Starting tomorrow, I am going to be a part of a week-long playwright's workshop. It was supposed to start today, but when do airplanes ever cooperate with the plans of people. C'est la vie. Anyway, I am working on my first attempt at musical writing, instead. Well, the book for a musical anyway. While I do enjoy music, both the listening and the playing of it, I am not what most would deem "gifted" with those composition abilities.
Because I am sure that my faithful readers are dying to discover what this musical is about, I will tell you several words: whores, naivete, and love. Why? Why not? I have been told again and again to write from wherever I am in my life at that point and time; ergo, whores, naivete, and love.
I'm just kidding. There's no naivete in my life.
(shakes head to snap out of weird inner-monologue)
Anyway, the real premise of the show is about questioning when people should just go with what they're told to do and when they should undermine the system, and how much that might cost them in the long-run. To write all of this, I have my whiteboards running at full-power, my iTunes is gracing me with music, my sticky tack is ready to be worked over to help my neural connection, and my coffee pot is now only half-full.
So here I sit, a twitchy recluse writing a musical, while the blinding sun is burning the world outside. If I don't show up for dinner, people should probably arrange a search party, start with my room and then move on to local ditches.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Writing is Reading is Writing
The final year of my undergraduate career has begun, and too much has changed over the past several months for me to believe that this place is still a home for me. That sense has passed away with the passing of my mentor, collaborator, and dear friend. Entering into a space, once co-inhabited with him leads to a vast emptiness, but as he always ended his emails regardless of the information contained within, "On we go."
My senior year means numerous preparations for me. Grad school applications, thinking of back-up plans, a possible mutiny, thoughts towards a better future, et cetera et cetera. I have come to the realization that my future lies inside the insane world of the theatre, predominately as a writer, but the probability of acting is equally as high. I went back and took a look at the first play I ever wrote recently and realized how much I have grown; as a writer, as a person, and as a creator.
That first play tells of a group of people mourning the loss of a friend, and the mystery of the death of the Loch Ness Monster. It stems from four dudes, locked in a room for 24 hours, and pushed to the brink of insanity.
Since then, I have learned that I want to be a playwright and/or a librettist. I will be visiting some potential graduate schools this fall, and, of course, am incredibly excited, anxious, and scared all at once. I have learned a lot about the creation of stories and more particularly plays.
In the words of Joss Whedon, "Just finish it." There's always time to edit after you're done with it, but if not everything is finished, then how do you know how to edit anything to get to culmination of the play, because, after all, the ending is the most important part of the entire story. Without an ending, there is no story. There are simply some menial moments. These moments need to mean something and lead to something.
People change. They should change in your story. If your main character is not dynamic, then your play better end in a lot of tragedy and travesty and frustration. Stories need some sort of journey, whether literal (There and Back Again) or metaphysical (any internal struggle ever).
And most importantly, read. Read things - all things. Literacy is a gift. Understanding and meaning-making are an even greater gift. If you think something sucks, try to understand why it sucks to you. Be disgusted by things. If you aren't disgusted by somethings, then you aren't human. If you need something disgusting to look into, think about something that angers you. Think about how much people are not doing to remedy this situation. What you are feeling now is something pretty close to disgust. Go pick up something by someone that wrote during the grotesque period (i.e. Tennessee Williams or anything that has to do with a carney). Try and understand why they chose these protagonists. Research the meaning of words. I would suggest starting with the word "agony" and its Latin roots.
Question everything and everyone. Learn to love learning. The world we are currently inhabiting needs more people that are knowledgeable and wise. Philosophize. Communicate. Argue. And of course, read. You won't regret it. Trust me. Ask your teachers, they are paid (usually) to know these things.
My senior year means numerous preparations for me. Grad school applications, thinking of back-up plans, a possible mutiny, thoughts towards a better future, et cetera et cetera. I have come to the realization that my future lies inside the insane world of the theatre, predominately as a writer, but the probability of acting is equally as high. I went back and took a look at the first play I ever wrote recently and realized how much I have grown; as a writer, as a person, and as a creator.
That first play tells of a group of people mourning the loss of a friend, and the mystery of the death of the Loch Ness Monster. It stems from four dudes, locked in a room for 24 hours, and pushed to the brink of insanity.
Since then, I have learned that I want to be a playwright and/or a librettist. I will be visiting some potential graduate schools this fall, and, of course, am incredibly excited, anxious, and scared all at once. I have learned a lot about the creation of stories and more particularly plays.
In the words of Joss Whedon, "Just finish it." There's always time to edit after you're done with it, but if not everything is finished, then how do you know how to edit anything to get to culmination of the play, because, after all, the ending is the most important part of the entire story. Without an ending, there is no story. There are simply some menial moments. These moments need to mean something and lead to something.
People change. They should change in your story. If your main character is not dynamic, then your play better end in a lot of tragedy and travesty and frustration. Stories need some sort of journey, whether literal (There and Back Again) or metaphysical (any internal struggle ever).
And most importantly, read. Read things - all things. Literacy is a gift. Understanding and meaning-making are an even greater gift. If you think something sucks, try to understand why it sucks to you. Be disgusted by things. If you aren't disgusted by somethings, then you aren't human. If you need something disgusting to look into, think about something that angers you. Think about how much people are not doing to remedy this situation. What you are feeling now is something pretty close to disgust. Go pick up something by someone that wrote during the grotesque period (i.e. Tennessee Williams or anything that has to do with a carney). Try and understand why they chose these protagonists. Research the meaning of words. I would suggest starting with the word "agony" and its Latin roots.
Question everything and everyone. Learn to love learning. The world we are currently inhabiting needs more people that are knowledgeable and wise. Philosophize. Communicate. Argue. And of course, read. You won't regret it. Trust me. Ask your teachers, they are paid (usually) to know these things.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Long-hand
As to why it's called "long-hand" I have no idea. Entomology has never really been something I've wanted to pursue. This is rather about something that I've always been told and chosen to ignore. Therefore, I will start with an apology to Mrs. Snyder, Mrs. Dehel, and Mrs. Gott.
They told me that doing actual prewriting can make a paper ten times more organized and might actually earn me an A in the class. I ignored that and earned B's in high school English classes. I then go to college and it's more-or-less the same thing, but now it's my major.
Here I am now, struggling to complete my first full-length play - as in something that should be around 100 pages of text. I'm on page 16 and I've realized that I have no idea where this thing is going. So what's a boy to do? Pre-write. Completely. Essentially writing the story before actually writing the story. Not just figuring out the characters or writing out a dramatic premise, the whole thing. Scene by scene. The way I like to do this is - well - long-hand.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
When Life Hands You an Ultimatum, Explore
Earlier on this morning, I received an email from one of the schools I am applying to for grad school telling me to contact them if I had any questions in regards to the application process (If you do not remember from my first post, I plan on pursuing an MFA in Playwriting/Dramatic Writing). This prompted the sending out of emails to the heads of department at my top five choices: Carnegie Mellon, Brown, NYU: Tisch, University of Iowa, and University of Idaho. I asked three questions of them: 1) What do you look for in potential students; 2) What are things, coursework or extracurricular, that might be advantageous for the potential student to do; and, my favorite, 3) What is one thing you have seen in a play, either written or performed, that you loathed, or was a pet peeve? I have received only one reply thus far, which is actually a lot quicker than I was expecting to receive, and that person's email, especially their answers, moved their university up in my rankings. However, it also made me realize the gravity of what I'm preparing to do.
When kids are in high school, they are bombarded with the statement, "The decisions you make today will affect your future." Back then it means, getting a DUI will cost them more in the future than it will now, but in college it means that you are deciding what you want to do with your life. The email that I received back blatantly stated that the students that get accepted into the program are really pursuing a life in scriptwriting and are immediately thrust into a life of being a scriptwriter, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Now this could just be the way that I had always perceived things, but I have never really known someone that followed such an immense dream in a business like the theatre arts and truly made it. That is not to say that I do not have friends that have followed their dreams and succeeded, but I think they just had dreams that were more easily attainable, or were somehow modified to appease their situations.
There really is not a way to walk oneself out of a statement like that, but I will not delete it, because if you are disappointed by that, then odds are you did not want your dream bad enough. To which I say, "Stay curious and stay thirsty, my friends." At the same time, be thankful. There may come a time when you look back on life and ask, "What if?" about certain situations, but when those situations come around make sure you give heed to the question, "Why not?" Sometimes the reasons why not outweigh the what ifs. Look for the what ifs that excite you the most, and go from there.
When kids are in high school, they are bombarded with the statement, "The decisions you make today will affect your future." Back then it means, getting a DUI will cost them more in the future than it will now, but in college it means that you are deciding what you want to do with your life. The email that I received back blatantly stated that the students that get accepted into the program are really pursuing a life in scriptwriting and are immediately thrust into a life of being a scriptwriter, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Now this could just be the way that I had always perceived things, but I have never really known someone that followed such an immense dream in a business like the theatre arts and truly made it. That is not to say that I do not have friends that have followed their dreams and succeeded, but I think they just had dreams that were more easily attainable, or were somehow modified to appease their situations.
There really is not a way to walk oneself out of a statement like that, but I will not delete it, because if you are disappointed by that, then odds are you did not want your dream bad enough. To which I say, "Stay curious and stay thirsty, my friends." At the same time, be thankful. There may come a time when you look back on life and ask, "What if?" about certain situations, but when those situations come around make sure you give heed to the question, "Why not?" Sometimes the reasons why not outweigh the what ifs. Look for the what ifs that excite you the most, and go from there.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The Beginning of Beginning
The Broadway sensation, Avenue Q, asks the question, "What do you do with a B.A. in English?" I wrote a poem that says to dream for a better tomorrow. That is all well and good, but the honest truth is that dreaming does not pay the bills. What is worse is that my mind cannot even settle on one potential career path. In the past eight months alone, I have found myself wanting to be an actor, a teacher, a children's writer, a journalist, a sports broadcaster, a radio talk-show host, a bartender, a bar owner, a restauranteur, a Men's Health columnist, a sports coach, a musician, a comedian, a venue owner, and a playwright.
The general passerby might think that these all come in random phases, but on the contrary, these aspirations tend to live in a jumbled mixture, with my believing that I can pursue several things at once. There was actually a time in my life that I wanted to own a building, but that's not all. In the basement would be the bar that I owned; the middle level would be my psychiatric facility; and the top level would be my home. In retrospect, that is a terrible idea. I would end up spending my entire life in one single building, which would mean that my clientele would be able to find me at any point throughout the day. I also do not plan on becoming a psychiatrist anymore. Frankly, it was only to understand what is wrong with myself. Instead, I am an English major with a concentration in writing and a minor in communications. I am your average liberal arts kid. Full of dreams and curiosity, but lacking in true direction.
There is no question, I want to be a bartender, I even have the mixology training to back it up, but in all honesty, it is kind of a fruitless job. Do not get me wrong, a person can make a killing off of tending bars, but there is more to life than money.
Real journalism is dead. Few publications have survived the cross into the new decade. One such publication being Men's Health. Have I ever actually purchased an issue? No, but I do read their website almost daily. I understand how to have a beach-ready body, but. . .
Sports broadcasting and radio talk-show host kind of go hand-in-hand because one can lead to the other. Picking one over the other? I will go with the radio position. I have been told that I have a good radio voice, and I think it would allow me the opportunity to nerd out in various areas, aside from sports, not to mention the access to more comedic freedom.
Acting is still a viable option, but to get into the real acting business takes a lot of drive and a lot of money that I do not feel capable of.
Bar owner/restauranteur is more of the same thing, but I do feel more of a passion towards this area. I enjoy food, flavors, and the experience that comes with them. The same things apply towards being venue owner because I also love music, and pairing music with food and beverage can make any night memorable.
Musician? Not as a career. Same goes for coach and comedian. I doubt I could even make the cut as a comedian.
Currently speaking, I am set on pursuing my MFA for Playwrighting. With this I plan on seeking a career in teaching at the collegiate level, hopefully in a theater program. Maybe even as a resident playwright, who knows?
"What do you do with a B.A. in English?" from Avenue Q has the character singing, "I can't pay the bills yet/ 'Cause I have no skills yet./ The world is a big scary place." But that is not so in my case. I have a vast skill set, just look at my Linked In page. The thing is that I cannot figure out what I actually want to do with my life. Thus the creation of Farting Around. This blog will chronicle my life's journey into a career, and may one day help write my memoir and the documentary on my life (If Casey Anthony can get one, so can I).
The general passerby might think that these all come in random phases, but on the contrary, these aspirations tend to live in a jumbled mixture, with my believing that I can pursue several things at once. There was actually a time in my life that I wanted to own a building, but that's not all. In the basement would be the bar that I owned; the middle level would be my psychiatric facility; and the top level would be my home. In retrospect, that is a terrible idea. I would end up spending my entire life in one single building, which would mean that my clientele would be able to find me at any point throughout the day. I also do not plan on becoming a psychiatrist anymore. Frankly, it was only to understand what is wrong with myself. Instead, I am an English major with a concentration in writing and a minor in communications. I am your average liberal arts kid. Full of dreams and curiosity, but lacking in true direction.
There is no question, I want to be a bartender, I even have the mixology training to back it up, but in all honesty, it is kind of a fruitless job. Do not get me wrong, a person can make a killing off of tending bars, but there is more to life than money.
Real journalism is dead. Few publications have survived the cross into the new decade. One such publication being Men's Health. Have I ever actually purchased an issue? No, but I do read their website almost daily. I understand how to have a beach-ready body, but. . .
Sports broadcasting and radio talk-show host kind of go hand-in-hand because one can lead to the other. Picking one over the other? I will go with the radio position. I have been told that I have a good radio voice, and I think it would allow me the opportunity to nerd out in various areas, aside from sports, not to mention the access to more comedic freedom.
Acting is still a viable option, but to get into the real acting business takes a lot of drive and a lot of money that I do not feel capable of.
Bar owner/restauranteur is more of the same thing, but I do feel more of a passion towards this area. I enjoy food, flavors, and the experience that comes with them. The same things apply towards being venue owner because I also love music, and pairing music with food and beverage can make any night memorable.
Musician? Not as a career. Same goes for coach and comedian. I doubt I could even make the cut as a comedian.
Currently speaking, I am set on pursuing my MFA for Playwrighting. With this I plan on seeking a career in teaching at the collegiate level, hopefully in a theater program. Maybe even as a resident playwright, who knows?
"What do you do with a B.A. in English?" from Avenue Q has the character singing, "I can't pay the bills yet/ 'Cause I have no skills yet./ The world is a big scary place." But that is not so in my case. I have a vast skill set, just look at my Linked In page. The thing is that I cannot figure out what I actually want to do with my life. Thus the creation of Farting Around. This blog will chronicle my life's journey into a career, and may one day help write my memoir and the documentary on my life (If Casey Anthony can get one, so can I).
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