Saturday, April 10, 2010

When It Rains, It Pours...

 Hello!  My name is Debbie and I'm a playwright.

Sometimes it takes a lot to wrap my head around that idea.  However, in the last 4 months I will have had a total of 3 of my pieces produced.  That's not exactly turning me into David Mamet or anything, but if I'm looking at the glass half full, that's pretty darn good!

In a recent post, I said you shouldn't identify yourself by your occupation...BUT I do identify myself as a writer.  I think about writing all the time.  I can't get away from the ideas that pour into my head.  I go to the grocery store, and it's a story; I go to the bank, and the teller treats me in a particular way, and it's a story; I break a drinking glass on the kitchen floor, shards of glass have flown everywhere, and yes, you guessed it--it's a story!  Obviously, not all my thoughts are manifested into stories, plays or whatever, but you're getting the idea about how my brain works, right?

I have this great book by Adair Lara called You Know You're a Writer When... It's one of those small little books with lots of quotes and one-liners, but almost all of them ring true.  Here's a sample:

"You know you're a writer when your office is any cafe with an outlet." (And free WiFi!)
"You know you're a writer when your heartbeat quickens whenever you enter a bookstore."
(Never fails)
"You know you're a writer when you liked the book better than the movie."  (Always!)

Now, onto some shameless self promotion:

My latest work, Out with the Old... will be presented as part of Theatre Encino's 2nd Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival: "Transplantation Society: Stories of Change."  I love 10-minute plays, and I'm so happy to be part of this festival.  They produced one of my pieces last year and it was a grand ol' time.  Anyway, if you're in the LA area, come on by next weekend--April 17th & 18th. There are three shows throughout the weekend, and 15% of the proceeds will be used to aid hunger and homelessness in the San Fernando Valley. Plus, it's a really fun evening of theatre!  Hope to see you there!

I'm hoping to continue to be prolific in the upcoming months.  This blog is helping to keep me accountable for my writing, and I'm loving meeting all my new blogger friends and hearing about their creative journeys.  More about that in my next post!

7 comments:

Savira Gupta said...

If you do not blow your own trumpet who will....... Your work speaks for itself, All the very best
YS

Kate Pilarcik ~ absolutely said...

Grand for you Writer/Playwright gal. You are what you are and when you can breathe it, sing it, shout it by how you live and give and can't get enough of it ... ahhh, then you're livin' your particular flavour of heaven.

Mine? Butterscotch,
and Believing in Believers

~ Absolutely*Kate,
promotionally-publishing
HARBINGER*33 and AT THE BIJOU

>> Watch for Debbie's debut!

Kish said...

Congratulations on the new play Debbie! You really inspire me girl. I wish that I could come to your city and watch the play on opening night. Guess I'll have to wait until you become the huge success you're meant to be and your plays go out on tour! Stay positive sweetie:)

Ann Elle Altman said...

Wow, that's great. The play's poster looks amazing. Love your writing quotes.

ann

Anonymous said...

You rock!!
I laughed when I read this - I had just come home from the bookstore where JJ had to drag me out kicking and screaming.
There is an addiction to the attention that comes from producing a show. I wrote and performed a one-woman show in Washington and there was a moment of 'oooo... look at me' when I googled my name and there were about seven publicity articles or reviews about the show. Quite Cool.
I wish that I was in the LA area to see the show, how about a SanFran debut?
Fionna

Doreen McGettigan said...

I too wish I lived close enough to see..keep writing!!

Anonymous said...

It's great to hear about your continuing success in getting your plays performed. -- MikeB