pseudo handheld version which, on the one hand was cool and different, but on the other was frustrating and distracting. I'm sure, in a sense, it was effective in limiting the budget, no soaring camera pans, no steadicam, but it also very limiting. I would be interested to find a copy of the script to see if this filming style was stipulated by the scribe or was a brainchild of the director.

Okay. So I might touch on this topic again in the future, I did appreciate the notion of the different perspective in a genre that has, like it or not, relatively established rules about what make up the movie. Perhaps I can do little piece about that....
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Ads... A quick note

So, as I like to remind you, dear reader, I am trying to procure a bit of scratch from this little blog, so please be kind a click on the links to the right of this.

On a funny note, I noticed that one of the links is generally to the MFA department at Northwestern, which is a school I applied to and really wanted to attend (it was my number two school on my list with gusts into number one). They did not accept me as a student, but apparently want to reach my readers. Hrm...
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"Spring Awakening"

Taking full advantage of my proximity to New York, I went to the Great White Way and witnessed a spectacle called "Spring Awakening."

The music was fantastic. The story was not quite there, the acting somewhat shoddy, and so on.

The story was so jammed with adolescent cliches and gaping holes that I had difficulty following the action. Teens were dropping like flies and there were so many vibrant poignant stroylines brought up, briefly sung about, then never mentioned again. Somewhat disappointing. I would be interested in reading the original piece (the one written in the mid 1800's) and see if it holds the same holes as this Tony award winning production. (Though I'd need to take a look to see if it won best book...)

The most disturbing portion of the evening was watching the lead actor spray down the set, his fellow actors and the front few rows with ever increasing sprays of spittle. I thought it was a joke until I realized he never stopped...

Technical merits are mostly high. I thought the light design was effective and original and genuinely added to the play as a whole. On the flip side, I don't think the set did. It seemed simple and practical, a notion which was tossed out in the second act. The costumes were not spectacular, nor hideous.

I enjoyed the show overall, but would only rate it around the six point seven. Out of ten mind you. So almost passing, well, as I write that, I begin to wonder if it should have passed.... (Never you mind the quandary of grading art, I'm grading it) I give it a C-.

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Musings

So, I have traveled back to New York in order to continue my education in the wily ways of theatre.

However, I am currently trapped on an airplane across from the same two children who have been quite liberal in their high registered vocal applications throughout the flight, and seem to see no new reason to eliminate their emmanations.

To alleviate my frustration, I turn to you, dear blog-o-sphere. A joyous little arena of self indulgence, because you truly want to know what is on my mind. So, here is my big question of the day: I am interested in being a little more open about the projects I am ensconced in work on, but I do have that worry that by putting my ideas on the web for easy viewing, I am leaving myself open for rip offs. Is this legitimate? Or is this ultimately safe as everything is time stamped on a server beyond my control....? Hrm...?

In terms of projects, I am very interested in mercenaries right now, though the contemporary versions thereof prefer the term private security consultants. Perhaps I'll be in a better space to put out some more information about that particular gambit on the flip side..

Play well, and hit me up if you are around the Eastern seaboard.
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Good morning

Good morning.

I am sitting in the Seattle airport, a place I have been many times before, and a place that holds countless memories for me. It is far too early for me to be up, considering where my circadian rhythms have me.

All that said (so you can gauge my mind set), this blog is ultimately supposed to be about writing, so let's talk writing.

Over this winter break of mine, I was expected to complete a draft of a play for Spence's class. It's a strange murder mystery playing out inside the protagonist's head. It is quite dark, and I think that darkness attracts Spence. However, I think that very same darkness keeps me from being very attracted to writing it. I prefer to write things that are happy and funny because I'd rather be laughing, all the same. In any case, I've written a bit more of the script, but still have a way to go.

I really want to finish this screenplay that I promised a friend I'd write. He came up with the characters and the world, but needs/wants me to write the screenplay. I really like the characters and the world he's created, and as I get closer to a finished product, you, dear reader(s) will know more deets (details). However, the story is just so ephemeral to me right now. It feels right and wrong in the same breath, and I'm not sure the tale I'm trying to tell fits within the Field three act structure. Nor do I think it would agree with McKee (So many books, I should write some reviews of the ones that have worked for me)... So, my problem is that I'm bringing my love for "meta" to the world of film. Not entirely unwelcome, but certainly awkward. Bah, enough complaining.

Go out and write.
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Bedtime Thoughts

Tonight will be a short night. I getting up at four in order to fly to my cousin's wedding. Three hours of sleep, fantastic.

I watched "Die Harder" tonight, and I will start out by saying I love the ironic title. I felt that the early Die Hard movies (by that I mean one and two) were especially interesting because they redefined the action genre. All this has been studied by folks a whole lot more verbose than I, and you can read it in depth from them. For me, the change happened with the shift from muscle bound supermen to the, more or less, guy next door. All of a sudden here is a hero the audience (presumably at least the white males) could really relate to.

I won't sit here (lay here) and pretend that John McClain is an everyman sort, but his actions don't transcend traditional levels of reality to much. There are repercussions to his actions, he gets injured, he runs out of ammunition, he questions his involvement in the action. All wonderful, and all not especially evident in the genre films leading up to this.

With all that to chew on, I'm going to throw out a quick question to muse as you sip your coffee as I jet overhead, has the tide turned? Are the heroes in action films turning back into the supermen of the eighties? Take a look at the latest installment in the "Die Hard" franchise, the not quite as deliciously ironic "Live Free or Die Hard" (I might be incorrect with the title.... How embarrassing). McClain is back, but he seems more capable in terms of the fantastic. He is no longer the cop down the street, but rather he has been transformed into the iconic figure of John McClain with his trademarked phrases and patented grimaces.

And just as John McClain's emergence signaled the changing of the guard, so to might John Rambo's re-emergence..........

Goodnight. Play nicely.
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Bedtime Thoughts

So usually, I really connect to movies/stories about writers and writing, and I find it is an easy way to motivate me into writing more.

For example, some movies I love (about writing) are "Shakespeare in Love", "Stranger than Fiction", et al.

For the record, a movie I do not like is "She-Devil". It involves a writer and writing, but I did not enjoy it (Interesting, though, to find myself watching movies two days in a row based on the premise of adultery. What is the prevalence of this discretion in our society?)

I also love the movie "Misery".

Because I am a writer, I like movies about writing. Is that a trend that continues throughout humanity? Do we prefer to listen to stories about our own little worlds? Or are we more attracted to the places that are alien to us. The writer leading us into the places we are afraid to pace... I'm not sure.

The oldest axiom about writing that I've been dished to is "Write what you know." But does the reverse apply? Read/watch what you know?

Think on it while I sleep.
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A new Job, a new type of Writing

So, I thought I would hold off on annoucing this new position that I've managed to acquire.

I've been "hired" as the Lead Writer for a small gaming company called Solid Stage, and we are working on a new MMO set in space. I'm writing the main world for the game, and coming up with the storyline. The game is called " Deep Transit".

I'm not exactly sure how much I can put in here about the work I'm doing, the writing and the world creation, so it will be a little light on that. BUT, there we go, there's something on the horizon. Perhaps sometime I'll even get paid for it.

Peace and love kiddos. I'll let you know more deets when I got em.

Bedtime thoughts

I am laying here in this warm bed, wondering what the hell is going on.

The power has been fluctuating between two positions. On and off, and its right annoying, especially as I am in the middle of a movie.

I am watching (attempting to watch) the movie "Waitress) which I am quite enjoying, but it raises two questions to me. One, how will this movie resolve to a happy ending (which a dear person has assured me it does) and two, is there a current trend of films/theatre/stories in which there is a moral justification for otherwise immoral actions?

The case here being adultery. Granted, as I write this, there has long been a Western tradition of glorifying violence, so perhaps moral justification for immoral acts is not a new concept. Fair enough. But, where are the moral lines drawn in story telling? Am I responsible, as an author for the actions I allow the protagonist to get away with? For the view that I take? Is it my view, or can I argue that the actions are those of the characters in the story?

All of which brings about the question of morality.... Is there a justification for any action? In the case of Waitress, does Keri Russells character have a justification for cheating on her incredibly atrocious husband? I mean, clearly, absolutely clearly a jerk in every stereotypical way... So much so that its a bit difficult to imagine how she could have married him in the first place. Say what you will about Stanley, but he has his moments, is great in bed and (especially when played by Marlon Brando) is one fine man. This Earl is a poorly disguised stereotype in an otherwise heavily dimensioned film.

There we go. The power is back on and let's see if we are able to finish the film.

*****SPOLIERS BELOW*****

The film has ended, and it did indeed have a happy enough ending. I mean, there wasn't a sense of closure for the relationship between the doctor and Jenna (keri russell). And isn't the doctor almost as "bad" as Earl for the manner he treated his wife? It's almost as if by not telling his wife about the affair, the damage is not done. I cry foul.

The characters of the two romantic leads were well flushed out, and I really enjoyed the banter between them. There was a genuine sense of comedy there, especially when the cliched response was given, the thrown out. A technique the male actor (also in Firefly (the captain therein) Scuz help me out))) seems to have perfected.

Okay, goodnight folks.
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