Open Wardrobes

So. Yeah. The Fringe lottery. Well, there were winners and losers. Some celebrated their inclusion, others despaired at being cast under the wheels of the Bingo Cage of Fate. That was me. I sat, breathless, as they called each number for the lottery. Each one not me. They then started to pull the order for the wait list and I was still hopeful that I would be close to the top, hopeful that I would only have to wait a little longer until someone dropped off and I was awarded their place instead...


That was not to be. I stuck around long enough to see myself end up #53 on the waiting list. Not an impossible distance away from making it in, but by no means a sure thing. So now I am left to mull over my options: Hope for a spot on the wait list, try for a bring-your-own-venue spot, or forgo the Fringe and look for a different venue entirely. Soon, perhaps, I will be ready to tackle that question, to roll up my sleeves and work on Plan B, but for now I am allowing myself at least a day or two to wallow in disappointment, downing my sorrows in a cup of Scottish Breakfast (that's a tea).


It was for days such as this that "meh" was officially added to the dictionary.

So this is it. The big day, the moment of fate. Tonight they will be drawing numbers for this year's Minnesota Fringe Festival. I haven't been to the lottery event for a few years, since the last time I had an application in, and I am looking forward to it. I remember it being a fun event with everyone energized to see who would make it in and who wouldn't. I know a few others with applications and so will be watching for their numbers as well, but mostly I will be crossing my fingers for lucky number #10. I am determined to perform my show somewhere even if I don't make it in, but I love the whole atmosphere of the Fringe and really, really would like to bring it there. Not to mention it gives me a fixed deadline to shoot for. I'm told that the Fringe will be streaming the event live, so even if you can't make it you can still watch the ping pong action. (At least last time I went all the numbers were written on ping pong balls; it's more entertaining that way.) And then follows the joy of acceptance or the hearbreak of rejection, depending on how the ping pong balls fall for you. I hope, tomorrow morning, to find myself in the former category. We shall soon see.

Recently my murder mystery "Ace of Diamonds" was performed by Silver Spring Stage in Maryland as part of their annual one-act festival. (You can see a few pictures from the production on their site here.) I happened to run across an online review of the festival's first weekend, which included "Ace of Diamonds," and here's what they had to say:

Belich’s script is a wonderful homage to those one room Agatha Christie mysteries, from the cryptic invitations to the isolated manor to the multiple twist endings. ...and Belich’s script will keep you guessing right to the end.

David Cannon, Prince George's Sentinel

So, something for the "warm fuzzy" file. "Ace of Diamonds" will be coming out soon with Big Dog Plays, and based on the interest it's received so far (almost exclusively from people finding it on my website) I have high hopes that it will do well in the community theater market.