The Rest of RAW

The True Story is over (for now), but the rest of the First Person Arts Festival is still going strong.  Just a quick shout out to my fellow RAW artists, who I'll be seeing tomorrow and Friday.  Catch you there?

THANK YOU

Just a moment to give thanks:

To First Person Arts RAW, and all the wonderful First Person Arts staff, who made this show possible, and made me stick to my story.

What was that you were you saying, 13 MFA rejections?

chasin y'all dreams and what you got planned 
now I spit it so hot you got tanned

  
The True Story, or Vicious & Multiple & Untrue After All will premiere as part of First Person Arts RAW at the First Person Arts Festival (November 8-17, 2012).

(bring the truth home in) your handlebar basket

the truth will not come

finally crashing down;

the truth has not been

waiting all this time

for you to come to your senses.

the truth is down the block already

staring blearily into the bottom of

another empty glass.

A Selected Annotated Bibliography for The True Story

You've already heard me rant and rave about Junot Diaz and Margaret Atwood, but there are some other writers who've been influential, instrumental, and essential (you see what I did there?) in different ways throughout this piece and this process.  Some notes on them below, and a special thank you to all the folks who've connected me to all this wonderful writing.

Why this show is important to me (and why you should check it out)

Last Friday night after rehearsal, I went out for a drink with a bunch of my wonderful collaboratorettes.  (It's five days to showtime.  Just try to tell me that's not a word.)  We commandeered the upstairs game room of a South Philly drinkery and dragged bar stools around the pool table.  After some general chit chat, one by one, they all ended up sharing their own True Story.  (Collaboratorettes, have no fear - what happens in Watkins Upstairs stays in Watkins Upstairs.  No personal stories will be recounted.)

Five Lessons from the First Showings

1. The things I'm afraid of doing (and that I dislike in performance) are, in fact, the things I do.  Like throwing in all the things.  Darlings, you're dead to me.  Time to simplify, clarify, & elegance...ify?
2. Having the cast make eye contact (now that they're off-book) has an amazing impact on both their work and my ability to absorb it.
3. Making teeny-tiny changes can have HUGE impact.  I keep learning this in my writing as well, but it's surprising every time.
4. When I have to read for missing performers, I only sort of feel like an idiot.
5. I am not a sociopath.  (Long story.)

 The True Story, or Vicious & Multiple & Untrue After All will premiere as part of First Person Arts RAW at the First Person Arts Festival (November 8-17, 2012).

On costumes

"The show's actually coming along really well.  I can worry about things like the set and costumes."

"Skirts and t-shirts."

"I wear pants sometimes now!  I'm wearing pants right now!"

"I know.  That was the old Amelia."

Aw.

 The True Story, or Vicious & Multiple & Untrue After All will premiere as part of First Person Arts RAW at the First Person Arts Festival (November 8-17, 2012).

One person couldn't feel all that - they'd explode

You know what?  Maybe this whole story was actually inspired by Harry Potter.

Happy LisaFrankenstorm, kids.  Hope you're getting as much accomplished as I clearly am.

 The True Story, or Vicious & Multiple & Untrue After All will premiere as part of First Person Arts RAW at the First Person Arts Festival (November 8-17, 2012).

Free Preview Monday!

Can't wait till November to see the show?  Catch a free preview this Monday at Kelly Writers House.  Ilse Zoerb will do some excerpts; I'll laugh maniacally at my own jokes from the audience.

Monday, October 29, at 7:00 PM in the Arts Café
Kelly Writers House | 3805 Locust Walk
No registration required - this event is free & open to the public

If you can't make it, or if you need a refresher, it'll also be broadcast on WXPN Monday 11/5.

Ladies' Week

I've just realized that I've had the chance to hang out with a lot of amazing ladies this week - friends new and old, colleagues, conspirators.  In fact, this week is about to culminate in a whole party of ladies AND a Mural Arts sponsored panel about female MCs: Ladies First - Hip Hop Heretics.  In honor of all the amazing ladies, both this week and throughout my entire life, who have shared good times and great insights, a teeny excerpt:

She wrote back within a half hour, a whole email of good, solid advice, followed by a disclosure that it was just advice, that she’d support me, no matter what. I couldn’t help thinking of how many times she, I, all us women really, had been burned by giving good, solid advice to our friends.

Chicks before dicks, ladies.  Listen to your girlfriends.

 
The True Story, or Vicious & Multiple & Untrue After All will premiere as part of First Person Arts RAW at the First Person Arts Festival (November 8-17, 2012).

Wordmasters

Confession: I love words.  I know, shocking.  So I've gone through the script and picked out some of my favs: the ones that are real hinges in the story, the ones I really like, the ones I think you should know in advance.  For the pre-show pre-test.  Or, you know, for funsies.

For the 97% of you unfamiliar with Wordmasters, pretend that title says "Vocab Quiz" or "SAT Verbal Reasoning."  For the rest of you, holler.

Don't forget to check out the links for helpful images.

I've got something sweet for you & I don't care if it is more than you deserve

I'm in need of a few reminders today:

1. In fiction and in nonfiction, characters are not people.  And vice versa.
2. Figuring it out is not the same as forgiving.  Although lord do they both take work.
3. I do what is right for me, and I always have the power and option to change my mind.  (Infinite thanks, Coach.)

With that, another excerpt.  Fun fact: this one was written somewhat separately from the rest of The True Story, and almost didn't make it in.  Thank god for experimental what-the-heck moments.

Research = Popcorn

Here are a few of the movies/performances/shows I've been using as research over the past couple months (or at least as an excuse to make popcorn), and some brief thoughts I got from them:

Chekhov Lizardbrain

Groundhog Day

Rashomon

Run Lola Run

Tiny Furniture 

Real Talk: Rehearsals

The first time I heard my text read, it was like watching a toddler take her first steps - no joke. (Infinite thanks to the Bridal Salon at Painted Bride Art Center.)

One of my favorite pieces of feedback (granted, from my mom), was that you could hear my voice through the actresses' voices - which hopefully speaks to the writing, but also certainly to the wonderful ladies up on stage, who truly breathed life into this collicky creature.

As we started auditions this round, I told Meg, my director/constant-reassurer-of-all-good-things-to-come (or at least that there will be something on stage and that I will not die), that I would pretty much be useless at this point. "I just can't stop being excited to hear other people say my words. I like them all."

Meg assured me she'd be able to handle it (see above title), and here we are, a couple weeks into rehearsals. Doing what, you ask? Excellent question!

The Absolute Moron's Guide to Creative Communication

We had a moment in rehearsal this morning where I got to talk about the fact that I have no idea what theatre people are talking about most of the time. And then I found out that theatre people sometimes feel that way too. (Although sometimes they continue to do weird spinny jumpy warm-ups to "get into their bodies" out of sheer faith in one day getting it.)

As someone who's had the great misfortune pleasure of trying to converse on an understandable level with musicians, actors, and (as of today) dancers, I present to you some of the perhaps less-than-clear things I've written, said, & heard while working on this show.  Listed anonymously, because "It's like Vegas in here."

Advice for Sluts from a Pulitzer Prize Winning Author

Speaking of literary heroes, I've been spending a lot of time with Junot Diaz lately - okay, with his work more than with him per se, BUT I did get to meet him at the Free Library and awkwardly invite him to The True Story.  (His response: "This . . . is . . . a great flyer."  Fair enough, Junot Diaz.  Fair enough.)

like hearts on marble

I'll be posting more about the first rehearsals once I process a bit more, but one of the things that came up was the title of this story (aka the bane of my existence) and the quote I have on the current draft:

"The true story is vicious and multiple and untrue after all." - Margaret Atwood

He is the Imelda Marcos of Other Shoes

In the spirit of not being intimidating by anything, least of all unexpected Facebook messages, even on the day of my first auditions, an excerpt:

I imagine he finds out about this story.

He calls me, in a rage, how dare I?

He calls me, he's touched I was so touched.  He never knew.

Much belated workshop photos

Just a snapshot (get it?!) of the fun that went down back in July.  Many thanks to the amazing work the participants put in, and to the wonderful Tim Evans for capturing these lovely images.

The True Story: The Playlist (wherein I avoid the real work)

I've got a phone meeting with First Person Arts tomorrow afternoon, and since one of our agenda items is "please pick a new title cuz this one corny," I have spent most of the day "brainstorming."  By which I mean creating a playlist:

Enjoy.  Now I better get back to work before I call this show "Quantum Superposition." #actuallyonanearlierlistoftitles

PS A game: see if you can divide the songs into "The-True-Story-Amelia as narrator of song," "The-True-Story-Amelia as object of song," "to be sung ironically," "to be sung eerily horror show slow," or "just ballin."

PPS Feel free to shuffle.  Derrr.

 The True Story, or Vicious & Multiple & Untrue After All will premiere as part of First Person Arts RAW at the First Person Arts Festival (November 8-17, 2012).

fighting our ways, our way/not out but through

I'm getting to some of the more difficult stories now.  It's harder to tell them in general, because some of them I've been telling a certain way for the past year, or (spoiler alert) ten years in some cases.  It's hard to remember how I felt when I didn't know how I felt, when I hadn't decided what I thought things meant, how the story should be told.

Not to mention it's a chronological nightmare, a complete time fuck.

And of course it's also some of the harder material, now that I've exhausted topics like sharks and air conditioning.  The first time we met, and the end.

Can I put "more sharks" somewhere in the break up fights?

So it's hard to tell, and I start to cop out and think, why am I being so selfish in the first place?

I thought at first that this was my story, that I was bizarre and it was entertaining to try to describe that bizarreness to the rest of the (to all appearances sane) world.  But the more I've shared True Stories, the more I've learned that a lot of other people go through the same bizarreness.

In just the past couple weeks, some of my (to all appearances sane) nearest and dearest have said things that have reminded me what this story is really about (corny, yes), and how much more it could be (double corn?), so I'm going to ride the comments below for the rest of the week, or however long it takes me to get the beginning and the end out onto the page.

"Currently going insane with my own relationship craziness and anxieties. Love your script for making me feel less alone in that."

And this one's paraphrased, but I swear she used the very Amelia-y word "date-like."

"I feel like I'm having my own true stories right now.  He asked to see me again in a very date-like way, and I thought aaaagh and I thought why is that so aaaaagh?"

So I'm stepping out on a ledge here, but I'm taking all ya'll bitches with me.

 The True Story, or Vicious & Multiple & Untrue After All will premiere as part of First Person Arts RAW at the First Person Arts Festival (November 8-17, 2012).

Writing Conference Feedback

For the past couple weeks, I had the great pleasure of attending the Rutgers Camden Summer Writing Conference.  I just got through everyone's incredible comments on True Stories, and as some of them had me laughing a little too loud in the library, I wanted to share.  Categorized, of course.

On the aquarium story

"Why was he so reluctant to leave the hippos if he’s so helpful and knows she wants to see some sharks? . . . Also, who doesn’t want to see the shark tunnel? That’s the best part."

"Sharks keep moving . . . and I think this says much about the character."

"More sharks."

The narrator (aka me) as a bad person

"CK has definitely charmed the pants off me! I admit to more than mild annoyance with your reluctance to embrace this relationship."

"Does she have a job? What does she do when she’s not analyzing this relationship to death?"

"Just say it!" (On the line “I cannot speak.”)

Things you'd only get at a literary conference

"Write something else – something more intriguing." (On the word “gross.”)

"sub v./adv. w/ v.?"

On the use of repetition / shuffling / non-linear time / the meaning of truth / everything this story is about

"Hasn't this happened once already?"

"I’m not sure why this is being repeated."

"Are we talking about the same person?"

"I had no idea enough time had elapsed for such hair growth."

"Wait…another one?"

"Never mind . . . I understand now."

"Just tell the real truth."

Other moments of confusion

"I’m confused here.  Do you mean he ordered the coffee in glass mugs?"

"Can’t gauge sex quality, but definitely pain."

"How possible?" (on my description of my the restaurant where my sister worked “where no one ever goes” and she gets "her first tip in days”)

"To me this might have knocked the tooth out or cause more duress." (on hitting my tooth with a hammer)

Best Overall Summary

"I like also that this is a narrative of feminine ambivalence about romance – the prevailing cultural myth is being reluctant while secretly pining away to be partnered." (I think a boy wrote this - who knew?)

 The True Story, or Vicious & Multiple & Untrue After All will premiere as part of First Person Arts RAW at the First Person Arts Festival (November 8-17, 2012).