It's no secret that I feel incredibly fraudulent to be writing about playwriting when I have not yet had any of my work produced. But there is one incredibly liberating aspect to writing, whether you're a Pulitzer (or GG) award winner, or remain in the closet 'til the day you die: the world is full of people who are not on your side. Who, for whatever reason will randomly treat you like dirt and make you feel small. Maybe you have one such person in your life, maybe you have several. But, what's great about writing is, that not one of them can take that perfect turn of phrase, that sublime moment, or that exquisite character away from you. I suppose it's revenge, really. When someone hurts you, just get back at them by writing the best poem, novel, play, scene, whatever of your life. Perhaps no one will ever read it, or ever have the chance to appreciate it, but it's yours and it's great and no one, not even that shortsighted person who doesn't play well with others, can take that away with you.
Yes, I had a few bad experiences this week with some people. Okay, a person. I'm still not over it, but that's what's great about writing. I get to call the shots. That's pretty great in a world where I don't even control when I eat or go to the bathroom. Write on, my friends. Write on.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Dear Diary
I've started doing something I haven't done on a regular basis since I was about 10 years old: keep a journal. Here's the thing: What's something that everyone has either been through, about to go through or are currently putting their kids through? School! (or some facsimile thereof) Who is in one every day and has a thousand stories, observations and insights to share? Me!
So, I thought that since I have a sabbatical coming up next year that will afford me all kinds of time to write, I really should be jotting downs incidents and my reactions to them now, while I'm in the thick of it and it's all fresh.
If anyone finds this diary, it would be a catastrophe. After all, diaries are supposed to be unadulterated and unedited, for an audience of one, right? That's what makes them juicy. If it was the kind of diary other people could read without being astonished, it wouldn't be a very good diary.
Here's an excerpt:
March 30, 2011. Period 3 Socials. Again.
Handed out a worksheet. They like worksheets. They ask for them all the time. I don't mark worksheets. Why would I? All they are is copying out of a book, I don't know how it proves they know anything. They say they like the worksheets. I was just told, "Do you see how quiet it is in here?" But it is surprising (or not) to note how many of them don't even do these coveted work sheets. Can't be bothered.
Okay, so that wasn't exactly juicy. Seriously, the juicy entries can only surface to the world in a very surreptitious, oblique kind of a way where the guilty won't have a clue that the indictments of which I speak are about THEM! You'll have to come to my play when it's ready to really get the dirt.
So, I thought that since I have a sabbatical coming up next year that will afford me all kinds of time to write, I really should be jotting downs incidents and my reactions to them now, while I'm in the thick of it and it's all fresh.
If anyone finds this diary, it would be a catastrophe. After all, diaries are supposed to be unadulterated and unedited, for an audience of one, right? That's what makes them juicy. If it was the kind of diary other people could read without being astonished, it wouldn't be a very good diary.
Here's an excerpt:
March 30, 2011. Period 3 Socials. Again.
Handed out a worksheet. They like worksheets. They ask for them all the time. I don't mark worksheets. Why would I? All they are is copying out of a book, I don't know how it proves they know anything. They say they like the worksheets. I was just told, "Do you see how quiet it is in here?" But it is surprising (or not) to note how many of them don't even do these coveted work sheets. Can't be bothered.
Okay, so that wasn't exactly juicy. Seriously, the juicy entries can only surface to the world in a very surreptitious, oblique kind of a way where the guilty won't have a clue that the indictments of which I speak are about THEM! You'll have to come to my play when it's ready to really get the dirt.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
A New Reign
I came across this today in my daily romp through the New York Times:
Australian Playwright Wins Yale Drama Series Award
By PATRICK HEALY
An Australian play about four people from a small town trying to build new lives after a violent crime has won the 2011 Yale Drama Series award for an emerging playwright. John Guare, the acclaimed stage writer (“The House of Blue Leaves,” “Six Degrees of Separation”) and judge for the series, announced on Tuesday that Shannon Murdoch had won for “New Light Shine.” Ms. Murdoch, who is a legal assistant and writer living near Melbourne, will receive $10,000 from the David Charles Horn Foundation, and there will be a staged reading of the play at the Yale Repertory Theater on Sept. 12. Yale University Press will also publish the play.
The runners-up in the annual international competition were Laura Marks for “Bethany” and Mary Elizabeth Hamilton for “We Three.” This is the fifth time the prize has been awarded. Probably the best-known winner is Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, whose “Lidless” has been staged in Philadelphia; Edinburgh; Austin, Tex.; and at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in West Virginia.
A little bittersweet for me. I was runnerup last year, when David Hare was judge. I met the Yale Drama Series crew in September and went to the reading at Yale Rep for Virginia Gris' blu. It was magical.
Get to work, Mare!
Australian Playwright Wins Yale Drama Series Award
By PATRICK HEALY
An Australian play about four people from a small town trying to build new lives after a violent crime has won the 2011 Yale Drama Series award for an emerging playwright. John Guare, the acclaimed stage writer (“The House of Blue Leaves,” “Six Degrees of Separation”) and judge for the series, announced on Tuesday that Shannon Murdoch had won for “New Light Shine.” Ms. Murdoch, who is a legal assistant and writer living near Melbourne, will receive $10,000 from the David Charles Horn Foundation, and there will be a staged reading of the play at the Yale Repertory Theater on Sept. 12. Yale University Press will also publish the play.
The runners-up in the annual international competition were Laura Marks for “Bethany” and Mary Elizabeth Hamilton for “We Three.” This is the fifth time the prize has been awarded. Probably the best-known winner is Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, whose “Lidless” has been staged in Philadelphia; Edinburgh; Austin, Tex.; and at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in West Virginia.
A little bittersweet for me. I was runnerup last year, when David Hare was judge. I met the Yale Drama Series crew in September and went to the reading at Yale Rep for Virginia Gris' blu. It was magical.
Get to work, Mare!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Rejection
As an unproduced playwright, I've experienced a lot of rejection. It comes with the territory, but it's never pleasant. There are, however, some rejection messages that hurt a little less than others, like this one I got today from Stratford:
Dear Mary,
First, I must apologize for the lengthy time we have taken to respond to your play submission, Siona MacDuff. Yours was one of a small handful of scripts that got a bit delayed between the various readers who reviewed the material and changing personnel within the department.
You have a fine and accurate ear for dialogue and write with great heart and appeal. The implications of the world you are portraying in the play resonate in an immediate way and there is much to appreciate in the play. While we don’t feel it is the right project for us, we would be happy to read and consider more of your work in the future.
All the best with your artistic endeavors and thank you for your interest in the Festival.
Sincerely,
It could be worse. And I think I just may take her up on her invitation to submit more of my work.
Dear Mary,
First, I must apologize for the lengthy time we have taken to respond to your play submission, Siona MacDuff. Yours was one of a small handful of scripts that got a bit delayed between the various readers who reviewed the material and changing personnel within the department.
You have a fine and accurate ear for dialogue and write with great heart and appeal. The implications of the world you are portraying in the play resonate in an immediate way and there is much to appreciate in the play. While we don’t feel it is the right project for us, we would be happy to read and consider more of your work in the future.
All the best with your artistic endeavors and thank you for your interest in the Festival.
Sincerely,
It could be worse. And I think I just may take her up on her invitation to submit more of my work.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
How it is.
I have both good news and bad news. The bad news first: I've started SCAPEDOG, and it totally sucks. I don't mean that in a false-humble kind of way, it really does. I'm going to keep going on it (I'm on page 6, after all) because even after working really hard on it (which I have yet to do), there is a chance that when this first draft is complete, there may be one scene or one character, heck, even one moment that will be worth throwing all the rest away and rebuilding on. And maybe, after 10 drafts or so, there could be something halfway stageable in this little story.
Good News: My husband, Dalton, and I confirmed that we will be co-directing NOISES OFF! for the Key City Theatre (one of the local theatre venues here in Cranbrook). I'm really excited, I mean it's pretty much the funniest play ever written. The big ego part of me wants to just shove Dalton out of the way and do it myself but I think working with him on a team will be the best ever. So, if you're in Cranbrook near the end of January next year, come check it out,
it's going to be awesome. And, if you want to act in it, watch for auditions, we'll be hosting them in June.
Good News: My husband, Dalton, and I confirmed that we will be co-directing NOISES OFF! for the Key City Theatre (one of the local theatre venues here in Cranbrook). I'm really excited, I mean it's pretty much the funniest play ever written. The big ego part of me wants to just shove Dalton out of the way and do it myself but I think working with him on a team will be the best ever. So, if you're in Cranbrook near the end of January next year, come check it out,
it's going to be awesome. And, if you want to act in it, watch for auditions, we'll be hosting them in June.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Something New . . .
I'm between projects right now. I've got THE MIMIC'S RIDDLE to an almost-complete stage and another play (currently titled SPECIAL LITTLE DIAMOND, about the Golden Age of Hollywood) is at the first-draft stage. I should really work on DIAMOND, but it's been a long time since I've worked anything new. I want to spend Spring Break working on a new project.
I've long had an idea for a play (currently titled SCAPEDOG), about a seemingly perfect family whose imperfections are exposed when they get a dog for the first time. I have some of the outline worked out, but it's looking pretty shallow at the moment.
I have another idea for a play (no title yet) about the education system. I don't exactly know which aspects it will focus on yet, but I think that would be something people would come out to see. I mean, everyone's got an opinion on that one, right? (The answer is yes, they totally do, I hear about it all the time.)
So, over Spring Break, I'm hoping to write outlines for SCAPEDOG and the school play (Hey, that might be a good title: THE SCHOOL PLAY!), and perhaps tweak a little bit on MIMIC'S RIDDLE. I'll let you know how far I get with all of that.
I've long had an idea for a play (currently titled SCAPEDOG), about a seemingly perfect family whose imperfections are exposed when they get a dog for the first time. I have some of the outline worked out, but it's looking pretty shallow at the moment.
I have another idea for a play (no title yet) about the education system. I don't exactly know which aspects it will focus on yet, but I think that would be something people would come out to see. I mean, everyone's got an opinion on that one, right? (The answer is yes, they totally do, I hear about it all the time.)
So, over Spring Break, I'm hoping to write outlines for SCAPEDOG and the school play (Hey, that might be a good title: THE SCHOOL PLAY!), and perhaps tweak a little bit on MIMIC'S RIDDLE. I'll let you know how far I get with all of that.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Weighing in on Spiderman
First, an update: My play reading went well. Not great, but it was fine. I'm hoping to make the final changes on the rewrite today, and then call it a day on this one - send it away to some places. It has maybe one more rewrite in it, but that would be it.
Okay, to the main event now. Everyone else is doing it, and I'm not too proud to admit that I've been sucked into the latest theatrical vortex that seems to have captured the world's attention: Spiderman. After reading this:http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/940190--troubled-spider-man-musical-hires-new-writer, I am finally at the official head-shaking, judging stage. No, I haven't seen it, but I respect many of the top tier theatre critics who have, and I can't see myself disagreeing with them if I were $140 poorer.
OI-VAY! Are you kidding me? 65 million dollars, 1 million dollars a week to produce, 4 major cast injuries and almost 3 months of previews, and they're NOW hiring a writer to help with script damage control? Idiots. And I'm sorry, but people who go to it are idiots, too.
Okay, to the main event now. Everyone else is doing it, and I'm not too proud to admit that I've been sucked into the latest theatrical vortex that seems to have captured the world's attention: Spiderman. After reading this:http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/940190--troubled-spider-man-musical-hires-new-writer, I am finally at the official head-shaking, judging stage. No, I haven't seen it, but I respect many of the top tier theatre critics who have, and I can't see myself disagreeing with them if I were $140 poorer.
OI-VAY! Are you kidding me? 65 million dollars, 1 million dollars a week to produce, 4 major cast injuries and almost 3 months of previews, and they're NOW hiring a writer to help with script damage control? Idiots. And I'm sorry, but people who go to it are idiots, too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)