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| christmas cookie making for 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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| Kitten (Photo credit: Moyan_Brenn) |
Kitties = Good. Kitties with cookies. Or maybe kitties, with cookies, with pun captions. Those work.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Politics isn't Fun. Facebook Should be Fun.
Kitties = Good. Kitties with cookies. Or maybe kitties, with cookies, with pun captions. Those work.
Breaking Rules
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| P writing blue (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
"You can break the rules after you master the rules," I respond. "And then, only break them when you can defend the choice."
Imagine my frustration when a play was rejected because it lacked the "journey" of the main character.
When I decided to write a play without a complete Hero's journey, it was an intentional act (pun), a choice to parody a genre. There are characters in myth and legend that do not change. They don't mature. Mocking that notion of the invariable being seemed promising.
One of the readers providing coverage clearly didn't get the joke. The comments on the coverage sheet indicated the story needed a clear journey and transformation. Oops. My choice must not have been obvious.
There are two lesson: 1) breaking the formula is risky; 2) if the reader doesn't know the original story, parody doesn't work.
The other reader did like the script and scored it "highly recommended," but you need to run the gauntlet to be produced.
Both reviewers liked the dialogue, the wit, yet only one got the joke. That isn't good. I'm not sure following the traditional formula would have helped.
Will I break the rules again? Of course. But I also understand the risks.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Media and Stories
Stage is not screen, and screen is not stage. Telling the same story in both media means thinking about the story in different ways. I could tell the same "story" (major plot line) in poetry, song, short story, novel, movie, and play… and it would be different in each.
The "tools available" aren't the same from one medium to the next, so the results cannot be the same.
The "tools available" aren't the same from one medium to the next, so the results cannot be the same.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Writing More than 'Necessary'
My wife commented that I'm always writing several new scripts, adding to the pile of un-produced works. Her question was why I keep writing more than will ever see the stage (or screen), and all I can say is that maybe the sheer quantity of works increases the odds of production.
If I write four to six scripts a year, maybe one or two will move forward. Plus, writing is what I do, so I might as well write things that could end up produced.
If I write four to six scripts a year, maybe one or two will move forward. Plus, writing is what I do, so I might as well write things that could end up produced.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Women Say F*ck, Too!
This is what I've been up to…
Women Say F*ck, Too! introduces Dani, Kitty, and Stephanie, young women from Western PA trying to escape a struggling Beaver County township in the early 1990s. The first play in a quartet, Women Say… addresses poverty, gender and more. The series follows these women from graduation to motherhood.
Women Say F*ck, Too!
by C. S. Wyatt
Directed by M. Reagle
Steel City Improv
5950 Ellsworth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Friday, May 9, 6:40pm-8pm
Saturday, May 10, 7pm-8:20pm
Sunday, May 11, 2pm-3:20pm
Buy tickets!
http://pghfringe.ticketleap.com/women-say-fck-too/
Produced by The LAB Project
Monteze Freeland, Artistic Director / Founder
Cast:
Cassidy Adkins as Kitty
Jackie Baker as Stephanie
Linda Kanyarusoke as Dani
Developed with Cindy "C.J." Jackson, Hazel Leroy, and Mysti Wyatt
Set Design and Concepts by P. Milo
Women Say F*ck, Too! introduces Dani, Kitty, and Stephanie, young women from Western PA trying to escape a struggling Beaver County township in the early 1990s. The first play in a quartet, Women Say… addresses poverty, gender and more. The series follows these women from graduation to motherhood.
Women Say F*ck, Too!
by C. S. Wyatt
Directed by M. Reagle
Steel City Improv
5950 Ellsworth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Friday, May 9, 6:40pm-8pm
Saturday, May 10, 7pm-8:20pm
Sunday, May 11, 2pm-3:20pm
Buy tickets!
http://pghfringe.ticketleap.com/women-say-fck-too/
Produced by The LAB Project
Monteze Freeland, Artistic Director / Founder
Cast:
Cassidy Adkins as Kitty
Jackie Baker as Stephanie
Linda Kanyarusoke as Dani
Developed with Cindy "C.J." Jackson, Hazel Leroy, and Mysti Wyatt
Set Design and Concepts by P. Milo
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Writing is Planning
As I finished the draft of a short play, a colleague sent me a message asking how many new manuscripts or adaptations I have written in the last twelve months or so. It seems best to list them:
That would be six new works, with another two or three outlined. My goal is to complete seven new works in the 20-minute or longer range during 2014. Most of my plays run 70 to 80 minutes, not counting intermissions.
Friends say it seems like I've done more. That's because older works that had been collecting dust are now finding homes as I dedicate myself to completing them, too. Older plays that have been revised or rewritten in the past year:
I have at least ten scripts I hope to revive by 2015.
These counts do not include scripts I edited, revised, or completely wrote for other individuals as a consultant.
I don't sit around waiting for ideas and I've stopped trying to perfect my old ideas. Now, I aim to get as many good scripts to producers and directors as possible. A good scripts becomes better, or even great, during the development process. Trying to perfect plays by editing alone for ten years was an ineffective approach to writing scripts.
Writers write. It's that simple. Some of what I write will never be produced, some of it will be. You can't write one or two manuscripts and then spend years and years trying to craft perfection. Write, and write some more. You never know when a script will find a home.
- Billie's Girlfriend, written in early 2014 and submitted to Acting Out! Pittsburgh Pride for consideration. It might not be selected, of course, but it is a new play.
- Twists of Choice, written in early 2014 for The LAB Project, premiering in 2015.
- Women Say F*ck, Too! written in late 2013 and premiering during the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival in May, 2014.
- The Fertility Dance, written in 2013 and submitted to a regional contest. The company passed on the script, but it found a home for 2015.
- The Cat Lady, written in 2014, about to be submitted to a regional contest.
- Under Development, written in 2013, received a staged reading by Organic Theater Pittsburgh.
That would be six new works, with another two or three outlined. My goal is to complete seven new works in the 20-minute or longer range during 2014. Most of my plays run 70 to 80 minutes, not counting intermissions.
Friends say it seems like I've done more. That's because older works that had been collecting dust are now finding homes as I dedicate myself to completing them, too. Older plays that have been revised or rewritten in the past year:
- A New Death, my oldest unproduced script was rewritten and submitted to Throughline Theatre and will be premiering in July 2014.
- The Gospel Singer, premiering in August, 2014, received as staged reading in 2013 as part of the "In the Raw" festival of Bricolage Production Company.
- Clown and Mime, revised in 2013.
- The Garden, which was produced in 2012, has been revised for a future production. (I can dream.)
I have at least ten scripts I hope to revive by 2015.
These counts do not include scripts I edited, revised, or completely wrote for other individuals as a consultant.
I don't sit around waiting for ideas and I've stopped trying to perfect my old ideas. Now, I aim to get as many good scripts to producers and directors as possible. A good scripts becomes better, or even great, during the development process. Trying to perfect plays by editing alone for ten years was an ineffective approach to writing scripts.
Writers write. It's that simple. Some of what I write will never be produced, some of it will be. You can't write one or two manuscripts and then spend years and years trying to craft perfection. Write, and write some more. You never know when a script will find a home.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Disguise the Gym
Perfect people dominate the gym. They have flat stomachs, firm buttocks, and defined everything. Yes, they go to the gym to maintain these bodies, but these are not the people who need the gym.
While on the treadmill, I stumbled upon an idea: disguise the gym. The sign outside should not include the word "Fitness." Instead, label the building "Buffet." Consider your favorite gym with this change: "LifeStyle Buffet" or "24 Buffet." The "Gold's Buffet" sounds like a nice Chinese buffet.
As I've written before, the last people who need buffets tend to patronize them [http://inklingsof.blogspot.com/2012/11/buffets-so-much-promise-so-much.html]. These people need a gym, but I sense that few would wander, by choice or by accident, into the local fitness clubs. I write this because, sadly, I see too few people in need of a trainer at the gym.
Gaining weight is easy. Staying overweight is easier. I know, because I did that for years. Losing weight and staying in shape requires effort and self-discipline. You have to count calories, shop for food wisely, reduce dining out, and exercise. You don't need to go to a gym or a track, or anywhere special, but it helps.
You could buy exercise machines, weights, and other equipment — but those usually collect dust after a month or two. There's a reason secondhand equipment is plentiful enough to spawn dedicated stores. Admittedly, we own some of that over-priced and underused equipment, sitting in our basement laundry room.
Going to a gym with someone, on a schedule, helps. A weight loss buddy encourages you to keep up the effort.
Where we live, obesity is endemic. Fried foods, starches, bacon, and beef are a way of life. The mall food courts include such places as "Potato World" and "Bacon Fries." Yes, there is a place that specializes in french fries with chili and bacon bits on top. Cheesesteaks and stacked sandwiches with fries and coleslaw between the slices of bread, not on the side, are standards. Eating beef on inch-thick Texas toast with French fries and mayonnaise-soaked coleslaw? Yeah, that must be a health food.
Walking around the mall is a good reminder of why we walk around the mall. Curiously, the gym is located in a former restaurant… in the mall, not far from a pretzel stand.
While on the treadmill, I stumbled upon an idea: disguise the gym. The sign outside should not include the word "Fitness." Instead, label the building "Buffet." Consider your favorite gym with this change: "LifeStyle Buffet" or "24 Buffet." The "Gold's Buffet" sounds like a nice Chinese buffet.
As I've written before, the last people who need buffets tend to patronize them [http://inklingsof.blogspot.com/2012/11/buffets-so-much-promise-so-much.html]. These people need a gym, but I sense that few would wander, by choice or by accident, into the local fitness clubs. I write this because, sadly, I see too few people in need of a trainer at the gym.
Gaining weight is easy. Staying overweight is easier. I know, because I did that for years. Losing weight and staying in shape requires effort and self-discipline. You have to count calories, shop for food wisely, reduce dining out, and exercise. You don't need to go to a gym or a track, or anywhere special, but it helps.
You could buy exercise machines, weights, and other equipment — but those usually collect dust after a month or two. There's a reason secondhand equipment is plentiful enough to spawn dedicated stores. Admittedly, we own some of that over-priced and underused equipment, sitting in our basement laundry room.
Going to a gym with someone, on a schedule, helps. A weight loss buddy encourages you to keep up the effort.
Where we live, obesity is endemic. Fried foods, starches, bacon, and beef are a way of life. The mall food courts include such places as "Potato World" and "Bacon Fries." Yes, there is a place that specializes in french fries with chili and bacon bits on top. Cheesesteaks and stacked sandwiches with fries and coleslaw between the slices of bread, not on the side, are standards. Eating beef on inch-thick Texas toast with French fries and mayonnaise-soaked coleslaw? Yeah, that must be a health food.
Walking around the mall is a good reminder of why we walk around the mall. Curiously, the gym is located in a former restaurant… in the mall, not far from a pretzel stand.
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