Sue's News

Faded Watercolor Memories…

March 26th, 2008

This past weekend, I caught the middle of the movie “In Her Shoes” on TV with my husband.

A major part of the story revolves around memory… How each of the characters perceives events, and how those perceptions shaped those characters.

Notice I said perception, and not experience or memory. The perceptions, the filters each character has for seeing the world and their place in it, is even more telling than the actual memories themselves… In this movie it was mainly a matter of what was left out of some memories that was so telling.

Alternatively, what was left in, the focus of the memories was the most telling…

The most poignant moment in the movie was when the older sister (played by Toni Collette) filled in the pieces of the story her younger sister (Cameron Diaz’s character) had left out.

Memory has always been a fascination for me, though it is oftentimes not done well…

The master of memory is Tennessee Williams.

“The Glass Menagerie,” a “memory play,” as Tom calls it , is still an inspiration to me.

I’m working on a new musical that’s steeped in the memories and perceptions shared by a group, and their current perceptions of one another.

Navigating a sea of faded watercolor memories is not smooth sailing, but it does make for wonderful drama!

–Sue

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized