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!

Ignorance is Bliss

I'm happy and excited to announce the world premiere of my newest play: Ignorance is Bliss: A Global Warning, which will debut on Wednesday, April 21st.  And since it's a play about global warming, the premiere is perfectly timed to coincide with this year's Earth Day!  How cool is that?

I was commissioned to write this work for the Pittsburg High School Drama Department in Pittsburg, Kansas. Last year they did a wonderful job with my play phat girls, and the director, Greg Shaw, was looking to do a piece on global warming. Enter me! I said, "hire me...I'll write a play for you on global warming!" So they did. And then I did.  Wrote it, I mean.  And now here we go...

It was incredibly challenging. Lots of research, obviously. And I wanted to make sure the play was entertaining as well as educational. I didn't want the audience to feel like they were sitting in a lecture hall. How the audience will react, remains to be seen, but I will be interested to see how this show is received. I hope it entertains as well as informs.  I do know I tried very hard to make it amusing in certain scenes.  I know what you're thinking...."Global warming is not a funny topic..."  I agree.  But, I did try to create some levity throughout the piece.  Just a little bit.  It's also poignant and meaningful, for those of you who might be worried about that!

Greg and I were in constant communication as he received my drafts and read and rehearsed the play with his students. I got their feedback as well as Greg's and I tweaked, and cut and rewrote until all of us were satisfied.

So now in just two short weeks, the production will come to fruition. It's exciting and I'm proud of the work I did on this play.

Stay tuned...I'll let you know how it goes. I'll post pics. I'll welcome your comments. And if you want me to, I'll write a play for you!  Just let me know!

Easter Sunday

Illustration by Michael Sowa

And a special shout-out to the person who turned me on to the interesting world of Michael Sowa. You know who you are!

Happy Easter to all those who celebrate.  And to everyone else, ease up on those chocolate bunnies! Just remember that all Easter candy will probably be 1/2 price tomorrow--so stock up for next year!

Quoting Mr. Einstein...

"Of what is significant in one's own existence one is hardly aware, and it certainly should not bother the other fellow.  What does a fish know about the water in which he swims all his life? 

The bitter and the sweet come from the outside, the hard from within, from one's own efforts.  For the most part I do the thing which my own nature drives me to do.  It is embarrassing to earn so  much respect and love for it.  Arrows of hate have been shot at me too; but they never hit me, because somehow they belonged to another world, with which I have no connection whatsoever. 

I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity."
~Albert Einstein

Rabbit Rabbit!!

Believe it or not, this is not a post about Easter.  First of all, I'm not an Easter-type of gal, and second it's just a coincidence that I'm writing this post so close to the Easter holiday.  Actually, it has to do with the first of the month.  It just so happens tomorrow is April 1st.  Nothing to do with April Fool's Day either.  Oy...so much explanation for all the things this post ISN'T about.  Here's what it IS about:

I've always been a voracious reader, even when I was a young lass.  I never did the "Nancy Drew" thing, but I did like the Trixie Belden series.  Also, a young girl detective, not unlike Nance, but a little more cool.  Plus, she lived in New York  like me (only she lived upstate in a richer, woodsy area but still...we were both New Yorkers. I don't know where Nancy Drew lived.) Anyway, it was from the Trixie Belden books where I learned about "Rabbit, Rabbit" and I've held on to it ever since.  That in itself may be a little pathetic, but what can I tell you?

Basically, this is how it works.  On the last day of the month, before you go to sleep, you make a wish.  Say the wish out loud.  And then once the wish is made, you cannot speak again.  Go to sleep.  Happy dreams! Then, when you wake up on the first day of the new month, the first words out of your mouth have to be...you guessed it..."RABBIT, RABBIT!" 

So I've been doing this for all these many years...making a wish on the last day of the month, waking up yelling "Rabbit, Rabbit" on the first day of the new month.  I don't think my wish has ever come true...but I still do it.

I've blown it plenty of times, and sometimes I would even put a little note on my alarm clock to remind me to say "Rabbit, Rabbit."  Sometimes I would make the wish at 11:59pm and yell "Rabbit, Rabbit" at midnight.  I don't think you have to yell the words, but for some reason I always do.

So here we are, March 31st, another chance to make another wish, and tomorrow on April 1st, here's wishing that wish will come true. 

What will you wish for?

Writing Exercise to Challenge Your Brain

Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in six words. His response?

"For sale: baby shoes, never used."

Wow, right? Six words was all he needed to paint a very powerful picture!  So, I thought I would try this exercise and man, oh man, is it ever difficult.  Sheesh!  Tell a story in six words?  Oy vey!

I finally wrote something that I was satisfied with.  But, it's 7 words.  I wonder what Papa Hemingway would say? But for what it's worth, here's what I came up with:

Bankrupted woman seeks employment at gun factory.

What do you think of my 7-word story?

Try it!  It's very challenging...but it will give your brain a great workout.  I truly believe that less is more. And I would love to hear what you come up with.

Living the Creative Life

Recently, a former student of mine, asked me for advice on living the creative life in the “real world.” I believe that some people can’t help being creative in their everyday life. This particular young woman is one of them. Whether your occupation is a bank teller, a lawyer, a truck driver, or a food server, you are the one who is ultimately responsible for choosing whether or not your life is a creative one.

Making a living in the creative life is a different story. I suppose it depends on your definition of creativity. Some people make a living doing other people’s tax returns, and they like what they do and that’s entirely enough creativity for one day, thank you very much. But maybe they’re not entirely crazy about their work, so when they go home they need to build some furniture. Or spend the evenings painting sunsets. Or they play guitar, or play with clay. I truly believe everyone needs a creative outlet. If you get your paycheck from that outlet…FANTASTIC! But if not, it doesn’t mean you should live without creativity in your life.

Photo by laffy4k

Don’t let your “occupation” define you. If you work as a cashier, doesn’t mean you’re not a musician. If you clean other people’s houses for a living, doesn’t mean you’re not a painter…you get where I’m going with this?

In Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, she recommends you take yourself on a date once a week. I love this idea. I know many of you will find this difficult because your schedules are already so crammed. But if you can carve out the time to do something YOU want to do…sit and look at the ocean, curl up in a bookstore with the new novel you’ve been wanting to read, go grab yourself a cup of really, really good coffee and just sit…don’t talk, don’t listen…just be with yourself. Believe it or not, this is a creative thing to do. We’re all so wrapped up in our day-to-day life we lose the artist inside ourselves. Go find your inner artist. She is there, trust me. And she wants to hang out with you from time to time. So go buy yourself a box of Crayolas and have at it!

Please let me know what sorts of thing you do to tap into your creative self.