On Writing

Auditions - Tight Rope....

2009-11-16T20:51:00.001-08:00

Tonight I sat in auditions for New Works. Tight Rope is in them this February. My Director has a Monday night class so he asked if I could be there and take notes. I was pleased because I think just from this one night of auditions the show is castable. Now there are still 2 more nights of auditions so these are not the only choices, but chances are we will be fighting over people with other Directors (there are 6 shows) so it will be nice if there are options. I'm happy because there were choices and good choices and hopefully my Director will see the same in the people that I did.

Little Steps...

2009-11-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I reworked From Something. I had some places that I identified this summer after seeing it so many times that I really needed to fix. The bonus of seeing it so many times is that I could really tell when it was the writing that wasn't working because if it worked one night and not the next I knew that sometimes the writing worked. If it always didn't work, despite changing tactics, I could be pretty sure my writing was to blame. So I did some tightening and shifted some arcs. AND THEN I saved AND THEN under a new title I totally changed the ending. I sent the new ending version off to the three actresses in the show and am waiting to see what they think. I think it's kind of cool and both endings are valid but now I want to hear the new one to see which is better. The interesting thing is that I think they are both valid endings and it could be left to the character of Adrian to decide which ending to go with, but that would mean they would have to learn the entire last scene two different ways and be ready for either way. That could be fun.

Today I worked on Tight Rope. I have to run off in a few minutes for gymnastics but I have made it through the first half with some tightening and adjustments. I have to get to the end and the last scene is the the scene with the 'big work', but I am happy to have gotten some work done on it. I left Thursday so charged and then I get back into real life and I stall at getting the work done. There are many, many distractions in my home and my life. Even when I am home alone there are things to keep me away from writing. That can be frustrating, but then when I do get things done it can be really rewarding.

Balancing Purpose and Story and Character...

2009-11-12T14:28:00.000-08:00

I had my feedback session with Conni Massing today after a short class on personal dramaturgy. There were a lot of good questions and strategies proposed in the class and I am excited to approach my script with them. Any tool that helps you write a better script is a good one and since I have come to this activity late in life and from a round about way rather than a straight forward movement through life I am always hungry for more writing tools.

The feedback session was valuable too. I have been making copious notes both in ink and in my brain for how I want to approach the next draft but I have been waiting to talk to Conni about her feedback first. I was pleased because she challenged me and I think I write best when I feel challenged. She also challenged that what I was trying to say was not necessarily coming across. I so appreciate this because although it can be hard to hear, it is necessary to hear in order to fix the script. I have some pretty big holes to fill in character and I need to develop my ending so much more. I also need to clarify my purpose and really be hard on myself to assess whether or not I am saying what I want to say. I feel so much better about this session than my session with Derek. After that one I had some vague ideas about things to explore, but it took me more investigation to really push the play to the next draft. After this session today I feel challenged and charged and ready to re-write.

Attack!

2009-11-04T21:54:00.001-08:00

Yesterday the class reading went well. I have clarified for myself a number of goals as I attack the script for it's next draft. Hearing feedback on the script from the two different groups has given me a lot to think about with regards to what I want the piece to say. I am energized and excited as I formulate my plan! Yippee! Here I go!

Right now I am writing it all down so that I can turn it in to Conni before we sit down and talk about the script together. It is a good exercise to write down the goals. Why have I never done that before?

Moving On...

2009-11-02T16:02:00.001-08:00

Well, I would like to say that the experience with Mr. Walcott in my Drama 407 class was enriching and really helped me in my work. I would like to say that, but I can't. Well, wait, I can say that I did get some tips and used some of what he said to approach the next draft, but I certainly don't think I got what I was paying for. I am glad we have Connie now as her approach seems far more structured and directional and I will admit, I am a person who likes structure. The hardest thing with Derek is that I felt he was not rigorous enough with the feedback particularly in our one-on-one. I did what I could. I was prepared on the first day to share and the one-on-one was gratifying at the time because he said 'nice things' but then the mark he assigned my piece suggested that he should have been a lot more hard on me. I left the one-on-one thinking I was in good shape, clearly the mark says otherwise. Of course, it is hard to say without any comments or even notations in the script to go by. Gah! That part is done and I move on.

I finished my 2nd official draft early Sunday morning following a late, late night at the Closing Party of Sweeney Todd. Then we had a reading with the New Works Team and I have a whole bunch of solid and rigorous feedback to go into the next draft with. Tomorrow we read in class and hopefully I will get more feedback and another read should also tell me more. I have been writing in my head a lot since the read through yesterday so I want to get through tomorrow fast so that I can attack the script. I will say, to any playwrights out there, I find hearing the script aloud the most instructional tool in re-writing. I encourage people not to 'be nice' in the feedback. I would rather hear what needs work before I put it out there than after!

Anyhow, it feels good to be finally making progress on the script.

Frustration On Display...

2009-10-22T15:24:00.001-07:00

I like to work with the process. I like to be positive about the suggestions. I like to accept the feedback and input as suggestions that I can learn from and grow from and apply to my writing and hopefully improve. And then reality happens...

Today in class we 'worked' the first 2-3 pages of my script. This took about an hour. Now, I was going with it and writing everything down and being open when Derek challenged the script and defended what I knew for sure, and made notes when I didn't know for sure. Some great things were coming out of it. We did this whole investigation of the ritualization of the daily routine that I found really inspiring and I have more ideas for using it in the script in other places. I was working in a mental and emotional state I was comfortable with. I didn't mind the challenges (initially) because I want the scrutiny and the rigorous approach to the script. I want it to be good. But I think I figured out something. I think he was going to keep pushing at things until he found something that we'd push back against and despite my best efforts, he even got me. Now I am a bit mind-bleeped because I don't know if the pushing was for the sake of pushing or if it was legitimate.

And now, I am geared up to work on the script and I really have no time until this weekend so I feel stalled. Whether I try what he suggests or I find my own solution (I think that is what bugs me - I don't mind hearing something doesn't work - I mind being told exactly what to do to fix it - I would rather find my own solution).

Class Work....

2009-10-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

We actually wrote in class yesterday. We were given a writing assignment off the top of the class and sent away for an hour and then came back and read our pieces. Derek gave us feedback as we read - stopping and starting us. I re-wrote the piece at home taking the suggestions into consideration. I am not sure if we have to hand them in. We are now supposed to photocopy the first Act of our class project and bring a copy for everyone in class. He would like them by Wednesday. Apparently he is here for one more week. I guess this means he wants re-writes? It is hard to say. He wants to have actors to come in a read our scripts next Thursday for us to hear. I do not know how he will do all the scripts in one class. There are 10 of us. I also don't know if I should just bring the first scene, or the whole thing, because I have written a one act. Gah! I guess I will write this weekend... I have done some of the stuff on it, but I am not done and I don't know if the changes will work.

Not Going As Well as I'd Like...

2009-10-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

Mark took the boys to Olds and I started work on Tight Rope, but it has been painful. Over the last few days I have had all these brainstorms in my head to solve issues with the script, but when it came time to fix them on the screen I found it very challenging. I left the computer and sat with the hard copy and pen and marked it up quite a bit and now I am ready to go back to it, but I am not optimistic. This play needs plotting and while I am strong on dialogue, I am challenged with plot. Gah! I have all the issues I want to deal with. I have the clearly defined characters. I have sharp, biting exchanges, but I do not have the resolution or a clear answer as to how to get it on paper. Small steps. I shall take small steps and get there eventually.

I did find out this week that my Director for New Works is Scott Garland who is one of the actors in Sweeney Todd and the Dramaturge is Tom from my Drama 407 class. So it is nice that I know both of them. Apparently my script was not desired by the three MFA Directors. I don't know what to think about that. Oh well, I quite like Scott and I feel I'll be able to talk to him about the play and the process and that's good.

Oh, My Ego!

2009-09-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

Today a Nobel Prize Winner in Literature told me that I write very good dialogue. I am quite tickled. I promise not to let that distract me from the other things he told me about my play (the things I need to fix/work on), but it was pleasant to hear!

Papers Trashed...

2009-09-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

So apparently the Prof felt that most of us rushed a bit with the writing of the paper on The Seagull. If you read my blog, you know that I did, but apparently I was not alone. As a result we have to write another page for this week - well-written. We didn't get the old ones back, so I am at a loss to a certain degree. The parameters have not been firmed up any more than 'write better' so we shall see what happens with that. Gah! We are also supposed to work on our draft of our play. I meet with him for a one-on-one on Wednesday so that does not leave much time. I don't want to do re-writes until we meet, but I will be time crunched if I leave it too much longer than that. Blah!

On a good note, I had a brain surge for my re-writes for From Something. I am eager to attack those soon as I am able. I think it had to do with all the reading I have been doing for From Cradle to Stage (I have read 18 of 22 scripts - I need more ink to print the remaining 4). Reading plays makes you think about the writing of them.

Hooray! A Bit of Writing!

2009-09-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

Last night, while Mark was out auditioning, I was grumbling around the house when I decided that maybe I could use my time to write, like I always say I want to. The boys were asleep, the house relatively tidy so why not? I had this idea for In Locum Parentis during the Fringe. I was too busy then to do anything about it, but I tried it out last night. In the play a troubled teacher is in counselling with a therapist over something that happened in her classroom. The scenes were feeling very static and very Q & A so I decided to remove the therapist and her questions and fragment the reveal of information a little bit more. What was asked was inherent in the answers so the lines were not needed, and this way the audience takes on the role as therapist/sounding board and hopefully they will be more engaged. Already the script is working much better and I am excited about it. I think this is the one to get ready to submit to the APN Annual Playwriting Competition in March 2010. I have 2 other scripts I was considering, but one will be produced at New Works, so I think it will be ineligible and the other is in need of a lot more work. It is good to have a goal so here I go!

Who am I trying to Convince?

2009-09-16T22:30:00.001-07:00

So I finished my paper for Drama 407. It is crap, but I don't care. Well, that is what I am telling myself. It is due tomorrow and I didn't have time to really make it good. I didn't have time for research and I was challenged by the lack of direction provided by the instructor on what to write (well-researched, personal, non-academic, what you connect to, 12 pages, then 6 pages - those were all descriptors of what we were to write... on The Seagull). Anyhow, I wrote a personal paper primarily discussing Konstantin's struggle to be an artist and Nina's fascination with celebrity. It's a but muddled, includes no other source material but the text itself, and 10 pages long, but it's all I had. My argument to myself is the following:

1. I am not taking to course for marks, but to learn to write a better play.
1a. Part of my is pissed off that we had to write this instead of writing our own stuff.
2. I had no bloody time over the last 2 weeks.
2a. The time I was going to spend today really refining the paper was lost because Oliver was home sick, and,
3. It will do.

I have to argue with myself, because although all three of the above items are true, I am a true student and I have always cared about marks and doing the work assigned. It is hard for me to compromise, but I am at a somethings got to give point, and I am frustrated that I spent all my writing time over the last two weeks on this paper instead of one of the 3 scripts I really want to work on. The whole point of this course for me was to be able to dedicate time to writing my plays.

Tomorrow - Yikes!

2009-09-09T15:26:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow we will be reading my script in class. I hope I don't die of embarrassment. Some parts are okay, some not so good. I don't feel ready for this kind of exposure, but it won't kill me...

I finally finished The Seagull. We will be discussing it tomorrow, as well. I have started the paper, but right now it is pretty free flowing stream of consciousness writing and I am only at 3 1/2 of my 12 assigned pages. I have a bit to do. I also want to re-read the play and do some research.... now I need some time. Friday is pretty open.

My Prof has a Nobel Prize in Literature...

2009-09-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

Can you say intimidating? He seems rather nice. He is Derek Wolcott http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Walcott http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1992/walcott-bio.html, a poet and playwright from the Caribbean. I googled him (I wonder if it tickled). I wonder if we will live up to his expectations. There is a mix of students, some are 3rd year, some 4th year, some have degrees and are doing this extra to a degree (like me) while some are in Master's Programs. Not everyone has ever written a play. Some have but have never had a play produced. Some have written plays and have had multiple plays produced. A strange mix.

Our first assignment is to carefully and thoroughly read The Seagull (Chekhov - trans: Frayne) and write a 12 page personal essay about it. The direction of the topic is up to us. I am more worried about the lack of a focused topic than the fact that it is 12 pages long. I am glad to have both boys off to school next week. I will need the time to read and write. I think we will spend more time in the first half of the course with Mr. Wolcott reading than we will writing, but I am optimistic and I can tell he has a tremendous depth of knowledge.

We are also reading our plays as a group. I was one of the few who had a completed script with them so I am up next week. I am not terribly happy about the state my play is in now. I did very little editing from when I first wrote it at the 24 Hour Playwriting competition, but this is to make it better, right? Let's hope so.

New Course... What Will I Learn?

2009-09-02T16:16:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I start my Advanced Playwright Course at the U of A (Drama 407). I will take a long my laptop with the hope that we are at real tables, not those tiny flip up desks and on the computer will be copies of my 3 scripts in progress (well, more like 5, but 3 in earnest). I am excited to see what the shape of the course is and what the objectives are. We have a reading list, which surprised me, so we shall see what that will bring to it. I haven't got any of the books yet. I tried to go today but every single lot was full and I didn't want to drive around again. Should have known better. I am excited and nervous, but I like the process of learning and that's what we are supposed to be doing.

Nothing New Under the Sun...

2009-08-27T12:44:00.001-07:00

So I started typing in all the writing I did on the trip out East and then I had this big surge of self-doubt worried about whether the story was interesting, new, etc... What would it offer that other stories hadn't offered before. I go through this periodically when I write and watch. But there is nothing new under the sun, and the challenge is to find a way to re-tell stories to make them meaningful today. Romeo and Juliet wasn't new and it has since been re-told (West Side Story, etc...). I shall keep plugging away and keep asking myself what I need to do to make the story relevant and valuable today.

I had an interesting conversation about From Something with my older brother while in Minnesota. He had seen the show in Fort McMurray. He asked how it was going. I replied that the reviews were middling and disappointing. He asked, "Is that why you wrote it?". I said, no, but we weren't in the program and the audiences, though positive, were small. He asked, "Is that why you wrote it?". I said, "No, but it was exhausting and we weren't likely to make a lot of money". He asked, "Is that why you wrote it?". I said, "No." I realized that the reasons I wrote it and produced it were achieved. For every whiny thing I said about it, he countered with "Is that why you wrote it?" And it made me think about why I had written it. It wasn't about critical acclaim, or money, but about writing a better play and telling that story. I still have re-writes to do but I know much better how to do them so that was achieved, and the audience feedback about the relevance of the story was confirming of why I was telling the story. Sure all those other things are really nice and would make me feel better about it, but I know the play needs work, so I cannot pretend that it doesn't and good reviews might have made me do that. Also, we made some money and that is frosting on the cake. We are not in the same position as others who rely on their Fringe intake to cushion the rest of the year.

Working on the Plane...

2009-08-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

On my recent trip to Minnesota via plane I did manage to get a little writing done. I actually wrote the most in the airport waiting for my flight because Mark had dropped me off very early to avoid rush hour. I worked a bit on The Water Beneath Her Feet. It is becoming much more visual for me and I am trying to write descriptive passages to help in plotting the piece out. I did some dialogue and am struggling with defining one character's purpose and personality. I love the fact that the initial draft can change so much - the hard part is getting it out. So I can forgive myself some bad writing in early drafts just to get the thing on paper. The bad writing will 'shine through' upon re-reading and I can edit later. I am hoping that I can work on this as well as Tight Rope in the Drama 407 class I am taking this fall.

Thinking about Projects on the go...

2009-08-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

Lots of thinking the past few days. I have been unfocused in conversations because of the personal things that are going on, because my mind in times of stress tends to go overboard instead of shutting down. So it has been flitting around why I have been dissatisfied, perhaps unfairly, with some of the shows I have seen. This week I saw two shows that were actually pretty well-done, but I left them feeling annoyed. I think a big part was expectations based on who was putting the shows on. Probably not very fair because if some more inexperienced people were doing the shows I would have been kinder. Expectations play a part both bad and good in our theatre experiences. There was also a feeling with these shows that they were assembled quickly and at the last minute. How do I know this? I don't - not really. I just had a feeling they were. There was a certain looseness which was not apologized for that seemed to say 'heck, this is Fringe, no need to put a lot of time into it to refine and polish the piece'. I also knew one show was still in rehearsal the morning of their opening because the director shared that in a conversation with a kind of laugh. As well, both pieces were uneven, leaving me to believe that they lacked time to make the weaker sections as good as the stronger sections. Anyhow, this has left me grumpy with collectives (both were forms of collectives) and then I realized what was else was bothering me about that - Double, Double. Are we going to just create another collective in the mix of Fringe Collectives? What will we bring to it that will make me happy and justified in producing it? I didn't feel this way last year when I saw 25 Plays about... Love. It was a collective but I thought it was rehearsed and even and clean and funny and sad and not just thrown together. It felt like they had worked it enough that they had culled out sections that didn't make the cut so that it was a good solid piece through and through. I guess that is the standard we will have to hold ourselves to if we are lucky to get in next year (or the year after). It was after seeing it that I thought Double, Double would. This year set me back. Each year at the Fringe there is an uneven distribution of what's out there based on the lottery. I want it to be plays, but I know there has to be a mix. I also need to be more discriminating when I select what I see. I know I don't like certain things.

Smile

2009-08-17T21:08:00.001-07:00

http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=12793

More of the Same... Sigh...

2009-08-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

http://www.seemagazine.com/article/fringe-reviews/F/

Ironically (?) I am being criticized for achieving my goal. I wanted it real and not 'out there'. Some nice things said. I will continue to go back to the script and re-evaluate.

http://www.seemagazine.com/article/fringe-reviews/W/

Zachary's review is better but still there is the issue with the music. I will revisit.

Struggling with Opinion...

2009-08-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/summer-guide/From+Something/1874336/story.html#Comments

The Journal, marginally better, but not much. I don't know who to trust, the 30+ people crying in the audience or the 2 reviewers leaving with dry eyes. All I want is to make the play better, but I am not adding false notes to give it more gas. I know where I want to cut, so I will run with that, but probably not before the end of Fringe. I did like the review by the commenter... that's more like my own personal assessment (I even agree with the 'too long' set-up to establish characters, but I hesitated to make the change in mid run).

Dealing with Reviews...

2009-08-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

Somewhat disappointing, but I will try to take what I can from it. I know the script needs tightening, but I think some of the lack of connection on the part of the reviewer had to do with him not being our target demographic. Am I re-thinking my decision not to implement the cuts before Fringe? Yes and No. I debate every time I see the show. I know the ladies do a fine job (Solid, not sold) and they are making it work. I want it to be real. I want these to be your sisters, next door neighbours, mothers, you, etc... I personally don't see them as stereotypes - I think if I had made them bigger and more extreme, they would be. I am sick of so many Fringe shows being an irrational assault that I cannot connect to, or else being a pastiche of this and that linked weakly by a generic theme, put together punchline by punchline. I'll make my cuts for the next time I mount it and I will consider the input.

http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=12853

Reflection in the Middle of Things...

2009-08-11T18:09:00.001-07:00

I am right in the middle of things and I get a call about Zachary and proposed changes. Now, let me explain, in a workshop setting like what we had in February, I cleared my schedule so that I could make changes pretty quickly. I also had the luxury of seeing if they worked in the reading or not and if they didn't I could change them more or change them back. I cannot, however, make a major change with no time and no opportunity to revisit the change if I don't like it. And so I reflect a bit on the other play I am in the middle of. I was apprehensive about directing my own play (From Something), however, by doing both roles I was given the opportunity to use 2 different paths to solve problems as they arose. I could modify the script (what director is allowed to do that?) or I could direct the section differently (what playwright gets to do that?). Sometimes I felt the two roles conflicted, but within myself I had to find a way to make them live together to serve both the script AND the production. I do not have that freedom on Zachary and it is a bit frustrating. I wish I could know what the right change would be, but if I knew that I would have written it that way to begin with.

We Won Some Stuff!

2009-08-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Interplay
Theatrical Excellence Awards
Sponsored by Julio Florez of Royal LePage True North Realty

Best Play, $500 – Haiku
Best Actor, $250 – Jeff Rivet, Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog
Best Actress, $250 – Julie Sinclair, From Something
Best Director, $250 – Kristen Finlay, From Something
Technical Achievement, $250 – Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog

Home From the Fort...

2009-08-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

Whew! We are back! We had a great trip to the Fort and now we are ready for the Fringe! Interplay was interesting. It was a great time in many ways, but there was a little disappointing that the houses were so small. We worked the site and postered and leafletted, but it didn't seem as though many people wanted to leave the bandstand for the indoor shows. Oh well! This is not to dis the ones who did come to see the show. We had lovely audiences and they were so positive and responsive to the show. There was a lot of kleenex used in that theatre (yay!). Here are some quotes from people who saw the show...

"The show was awesome! WTG Kristen, cast and crew!"

"Fantastic play. Good job!"

"From Something is a stunning debut for playwright Kristen Finlay. It tackles the issue of abandonment and its requisite emotional scarring in a way that is completely believable and entrancing. Heartfelt performances by Anne Marie Szucs, Julie Sinclair and Joyce LaBriola will shake you to the core."

I particularly like the last one...

I have also had the opportunity to see the show 6 times in the venue with lights and music and all the stuff, so I have some ideas of how to refine the script even further. I would like to tighten it even more and I am not just deciding whether I will do that before or after Fringe. I know we have a 75 minute slot, but if it serves the script to only be 60 minutes long, I would rather cut the pages... I am still thinking on it!

Anyhow, great weekend. We are bonded and it feels like a tight show. I am pleased!