Windy

May 31st, 2008Blog0 comments

My travel plans for the summer are coming into focus. Minneapolis and New York City next month, and in July I’m heading back to Chicago.

What I like about Chicago: Improv. The extremely large McDonald’s. Barack Obama. Millennium Park. How a single slice of pizza there is enough to feed four people from a third world country.

I love the vibe. A lot of people have said that it’s like New York with less bite; I think there’s still plenty of bite but definitely more nice.

If the two were restaurants, New York would be the place where the food is exquisite, the waiter exhibits a snarky contempt for you (and wants to know what the fuck you lookin at), and the floor is sticky. Chicago on the other hand is a sports bar / rib place where everything’s good — and there’s a lot of it — and it’s fun and comfy and a Bears game is always on. They’re both different but lovable experiences for me.

My Xbox is finally going back to Microsoft to get its fix on. I’ve been really pissed off without delicious GTA action. It makes me want to go out there and activate some IRL GTA action. It’s a good thing I’m mild mannered.

The Deep Blue Sea

May 30th, 2008Blog2 comments

I ate a large steak and it put me into a coma. I don’t eat a lot of red meat anymore and so my body wasn’t used to it. It’s like eating a giant, tasty sleeping pill.

Across the street someone glued an Obama “Hope” poster to some kind of powerbox/traffic light controller; someone else came along and tried to tear it off. This resulted in it being recognizable but mostly torn off.

In this vandalized state it actually feels more emotionally effective than it was before. Well played, Obama.

All I want to do this weekend is read and work some stuff out on paper. Maybe go see Iron Man finally and get my Xbox to UPS so Microsoft can fix the mother.

Keep things around here quiet.

Sydney

May 27th, 2008Blog0 comments

Sydney Pollack’s death yesterday is troubling; I’ll miss him.

This is how diverse the guy was: He did a very enjoyable documentary on Frank Gehry in which he explored his own creativity and career; I remember one segment where he mentioned that he felt like a fraud at times, “pretending” to be a director. And then one day he said, (I’m paraphrasing) “fuck it, I’m a director”.

And on The Sopranos he played a hot-shot oncologist who was in prison for murdering his wife, her sister, and the mailman. This was how cool the guy’s career was — he was making docs about architects, directing movies, and acting in The Sopranos.

It doesn’t get better than that.

I think that I am destined to be a very good old man. Some of us are very good as teenagers, and it all goes downhill from there. I think I will make a very good old man — be an even better old man than I am a young man.

I have a feeling that my soul matches an old man’s body better than a young man’s body; the gravity of looming death will add a greater punch to my sense of humor.

Also, I can be far more racist and everyone will find it amusing instead of horrifying.

Day Off

May 25th, 2008Blog0 comments

I finished the first draft of my project yesterday. I was in the library all day, then moved back home to work some more until it was done. I’m starting rewrites tomorrow, so today I have the day off.

My favorite thing to do on a day off is to do everything I normally do without the pressure of work that needs to get done — I’ll have lunch on campus and make it leisurely instead of stuffing my face so I can get started. I’ll look for books in the library instead of camp and work. It’s more fun to nap when you know your shit’s taken care of.

Also did I tell you my fucking XBox broke?! RRod, baby. This has put a temporary end to my crime spree in GTA 4. Breathe easy, coppers!

So sweet, sweet video gaming is out of the picture — otherwise I’d be popping tires and running over peds right now. This sucks.

I can’t wait to get this current project in the can so I can go back to this other new piece. It’s bigger and means even more to me.

23

May 24th, 2008Blog0 comments

TC 2008: We had a really great opening last night. I couldn’t enjoy it as much because I’ve got a hard deadline coming up. I was actually putting in pages at the theater on my laptop — until it got too hot for my lap.

I can usually write anywhere due to the magic of earplugs. But at bare minimum I need a chair and a table. When I’m in the phase of actually putting pages into the computer, I have an outline and a notebook with me for working stuff out. Everything has to be on the same surface for easy reference.

When you have a small army of people getting ready for a show in an equally small theater, there’s no space to work. Needing to work and not being able to really tires me out.

BUT it was good. The more I see this show the more I like it.

What was really heartening to me is that several people who have family members with Autism have come to see the show and said that they identify strongly with Please Stand By. There was a lady there last night who works with kids with Autism and she said that the portrayal is dead-on.

That makes me happy. A lot of this is attributable to the acting which is really excellent. On my side of things I do a lot of research — authenticity is important to me. Detail provides a lot of weight when you write, and knowing something well allows you to have confidence in what you’re creating. Giving actors solid stuff to work with is my job, so hearing stuff like that is really great.

Preview

May 23rd, 2008Blog1 comment

Theater previews are a great time to kick the tires and take notes to see which parts of the car need fixing.

These are my favorite moments because there’s an audience there, but things are still casual. Also, as a writer, my work’s been done a long time ago so I can sit around and relax — while everyone else scrambles!

So last night we had our preview at Thumping Claw.

Dude: It was excellent.

Even with the kinks still gettin’ worked out, this show is great. It was the first time I actually sat down and got to see the whole thing holistically, and it’s an awesome piece of work. I really recommend seeing it!

Writing-wise I’m very much a text person. As I write I focus on the text and for me, my job stops there. I have no desire to direct — I hate repetition and telling people what to do. I’d rather tell people what to do passive-aggressively on the page!

So for me, the execution of my work is something that I’m pretty laissez-faire about. As long as people are having fun and are “owning” the work, I believe it’ll speak for itself. Once a director and cast get invested in a piece, their enthusiasm will carry them through. It’s like what I mentioned in an earlier post about morale and the ratio of dollars-to-effort.

But seeing your work come alive so effectively — seeing your friends’ work come alive so effectively — is a thrill. In the end writing is ultimately about sharing. Experiences, ideas, beliefs. And it’s pretty great when the sharing happens with such clarity, humor, and gusto.

It’s fun.

Blown Away

May 22nd, 2008Blog0 comments

So Thumping Claw‘s preview night is tonight. I’m really excited — I’ve seen what this show can do and it’s looking pretty amazing.

My friend Lloyd is a really, really good writer. He has a piece in there about a hundred year old white man — it’s his birthday, and his family has gradually transformed through inter-marriage into a Korean family.

Anyway, that premise by itself is great. But the execution, and what the piece is really “about” is what gets me. Watching it during a rehearsal, I was blown away.

This doesn’t happen that often with me, though it can happen during any number of things: I might read something that’s so good it blows me away. Or I might eat something that’s so tasty it blows me away.

I’ve sort of narrowed down what it is so I can recognize it: It’s when I completely lose track of myself. The fact that I have to do laundry, that I need to drive to X and pick up Y — I completely forget about mundane things. I get totally absorbed by whatever I’m seeing or doing. I’m so touched, moved, or my brain is so activated that I forget about myself.

I hope I’m not hyperbolizing, but I feel that way about this piece. It just sorta floors me, and that’s a feeling that I really love feeling.

Anyway, we’ll see how tonight goes!