Yes I felt kind of silly, going to the rehearsal of a one-minute play I’d written. But the director had invited all the playwrights in my clump. And when I showed up, an hour late thanks to getting sucked back into work after a month away, I was indeed the only playwright there. But the director […]
Tag Archives: writing
Day 25: Don’t explain
When I first told people I was going to Ragdale, they said things like, “Hope your class goes well!” “Well, it’s not really a class.” “Oh. Well, hope your retreat is relaxing!” “It’s not really a retreat.” “Oh. Well, hope you have a good workshop!” “It’s not really a workshop.” “Oh. Well, what is it?” […]
Day 23: Separation Anxiety
Exity by Beth, Lila, MT and Patricia Special prairie Clouds no I was kidding Ow my toe Bad bad toe When’s dinner? Ibuprofen eight hundred thousand. Plus whisky. Feel fine. Good night. Sunrise cloud Kafka Makes my whirly word Blossom. Friendship. Consultation. I leave the prairie with the trill of victory. See ya.
Day 11: Prairie Island
When Dave was learning choreography for The Jewels, he started out being able to remember it all in his head. Then he wrote out notes for himself, and suddenly started forgetting things. “I shouldn’t have written it down,” he said at first. But after a few days, the movements were fully back. My theory was that the […]
Day 9: Already?
Yesterday I was finished with the play. I’d gotten to a point of hating it that felt complete. I sent it to a friend, thus making it her problem, and prepared myself for a new something. First, I finished watching the Bergen DVD someone lent me. Then I took a scrap of paper with some notes […]
Day 5: Wind
PHONE. Is there something I can do for you? MISTRESS. You can say no once in a while. PHONE. No? MISTRESS. You can help me to not be so flighty with my fingertips. PHONE. I’m not your mommy. MISTRESS. Then why do you speak all soothing to me. PHONE. Don’t be naive. It’s what you […]
Day 4: Permission to knock
Dug into the play today. Realized I have no idea what constitutes a productive day of writing. I’m used to jamming it in wherever, ten pages or two lines or just in time for a deadline. I heard someone mention “an idea I had long ago, before I knew how to write a play,” and […]
Day 3: Listing
1. A World of Light, by May Sarton. 2. A walk in the prairie, by me. Twelve noon. Napped on a log bench. Got lost and had to use Google Maps to find the house. 3. Two more one-minute plays. 4. A mind-expanding interview with another artist for one of the characters in my play. […]
Day 2: Duets
Wrote a one-minute play. Walked downtown and bought two tops. Had a chat with the store owner, who casually mentioned some trivia that would be perfect if I were secretly investigating a murder. Saving the trivia for a possible murder mystery. Went to another store where the clerk tried to get me to try on a […]
Day 1: Here
I’m unpacked. I’m showered. My stuff is put away. I’m in the Blue Room. Blue fern papered walls. A generous single bed – is it a TWIN? does that MEAN something? – with a chenille bedspread, white flowers proud of the pale blue background. I can hear a man’s voice, across the hall or downstairs, […]