Open Wardrobes

I am at the moment taking care of a few odds and ends as a writer which deal mostly with the less-than-thrilling marketing side of things. Earlier this week I submitted The Last Anniversary, my new 10-minute play, to both Lakeshore Players and the National 10-Minute Play Contest. I'm crossing my fingers for Lakeshore and it would be wonderful to have it done where I know people and where I can easily go to see it. I am continuing to keep an eye on places to send The Princess and the Moon, and today am sending it off to the Panowski Playwriting Competition. That may be a bit of a longshot (they say no restriction in genre, but sometimes you have to wonder how interested non-children's theater contests are in children's theater). I just noticed this one recently, so I'm in a bit of a rush today to put everything together so that it will arrive by Friday! Lastly, Tim Goddard has started a new blog for Goddard Publishing, whose offerings include my novel Edelsha (have you bought your copy yet?), and Tim has asked that I participate in that blog as well. Tim and my wife Kelly are also both participating in National Novel Writing Month (affectionately known as NaNoWriMo) while I look on with a tinge of jealousy that I can't participate this year. (Acting in a show, writing a play, taking intermediate Chinese, working full time... trying to write a novel in a month on top of that just might kill me.)


So other than that, still waiting for reponses to my Princess queries (one polite "No thanks" so far, but that was from a longshot: the Children's Theatre in Minneapolis), plus I have a few submissions out to publishers. Now I should probably start looking at my lines...

So, having now started a new show as an actor, a lot of future posts will likely be about that process. But, being a playwright, that is no so disconnected from the process of writing. Claudia, our director, said that in order to write for youth she feels it is important to direct youth and remain connected to that part of the process. For me I think a similar connection to the acting process is important. As a playwright I offer up a framework which requires a whole team of people, from the actors, to the director, to the designers, to interpret the work and create the finished product. And different teams of people will bring out different aspects of the piece, create the characters in different ways, and produce something that is wholely unique, even though it shares every line of dialogue with each other production. So I continue to act which reminds me of what the actors will have to go through in order to fill in everything that happens between the lines. Of course, I love the acting process in and of itself - it is a very different kind of creative process - and there is nothing quite like getting up in front of a live audience and the energy that comes with it.


But I digress, the rehearsal: We have a great cast and I can tell they're all going to be a blast to work with. There are people I have worked with before, and now I will enjoy doing do again, plus many new faces. It's always amazing to me how in a new show we can start as strangers, and by the end it will be difficult to say goodbye. We started the process last night with a readthrough and it was fun to see all the humor people were already bringing to their parts. With a cast of 22 it will take a little while to learn who everyone is (and me being bad with names), so I started last night by trying to at least remember who my "children" for the next 6 weeks are (I have seven!). They are good kids, that much I can already tell. So here we go! It never gets old, and as much work as acting is I wouldn't trade it for the world. This, I suppose, is how any of us know what we truly love - for all the ups and downs, you always go back and never regret it for a second.

Claudia's comments on names started me thinking about how this relates to writing (as obsessed as I was about if I would be cast, I hadn't even thought about that side of it!). Finding the right names in a play is for me a measurement of how well I really understand the characters. If I can't figure out the name, odds are I haven't cracked that character yet because once I do the name usually becomes clear. The character has to have this name, it's just who they are (and they know it). For example, in writing The Princess and the Moon I just knew that the main character's name had to be Lizzy. It was the name that best described her personality. She's not a Sue or even a Betty, but definitely a Lizzy. And when you think about it, this is exactly the idea someone is getting at when they comment on how so-and-so either does or does not fit their name. In the Old Testement people are given names that have definite meanings that are specifically chosen, often based on the circumstances of their birth. Significance is also placed on the giving of a new name, such as when God renames the patriarch Jacob Israel.


But back to the writing side, the names of characters also help create a certain atmosphere. In Princess, for example, the princesses were given old-fashioned names because it fit the feel of the piece. One of the names, Nadia, was what gave the character its direction - without even being fully conscious of it, the character developed to fit the name I had already chosen.


It is part of the process, understanding who the characters are, giving them names, giving them form. And they will usually let you know when you've got it wrong.

Now that I not in the "waiting to hear" period, I can turn my mind to other things (at least for a short time, before rehearsals begin in earnest on Monday). I brought The Last Anniversary to Critical Mass last Sunday night where I received very helpful feedback. I've decided to scrap the attempt at making people think the situation is something that it actually is. All I succeeded at was confusing people; it added a layer of complexity that wasn't really necessary for the story I was telling. That's one of the things I've been learning about the last few years in my writing - KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! It's easy to add all sorts of details that don't end up advancing the story or the characters. With Illinois Jane and the Rainforest of Retribution this was a constant process. With every draft I was forced to trim down the backstory and eventually distill it to the bare minimum needed to introduce the action and just go. Otherwise the complex backstory I was trying to get out just bogged everything down. With the story too I kept having to remove elements that complicated the plot too much for a 1-hour play. In the end I was left with something much cleaner and, frankly, more interesting.


Anyway, with the 10-minute play all polished up I'm ready to send it off to Lakeshore for their 10-minute play festival, and I think there are another couple of upcoming deadlines for other contests.

About an hour or so ago I received the call - I'm in!!! As I said, I felt good about my chances, but it's the not knowing that can drive you crazy... Rehearsals start on Monday which I am looking forward to. I will also be interested to see who else made it into the show. I saw a lot of talented kids last night (and adults, but mostly kids, there are a lot of kids in this show) so I have no doubt we're going to have a fantastic cast. And as I will be playing a father of 7, I will be working with them a lot! Hoping of course that my Hansel and Gretel cohorts will be among the group, but also looking forward to meeting some new faces as well. One of the other adults who auditioned has also been blogging about the audition experience here (apparently we've all been reading each other's blogs too).


So, I have been named and look forward to getting to know this character better.

Had callbacks for The Hanging of the Greens last night, and so was able to see many more of the potential cast for the show. Definitely a lot of talented kids! I also ran into Kate and Ali who were also in last year's Hansel and Gretel, so perhaps we'll all get to do another show together. I felt good about how the callbacks went, and now all I can do is wait and see. I see from Claudia's blog that the casting is complete, so it could be anytime now...


Yes, this is the part of the acting life that drives me crazy, just waiting to get the answer to the question, "Who am I?" What is the character (if any) that I will be "living with," so the speak, for the next month and a half? In essence, I (and everyone who auditioned) are waiting to be named. There is something very significant about the act of naming. In Genesis the first task we see God give Adam is to name the animals (and I find it also significant that the first acts of God and man in the Bible are both creative acts). And in the Old Testement we see that names are given which somehow reflect the person themselves, they have a meaning of significance, and so I think we can safely assume that the names Adam gave also reflected the essence of what each animal was. There are many references in literature to how knowing something's true name gives you power over it.


What does this have to do with acting? When you portray a role and spend that much time immersing yourself in the character, it becomes part of you, and even when the show is over a piece of that character stays with you. To be named is not a trivial thing.

Last night I auditioned for The Hanging of the Greens at Lakeshore Players. It's a fun, sweet little show and I'm sure would be a blast. It's a new play written and directed by Claudia Haas who writes here about the trials and tribulations of trying to pick people for the kids parts from a large and talented pool. I only saw a subset, of course, who I read with, but even from the 10 kids I saw there was definitely a lot of good talent. I don't envy Claudia's task of casting this one! (And with another evening of auditions still to come tonight.)


I felt that my audition went well, so I am hopeful! Call backs are tomorrow night and rehearsals start on Monday, so I won't have long to wait to find out. That's the part about acting that I've always liked the least - waiting to hear if you've been cast. In college the cast lists would always be posted by the theater, and I remember passing by about 10 times a day waiting for it. And then once it's up, feeling that mixture of excitement and dread as you quickly scan the list to see if your name is included! At any rate, if I make it in it promises to be great fun, and if I don't then I suppose I have a few plays I should be working on.

Over the weekend Kelly and I attended Amazons and Their Men, the latest offering from Walking Shadow Theater Company. Walking Shadow is relatively young (this is the start of their 3rd full season) but they have quickly garnered a reputation for doing great work. Most of their shows have been regional premieres, and so it's likely you've never heard of the play, but as they are very thoughtful in their choice of shows you know it's going to be something interesting. Amazons and Their Men was no exception. The show focuses on a movie director in World War II Germany who used to direct propagana films, but now is trying to create something simply beautiful. The four characters are all actors in the film and so switch back and forth between their characters on and off screen. The story of the film, the love between the Amazon queen and Achilles during the Trojan War, parallels the war growing outside the film studio.


The acting was solid overall, an essential in a 4-person cast, but Zoe Benston as the Frau and Christine Weber as the Extra were especially strong. Because the play is, in part, about the filming of a movie, much of the dialogue during those scenes was narration describing what the camera is seeing. I found this technique very effective, and even though I as a member of the theater audience could see everything happening on stage, I had a good visual image of what the "film" looked like as well. My one objection with the script was that I didn't think it delved deep enough into the characters and their reactions to what's going on in the world around them. I felt that this blunted the effectiveness of the parallels between the war being filmed and the war outside.


One thing I have always loved about Walking Shadow is that even though they may not have the biggest of budgets, the technical elements are always very well-done. The set for Amazons was dominated by a single staircase which swept across the entire stage. Lighting was simple, though used to good effect in helping distinguish between the "cameras" were rolling and in-between movie scenes. All very simple, but elegantly done.


So, all in all, I certainly recommend this production. New plays can be very hit or miss, but Walking Shadow is one of the theaters I trust to pick things worth seeing. And you're always guaranteed a professional, top-notch production all around. So go see it, and spring for the season pass while you're at it: $40 for 3 shows, definitely a great deal.

I've had a little bit of a lull the past week when it comes to writing. I've been tweaking The Last Anniversary in preparation for this Sunday's Critical Mass meeting (my writer's group) and now am just waiting to see what the response is before making the final edits. I've also been chipping away at my one-man show idea, trying to write out any ideas I have and searching for the right form to the piece. And of course I am waiting to see what response I have to my inquiries for The Princess and the Moon.


A lot of my time right now is also taken up by non-writing activities. There is my day job, of course, but I'm also taking a class in Chinese (yes, Chinese) which takes up quite a bit of time between the actual class and doing homework. I've been studying Chinese for just over 2 years now and am currently in a year-long intermediate course at Inver Hills Community College, so it's not easy stuff. But it's very interesting, and hopefully by the time I go back to China (I visited there for the first time about a year and a half ago) I will be able to carry on at least a basic conversation.


Lastly, I have my eye on auditions for the holiday at Lakeshore Players, The Hanging of the Greens, written and directed by my fellow Minnesota playwright Claudia Haas. Auditions take place this coming Monday and Tuesday.

The longer I write the less shy I have become about setting my sights high. When I sent out selections to The Princess and the Moon, for example, I included the Children's Theater here in Minnesota on the list. It is a longshot perhaps, they are after all one of THE children's theaters in the country so we're talking about some pretty fierce competition, but I thought "Why not?" I certainly think it's a good play, one of my best, and it would certainly fit with the kinds of plays they do. The answer may very well be "No thanks," but unless you take the chance, you just never know. And if I don't believe the play is good enough to be performed by such a theater, why should I expect anyone else to? So away it went and we shall see if they are interested in reading the whole play.


Along similar lines, yesterday I sent out a Letter. This is a Letter I have been wanting to send for many years, but felt that I had to wait for the right moment. I am being purposely vague here (again, probably a longshot), but suffice to say the Letter relates to a writing project I have wanted to do for a long, long time and feel that I can now do justice to. Even if the initial response is to continue the conversation and give me a chance to make my case, I will be elated. Again, the answer may be no, but unless I ask the question the odds of getting a "Yes" are most certainly zero. And so again, now all I can do is wait and see.