QUOTES #2 - Henrik Ibsen and more...

So, here is the long awaited new post.  Sorry.  I started back at work two weeks ago and have been attempting (unsuccessfully) to find a balance between writing and working.

I also need to get into the habit of actually writing down my inspirations as they come to me because every time I sit down to write a new plunder, I am stumped about what has been inspiring me for the week even though I know there were a bunch.

This week I’m continuing my exploration of quotes.  Here is Part 2.

I’ll lead off with a quote from Alice Walker which is an undercurrent in my motivation for Eve of Destruction, which used to be called In the Name of the Children. 

“The most important question in the world is, ‘Why is the child crying?’” Alice Walker

QUOTES #1 - Sir Winston Churchill and more...

My deepest apologies for the tardiness of this post (and that it followed a tardy post from last week... eek!  A bad habit seems to be forming!)

Anyway, this week’s post is actually one that I have been thinking about for a while and will be the first in a series; though the series may be non-consecutive.  Now that the first draft of My Mother’s Daughters is complete and back in hibernation for a bit (so I can look at it with fresh eyes after some time apart), I have been thinking about my next project: Eve of Destruction.  I have mentioned this show in previous posts; it will be a musical using already written songs (along the lines of Mama Mia!, Rock of Ages, and We Will Rock You) addressing the manipulation by the media of public opinion and how it can be used by governments and big business as a propaganda machine (do I hear echoes of Orwell?? Hello, is this 1984 calling? Yes!).  It also deals largely with war and what leads a country to go to war and how the media plays a role in influencing the population to support these wars (*cough, cough* Iraq?).  I’ve been finding that much of my writing is leaning towards varying perspectives on war, violence and government; many ideas are varieties of dystopian fantasy fiction, but I’m finding with all of these, a huge influence is from quotes that I read.

A while ago, I picked up a copy of the book 1001 Smartest Things Ever Said edited by Steven D. Price.  This is where my plunder comes from this week.  I’ve highlighted many of my favourites and starred ones that have particular relevance to Eve of Destruction.  Those will be the main quotes I’m focusing on in this part of my plunder. 

It starts with Sir Winston Churchill:

“It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books or quotations.  Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations is an admirable work, and I studied it intently.  The quotations when engraved upon the memory give you good thoughts.  They also make you anxious to read the authors and look for more.”

AUDITION INSIGHT - Empty Boxes

Eek!  Sorry for this week’s post being late.  It has been quite the busy week here at Art Thief Headquarters.  We have been holding auditions for Homestead Theatre Project’s upcoming production of my show Empty Boxes.  And I have been chained to my computer, pounding out the first draft of My Mother’s Daughters; which had its first reading this past Saturday.

On the upside, Empty Boxes has its callbacks confirmed with some wonderful options for each role and My Mother’s Daughters is in the mail for the SummerWorks submissions, so I can focus a little more on this blog.

Now, plunder for this week... well, this has actually been the hardest week for me to come up with something because my thoughts have been so focused elsewhere.  In fact, as I sit here, I still have not titled this entry because I haven’t decided what it is about yet.   All I know is that by the time Monday rolled around, I was exhausted!

Anyhoo, this might be a short entry, but I think my plunder for this week is something I am stealing from the people who auditioned for us on the weekend.  One of the auditionees talked about another audition he did for a collective he was a part of; they were required to bring in an object for their audition and present a story that they created based on that object.  His was a mason jar.  As soon as he began talking about it, my mind started running overtime with various stories, ideas and things flashing through my head.  I loved it.

This is what I’m stealing this week.  I think I’m going to start using this idea as a writing exercise to keep those old creative juices flowing.  Step One: Pick a random object.  Step Two:  Write a story about that object.  Simple.

Memory of Lefkada

The wind now blows
where a voice once lived
the grass now grows
where feet once roamed

The rocks and sand and water flow
where arms once held
a heart now beats
where once was still

OEDIPUS REX - Αρτivities Company / Volos Regional Municipal Theatre at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus

This week I have actually been putting pen to paper and getting the first draft of My Mother’s Daughters down.  Well, actually, it’s more like marker to scrap paper and then fingers to keyboard, but you get the picture.  My greatest struggle was how to present all the sides of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in an effective way.  Much of what I had written previously didn’t lend itself to traditional reality play format.  This is when I decided to steal!

What did I steal?  Well, thank you for asking!  I stole the Greek Chorus.  If you had asked me this time last year if I would ever incorporate a chorus into anything other than a musical, I likely would have said: not in this lifetime – but we all grow and learn.  I thought that because I had not seen a chorus used effectively before, nor did I truly understand the purpose of the chorus.  Both are things that would change after touring three shows to Greece in July 2012. 

While on this trip, I was lucky enough to see a production of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus from the Αρτivities Company / Volos Regional Municipal Theatre.  It was the most effective and beautiful use of a chorus that I have ever seen.  On top of the magic of sitting in a nearly 2000 year old amphitheatre with seating for 14,000, the show was simplistic (with 2 panels used as doors to the palace, a trunk of costumes, a wheelchair and a giant rug as the only “set”) yet it was incredibly well performed and captivating.  Also, did I mention, it was performed in Greek.  Since I don’t speak Greek, I found it even more amazing to be able to clearly follow the story without the ability to understand the words.  A tremendous feat achieved by the entire company.  This may also be the reason I was able to pay such close attention to the chorus and their performance.

Me at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus before the show

HOT MESS - Episode #1 - Head Over Heels

Little Logan and the Snowflake Waltz