Archive for October, 2010
I love Halloween for so many reasons… Chocolate never hurts, neither do scary stories or Snoopy. Plus all those pumpkins like the one pictured, and the costumes!!!
Halloween, more than any other holiday brings out the kid in all of us, and give us a way to channel our sense of fun and creativity. It’s a time when it’s not only okay to express yourself, it’s okay to express parts of yourself you wouldn’t normally have the freedom or daring to express in the day to day. If only we could have a little more Halloween every day.
Happy Halloween! …and don’t forget to save me some candy!
–Sue
October 29th, 2010
Too often, we eschew our basic instincts and end up chasing after puffs of smoke.
It took me years, YEARS, of following the wrong paths… paths others were looking to forge, and at the end of the day, I always felt sorry; sorry for having wasting my time, energy, and talents on what in the long run (and oftentimes short term) couldn’t sustain me.
It was with small things at first, seeing that when I trusted myself I was almost always headed in the right direction. And over time, those small things got bigger and bigger — and ultimately life changing.
Not just as artist, but as a person, if you can’t trust your instincts, then what can you trust?
–Sue
October 28th, 2010
Today was about figuring out the solutions to little problems… Nothing earth shattering or anything, but things that needed to be taken care of all the same.
When I found I was really intent and intensely focused on solving the problems, they seemed so much bigger, and I felt like I was ramming my head against a wall. When I walked away, even for a few moments, the solutions floated into my brain easily and effortlessly.
And that’s the essence of setting the stage for creativity. It’s not just about time… it’s so much about space, and giving one’s mind and heart the room to play.
–Sue
October 27th, 2010
Joe Stein, the librettist of Fiddler on the Roof passed away at the ripe old age of 98 a few days ago.
As a Jew, and the daughter of immigrant parents, I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the show, as many people do. And though he wrote many other books for many other shows, Fiddler is Joe Stein’s greatest legacy.
And despite being a beloved show and movie, Stein commented just a few years ago: “Look, if I had the opportunity to work on Fiddler now, there are a couple of little things I’d like to change. You can always improve something. Nothing is ever really perfect.”
Sometimes it’s those imperfections that make things more colorful, and make them great… but like any artist knows, we are always our own harshest critics.
Mr. Stein’s work and his work ethic will continue to inspire many theatre artists, professionals and novices, for years to come.
–Sue
October 26th, 2010
Plays like the Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night left indelible impressions on me, having been benchmarks in the literary education of my own and other generations for years. When I became a playwright I wondered what the “modern” equivalent would be.
Angels in America is having a revival in New York at the Signature Theatre, and a few other theatres around the country simultaneously. The Times and New York Magazine have run recent articles about the canonization of Kushner’s work.
And having read and see the HBO special, I can honestly say the lauding and praise are very well deserved.
What an amazing feeling it must be to know that millions of young people are studying your work and regarding it as part of the canon of American literature.
–Sue
October 26th, 2010
At around two or three o’clock in the morning, at one of the quietest parts of the day (and hence some of my favorite time to write), I wrote about six lines…give or take a line or two… Those lines were in addition to a few I had earlier, which were so simple as to be a single syllable.
I thought I’d be writing a grand monologue… it’s what I had psyched myself up to do (so much so, I even wrote about it in yesterday’s post… and much of writing is exactly that, planning and psyching yourself up).
But when it came down to it, I took the opposite tack… Instead of going big, I went basic. More than anything, I just wanted to give the actress and character a chance to just be… be a mother, be a person, with real fears and real vulnerability.
I’m not sure how it will translate, if at all. I think it’s very much a moment I need to hear and see on its feet, but it definitely surprised me, and I think it will surprise audiences too.
–Sue
October 22nd, 2010
The draft that preceded this one had a wealth of monologues in Act II, and I got a lot of feedback about them, so I decided to cut almost every single one in this draft.
But I’ve come to a moment that really needs one, a moment where the character finally finds the words she’s been looking for for the duration of the play and years of her life.
When I mentioned that I am incorporating a new monologue, after having cut so many, my sister asked why I go to extremes in my drafts…and my response was simple, it’s like a pendulum… I have to go to one extreme and then the other to find the middle.
–Sue
October 21st, 2010
Well, I was rushing towards the end…because let’s face it, it’s been a while that I’ve been working on this. (About ten years on and off.) And each time I finished a draft, I was sure I had nothing left in me for this play.
Feeling like I needed a fresh perspective, I sent it to one of the members of my cabinet of three (my three closest and most trusted advisers). And though she said more than once, “You’re really on to something,” she also said, “There are things I still don’t get.”
And so, I have two scenes that need some work… one is a possible redo, and another needs a few key lines to bring together everything that came before and will come after it.
The end is in sight, I just have a little more to go before I get there…
–Sue
October 20th, 2010
I read a comment on a friend’s Facebook feed today about surrender and yoga today that rang so true, it opened my eyes to what the body is capable of, and what a wonderful gift it can be. It also made me think about the word “surrender”, and what a bad rap it gets. It’s associated with weakness, wherein in many instances, it’s really about strength — similar to being vulnerable, which is also associated with weakness, but oftentimes requires quite a bit of strength.
My current challenge is surrendering to the ending of this play, to give myself, the characters, and the audience a moment and feeling of release, which is essential and what the play has been moving and working towards.
We struggle so hard when we don’t know or aren’t sure how things are going to turn out… but it’s just a matter of taking that breath and trusting that everything you need is right there… ready when you are.
–Sue
October 19th, 2010
I mentioned the upcoming broadcast a few months ago, and it’s finally airing on PBS this week. Check local listings here.
Enjoy!
–Sue
October 18th, 2010
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