Archive for August, 2008
As some of my readers know, I’m a HUGE fan of Project Runway. Fashion runs in the family, and I LOVE watching artists create something out of nothing right before my eyes. The best part is the immediate satisfaction of seeing a physical garment being made… Designers and playwrights are alike in many ways, but watching last night’s episode literally made my stomach turn.
Michael Kors (who apparently knows “the words to basically every song that’s ever been on Broadway“) said the most prudent thing he’s said on any Project Runway episode I’ve seen in the last few seasons. He was commenting on Keith’s (there’s no other word for it) idiocy.
Keith sat there defending his ugly garment saying that last time out he was “insulted” (when he got a pass for an even uglier garment that Kors described as a “sad chicken”), and so he changed his aesthetic to make the judges happy. In addition to blaming this catastrophe on the judges for doing their job, he also blamed his model for sitting down while getting her hair and make-up done before the runway show.
Kors’ comment during the final judging hit the nail on the head:
How insane for a designer, when something doesn’t work, to say, “Well, the model and the critic ruined my garment.” I mean the simple truth is, you’re in charge of your own destiny.
The truth is, if he would have won, he would have claimed all the glory for himself, not giving the model an ounce of credit for “working” his garment, or the judges any credit for their sagacity.
Keith was crying at the end of the episode, blaming the state of Utah for not giving him enough opportunities to show his fashion to the world… but personally, I’ve seen more than I cared to see.
–Sue
August 28th, 2008
I’m getting close to the finish line with the first phase of the first draft of this musical. In order to see how it ends, I went back to the beginning.
I was actually surprised at how far I’ve veered from my original concept… One character became two, and the story is much more textured, complex, and rich for it.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m used to an outline, and how it’s taken me time to adjust without one… But what I’m realizing now is that because I didn’t have that outline, I was able jump off the precipice and learn how to fly, instead of just landing on a safety net.
Lyrics I wrote years ago for “Flying Without a Net” come to mind…
Flying without a net isn’t safe, not normally something I would dare.
Flying without a net isn’t safe, but frankly right now, I don’t care…
Flying without a net isn’t safe, but safety never got me anywhere.
Flying without a net isn’t safe, but that’s my last thought when I’m in mid-air!
I already feel my wings getting stronger.
–Sue
August 27th, 2008
I’m not sure why laundry is so inspiring… I’ve already written about it before… This time, it’s not our newly cleaned clothes, but what I heard on the way downstairs that intrigued me.
I heard someone’s radio blaring loudly… a song I didn’t recognize, but I made out a woman singing. Her tone was somewhat sad, but she was soldiering on. In that moment I asked myself, “Why isn’t that one of your songs from your new musical?”
It easily could have been, and still could be… And that’s what I needed to get the wheels turning again…
–Sue
August 26th, 2008
Recently, I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
I couldn’t wait to bite right into them, right out of the oven. But they just didn’t taste right. I tried them later and they tasted great.
What happened? Easy… they needed time to cool, to set, and to complete their chemical reaction.
There’s a common misconception that writing happens when a writer sets pen to paper, but it usually involves a lot of thinking and planning, and more thinking until I even write a single word…
“Ideas need time to bake,” (an old friends used to say). They also need time to cool.
It was close to a week ago now that I came up with the “endings” for each of the characters remaining in the musical, but I wasn’t satisfied… Then last night I had an amazing epiphany and saw a possible scene, but I still wasn’t 100% sure.
Today I thought about it again and it fits perfectly.
I needed to not only let the idea bake, but also cool, to fully embrace it…
–Sue
August 12th, 2008
We have a framed jigsaw puzzle in our foyer. It’s at least 1,000 pieces, maybe more. I put it together years ago now, but I’m still proud of it… When I put it together, I wouldn’t let anyone in the house touch it… I wouldn’t let anyone else put a single piece with the rest — I wanted to do it on my own.
The scene is of a dusty road, lined with leaves and the trees they’ve fallen from… Leaves of gold, and red, and green, and brown litter the path and fill the sky. The trunks, deep browns and chalky white, line the picture from top to bottom, clustered and scattered haphazardly.
When the going “gets rough,” I sometimes look to the puzzle for inspiration, and as a reminder that as hard as things might seem, and even if the pieces don’t seem to fit, I’ll figure it out. But one can only get so inspired by inanimate objects, no matter how meaningful or lovely.
Earlier today, I called Scott at work, doubting if I’m doing the right thing… wondering if anyone will even care about this musical, wondering if I’m not just wasting my time and energy.
He was actually surprised, knowing how proud I was earlier in the week… and with a little bit of effort and insight, managed to bolster my fragile confidence…
And that’s the hardest part of all… It’s not the dialogue, or the lyrics… it’s not character development, or anything else… The hardest part is the DOUBT.
It’s inevitable… Go read any writer’s memoirs and doubt will be scribbled along most of the pages.
Thankfully, I’m blessed with a man in my life who challenges me to rise above it, and even managed to inspire a character’s monologue in the process.
They say writing is an exercise in solitude, and sometimes it does feel that way, but I prefer to know that no-one can go down this road alone, and I’m lucky Scott is willing to travel down this road with me…
–Sue
August 8th, 2008
This past April, we saw Sunday in the Park with George. I remember distinctly a scene where George is painting his masterwork and is standing so close to the canvas, you’d think he’d get paint smudged on his nose. He gets so engrossed with each dot being just so that the painting literally pulls him in… I whispered to my husband, Scott, “I get that way too sometimes.” Amazing what we see in the dark on stage in front of us!
(Sadly, George closed everyone off, including the love of his life, Dot. I’m lucky enough to have the support of my wonderful family and friends to reach out to me when I’m too far out at sea…)
Lately, I’ve been very wrapped up in my new musical… As I drove Dina home last night, I played a CD I burned with 9 of the 11 songs (there are a handful more that aren’t making the cut) for my new musical…
She listened whole-heartedly as she always does, and was impressed by a few of the songs… As we pulled into her building’s cul-de-sac, she told me she was leaving the CD with me, so I could listen to it as I’m driving around town…
I listened to it again as I drove home, and realized I really do have a show here! It’s far from finished, but I really saw it take shape… I’ve been so fixed on each scene and each song that I wasn’t seeing the bigger picture.
By stepping back a bit and taking it ALL in, I saw that I’m much further than I realized…
–Sue
August 6th, 2008
I’m still laughing over a scene I re-wrote two days ago… As one character is leaving, she doesn’t give much explanation. In fact, she was so vague, the other characters were unsure of what had just happened immediately before her hasty departure. Out of another character’s mouth, plain as day, the words in my journal say, “What was that?”
I can no longer tip-toe around this scene, that’s painfully obvious. But, I love that my characters are able to question, and that I’m able to question… Better now than later! There’s nothing worse than an audience paying good money to see something and then not believing a word of it.
Strangely, the humor I’m finding in all this is helping the task seem less daunting. Cross your fingers that third time’s a charm!
–Sue
August 1st, 2008
