tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95740482011-07-08T11:58:16.674-05:00Hi. I'm Chris Leyva. And I write plays. You can read about my plays and the ways they evolve on this blog.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.comBlogger1051100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-87354709580106130192010-05-30T14:15:00.001-05:002010-05-30T14:16:32.660-05:00

Come see what's new at my website/blog:www.playwrightchrisleyva.com!

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-9437381868616821832009-01-18T18:37:00.003-05:002009-01-18T18:45:15.084-05:00

Hello all!I want to point you all to my blog's new location at my website!Check out http://web.me.com/chrisleyva for new entries!Best to you all,Chris

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-63181791577749033242008-10-21T18:31:00.004-05:002008-10-21T19:07:29.776-05:00

Since I'm back, I thought I would title my new blog entries with single words just like my favorite guilty pleasure, Smallville. We'll see just how long that lasts...Since coming back to The Brothers Caramillo, I feel like I've tried everything to ignite things and get to the heart of the rewrite. As stated in my last post, I found a theme song; I've spent hours drawing diagrams on my dry erase

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-44465443753095830162008-10-14T13:16:00.003-05:002008-10-14T13:41:19.249-05:00

After a long absence for personal trips and such, I've returned to blog-land to document further evolutions of my plays, at this time, The Brothers Caramillo. Yes, yes, I'm still working on this Brothers Karamazov adaptation that began two years ago during the first National Playwriting Month (the third annual NaPlWriMo begins on November 1st). Back then, the play was called Goody, Goody and

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-45052079568130845382008-06-25T10:47:00.003-05:002008-07-03T11:52:30.353-05:00

Right now, I'm importing the video from the recent production of All Grace onto the computer in preparation for editing and creating a DVD. I look over at the screen every so often and catch a glimpse of a moment and remember what it was like to see this play come to life in its new form. My mind fills with laughing at rehearsals and making tiny flicks with my pen, scratching out words and

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-44776852120515675752008-06-10T13:53:00.002-05:002008-06-21T08:15:05.161-05:00

A couple weekends ago, I witnessed the Columbus, Ohio premiere of All Grace at Broad Street United Methodist Church. Over six weeks, I rewrote the play, cast the play, and directed the production. I put out notices and calls for actors to several different schools and theatres in the area, and ended up hearing mostly from female actors. I tried to get in touch with the two male actors that

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1117985572578993962008-05-28T12:56:00.002-05:002008-05-28T13:13:34.863-05:00

I had my reading of The Brothers Caramillo at the Great Plains Theatre Conference yesterday, which went well. I gained a lot of insight into the "sound" of the play, noticing moments when characters voices changed, when moments of the play stalled, where things felt somewhat artificial and awkward. The script needs to be tightened. It needs to be sliced with a fine scalpel. It doesn't need

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-60886492704189559032008-05-23T15:13:00.003-05:002008-05-23T15:18:05.511-05:00

I'm in the Columbus Airport, waiting to get on my flight to Omaha, NE for the Great Plains Theatre Conference. My play The Brothers Caramillo; Eulogy for a Piece of Sh*t will have a reading on Tuesday morning. I'm nervous. Anxious. This will mark the first time I'll've heard the play and there'll be an audience there. I haven't even read the play since I submitted it. It'll be a little like

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-74724173968748844522008-04-26T21:48:00.003-05:002008-04-26T21:56:12.160-05:00

My wife, Rachael, has been invited to The Institute for Music in Human and Social Development's conference on Dance, Timing, and Musical Gesture to be held at The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK, from June 13th to 15th, 2008. She will present her paper ‘Gender and Music in [Mark] Morris' "Dido and Aeneas"' as a 15-minute talk, followed by 5 minutes for questions.She was also awarded one

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-28386949785312385952008-04-18T16:04:00.003-05:002008-04-21T16:49:17.323-05:00

Here are the titles of two books that I'm going to write:Beautiful Questions: Religion and Spirituality in TheatreThe Altar and the Stage: A History of the Evolving Relationship Between Theatre and the ChurchI'm going to be looking at Angels in America (of course) and Sarah Ruhl's Passion Play and plenty of Medieval plays and I know there are some plays by Latino writers that have a heavy

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-62011223281269642702008-04-12T18:24:00.009-05:002008-04-14T11:52:46.556-05:00

In my newest draft of All Grace, which I'm now prepping for production during the Columbus Arts Festival in June, I attempted to create a space in which the past blends easily with the present, where dreams and memories intrude on daily life. One way to describe it is how my friend Toni put it: "beyond space." After reading the play, she asked:"How on earth did you manage to work with this '

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-21551558967579548542008-04-12T18:16:00.005-05:002008-04-14T11:09:06.825-05:00

My friend Kate just recently commented on the Alethiometer post, and I thought it a good topic to continue as it pertains to artist feedback and "workshopping." I've pulled some of the choice bits from Kate's comments to begin the conversation. Before I delve into it, I wanted to give some preemptive explanation of the Coe Writing Center. As the website says:"The Coe Writing Center is a place

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-85017409640943207072008-04-05T12:36:00.006-05:002008-04-14T11:10:05.429-05:00

I was speaking to my wife today about reading plays and giving comments and criticism. "You don't like when I give you feedback, do you?" she asked. In truth, I love when my wife gives me feedback. However, when I ask for feedback, I'm often looking for something deep... I couldn't find the words to describe it.Then, I remembered the alethiometer, better known as The Golden Compass in the His

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-86110857290408754622008-04-02T09:40:00.004-05:002008-10-15T16:21:33.164-05:00

I'm expanding a bit on my previous entry to hopefully shed some light. I'm going to be pulling back the veil of mystery that may or may not exist about the MFA Playwrights Workshop at the University of Iowa. When we meet, we hear readings of new plays and immediately adjourn to a conference room to discuss. The discussion is given a loose framework in three parts:1. "Pops" (This is what I was

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-3295410827120678802008-04-01T20:44:00.003-05:002008-04-01T21:05:19.848-05:00

After a recent email from a friend of mine bashing my current rewrite of All Grace, I'm reminded of the structure of the Iowa Playwrights Workshop. And I miss it. A bit.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-66097304338985988272008-03-29T11:40:00.003-05:002008-03-29T12:00:51.351-05:00

In addition to the deadline given by production dates and Jesus Christ Superstar, here is a list of other things that pushed this new draft into being:Let it Be by the BeatlesAcross the Universe the song by the Beatles and the film by Julie TaymorLingering memories of Angels in AmericaLipchitz' autobiography My Life in Sculpture, especially the sculpture "The Prayer"

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-43740053439925271172008-03-24T06:25:00.003-05:002008-03-24T07:32:08.926-05:00

I began All Grace in May 2005 as part of a summer independent study. Over that summer I came away with a disjointed 60 pages that had enough emotion and dream-like flights of fancy to almost make up for what it lacked in plot, structure, or character development. It was at that time that I was using the structure of the Catholic mass to structure the play, which was an interesting idea and

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-65802661412879680542008-03-01T10:22:00.002-05:002008-03-01T10:48:37.180-05:00

That feeling of hopelessness and despair that comes over me when I read those rejection letters is like a sweet, sweet nectar. You know that feeling when you just were dumped? You thought things were going well, you know? And then the bottom falls out, you get the "look," that pitying look that says, "You're nice, and I like you, but I don't know if I'm in like with you." God, I remember those

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-88850675972159566832008-02-27T15:16:00.007-05:002008-02-28T06:52:11.393-05:00

In a fit of odd desperation at work, I went to a "huddle room" (rooms with little tables and chairs and dry erase boards for small meetings) and I started to teach a class on playwriting. To no one. Like a young girl has a tea party with stuffed animals, or how I used to play "Mass" when I was a kid, dressing up in one of my father's T-shirts and using grape juice and Lays Potato Chips as

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-34615005394445222802008-02-21T07:17:00.002-05:002008-02-21T07:26:04.987-05:00

I can't help but watch those two-minute "news" videos on CNN with such topics as: Newborn found in toilet, Man orders coffee without pants, or how Saturday Night Live is searching for a Barack Obama impersonator. I can't let them go unwatched!!

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-75197597639666073452008-02-17T07:30:00.002-05:002008-02-17T07:57:00.935-05:00

In trying to rewrite, or "reboot," my play All Grace, I'm back to facing the original challenges from the first attempt. How do you tell three stories at once?The three stories are:Father Couturier, a priest, is fighting to create a church filled with Modern Art, which is against a decree from the Pope.Jacques Lipchitz, a sculptor, is battling with his past, escapes from Paris to NYC when the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-15534541215911389192008-02-12T11:28:00.001-05:002008-02-25T09:39:19.720-05:00

A couple days ago a friend of mine asked me to define "worldview," and asked me what my worldview was...I gave her some answer that even I can't really understand or remember. I think it sounded something like the tagline to "American Beauty:" "Look Closer." After having some time to think about it more and having the film and soundtrack to the Julie Taymor film "Across the Universe" in my mind

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-23634543573385207692008-01-26T13:17:00.000-05:002008-01-26T13:25:47.001-05:00

I began writing "All Grace" in June of 2005. Here it is, January 2008, and I'm beginning again. The last time I tried to rewrite this play was January of last year. The play haunts me, begging to come out, begging to be told. I made so many mistakes with that initial draft, holding everything in the story as sacred, holding the subject matter up as some kind of elegant and precious thing.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-62554895798133093042008-01-09T20:28:00.000-05:002008-01-09T20:31:00.991-05:00

The new year has just begun, and I’m already gearing up for the year ahead. Two plays for this year. I’m going to be doing a revision of my play All Grace, and then crafting a new play, which is actually down some familiar territory with a new slant, a new viewpoint.All Grace is going to be my “play of the year,” the one that I actually sent to theatres and contests come September. I have a

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-83160017951907689792007-12-19T08:05:00.001-05:002007-12-19T08:14:53.468-05:00

So, right now, I'm in the phase of "healing" after having completed "Partnering." Some people call it "refilling the well," but that metaphor doesn't really fly with me for some reason. I like to think of it more as a wound. You pick and pick and pick at it, writing the play and when you're finished, well, you have this gaping wound. Before you can really play in there again, you have to let

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-76964070476738946492007-12-05T08:00:00.000-05:002007-12-05T08:11:36.672-05:00

I finished my new play "Partnering" for NaPlWriMo at the end of November. Hooray! You can read the first draft here. Be gentle, it's a first draft. It was a major challenge trying to write dance into the play that would allow the emotions to breathe without creating dances "about" an affair or "about" being sad. The dances are supposed to be about what's going on internally, yet not be

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-32991381264758728682007-11-21T07:54:00.000-05:002007-11-21T08:19:24.665-05:00

In a completely unexpected idea for a new title (I'm not even going to post it until I'm sure this one is going to stick), I decided to reduce the play to 3 characters rather than the original 6. Two characters had already been cut before as I realized they were only instrumental to the plot as flavoring, not as a physical presence. Now, another character has merged with another and created

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-20827443210395420172007-11-18T22:02:00.000-05:002007-11-18T22:11:04.417-05:00

I was talking to one of my dancer friends who was staying with us recently, (whose visit provided some small moments for my new play, allowing the characters to be put in rooms together and have actions other than "eating," which is, oddly enough, a common occurence in my plays... What was I talking about?) OH! So, a friend of ours was staying with us while in town for some rehearsals for this

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-50427076388107609562007-11-12T16:48:00.000-05:002007-11-12T17:21:00.245-05:00

I've made notecards for my play, "Contact/Space," (the new title I'm not fully comfortable with)... I gave all my characters names, after doing some googling of baby names and their meanings and looking at pictures of friends to see if their names would click with a character. When I start crafting a character, I find them a "real world surrogate," a person that I know whose personality I can

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-20529717313388346752007-11-07T07:06:00.000-05:002007-11-07T07:14:28.861-05:00

So, I've started "research" for my NaPlwriMo play, which I have dubbed "Partnering." I've interviewed three dancers: a modern dancer, a ballet dancer, and a dance-scholar. I asked them the preliminary questions about how they got into dance, why they've stayed in dance, and then moved into more in-depth questions such as, "What is the relationship between dancer and audience?" I took pages and

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-14298272237132239392007-10-31T06:37:00.000-05:002007-10-31T06:38:58.723-05:00

NATIONAL PLAYWRITING MONTH STARTS TOMORROW! (Well... Tonight at midnight, technically. Join up!)

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-16004485735779026332007-10-24T06:43:00.000-05:002007-10-24T07:51:41.110-05:00

So, there's this theatre, Greasy Joan & Co., and they have this program where they commission a new work that's an adaptation of classic play or story. Thanks to a random evening call a few years ago from Sherry Kramer, I know that adaptations are what I should do with my life.I asked the literary manager of Greasy Joan if they were looking for plays that were already finished, or at the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-35825249227206380132007-10-14T09:10:00.000-05:002007-10-14T18:15:17.417-05:00

Mr. Andy Guffey tagged me to provide a reading list of books (plays) that I continually return to for inspiration... So, here is the list, and I'll update this with reasonings soon.1. Hamlet by William Shakespeare2. Jesus Christ Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber3. Angels in America by Tony Kushner4. Mnemonic by Theatre de Complicite5. Far Away by Caryl Churchill6. A Day in the Death

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-21121535033147011572007-09-17T07:55:00.000-05:002007-09-17T08:26:51.385-05:00

I'm still celebrating my completion of Brothers Caramillo, enjoying the time of letting new stories and old stories fill my heart. I've been dabbling in the world of All Grace again, putting together the characters of the sculptor, Jacques Lipchitz, and the priest, M.A. Couturier, putting them in a room together, allowing them to speak freely and without worrying about concepts. What do they

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-68306110134799520572007-09-16T06:16:00.001-05:002007-09-16T06:21:28.060-05:00

I've been away for several months, not wanting to write yet another post about how I couldn't finish The Brothers Caramillo. I was starting to annoy myself with all the whining and excuse making. So, about a week ago, I just finished the damn thing. I powered through creating a third act, not worrying about adding every single plot detail that I needed to and just concentrated on finding a

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-573343699261378932007-07-03T06:17:00.000-05:002007-07-03T06:23:31.492-05:00

Little by little, moment by moment, line by line. The Brothers Caramillo will get finished. I've just been plugging away, fixing a line here, adding more to a conversation there. There are more scenes to write, but for now, these little changes have to be enough.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-74465254313684825672007-06-27T08:48:00.000-05:002007-06-27T09:42:43.735-05:00

National Playwriting Month (Naplwrimo) is not until November, but I'm already prepping a new play. By prepping, I mean brooding. By brooding, I mean collecting thoughts and stories, storing up emotions, and twisting my "emotional danger muscles." "Emotional danger muscles?" I don't believe I've ever used that phrase before... What do I mean by that? Umm... I think it has something to do

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-16423317259891710022007-06-21T07:53:00.000-05:002007-06-21T08:06:49.337-05:00

No, this isn't yet another cry-session about not being able to adapt "Brothers Karamazov." My work schedule changes today. Instead of working 1:30pm to 10:00pm, I now work, wait for it... 12:30pm to 9:00pm! Yes, it's only an hour of difference, but seeing as how I usually begin my writing time at around 11:00am, I'm about to feel the crunch, the lost time. So, now I have to get up early and

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-75420985540650421932007-06-20T09:18:00.000-05:002007-06-20T09:28:21.747-05:00

I spoke to my friend, Andy, last night and when asked what I was up to, I said, "Besides trying to finish my 'Brothers Karamazov' adaptation?" And he said, "Is that still vexing you?"YES! I remain vexed by the project. BUT! Yesterday, I was back at my coffeeshop of choice, Cup O Joe, not to be confused with one of my favorite websites, cupojo.net. Anyway, so I was there, armed with a printed

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-3055073152625364072007-04-04T11:10:00.000-05:002007-04-04T11:15:57.301-05:00

I've been struggling with this question for a few days now as my process of adapting Dostoyevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" has hit a bit of a snag. I found myself getting bogged down in plot and making things "match" the source material, rather than really trying to find my own reasons for writing the play. What makes an adaptation necessary? This is a question that must be answered on a personal

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-27275028819299272582007-03-27T11:54:00.000-05:002007-03-27T12:00:11.602-05:00

I'm working damn hard to finish "The Brothers Caramillo." I had a revelation yesterday while at work, which helped me to get the play moving from the very beginning and make things interesting. I worked on making those "small-large" changes to the play this morning and feel a driving force to get the rest of the play out. I need to reread what I've written to get back on track with the new

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-6580808207048206842007-03-10T10:20:00.000-05:002007-03-10T10:21:29.019-05:00

It always amazes me that forcing yourself to just put words to paper, whether you want to or not, can lead to amazing things in scenes you may not be "ready" or willing to write.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-49811549902011452682007-03-09T11:28:00.000-05:002007-03-09T11:44:11.126-05:00

I'm here at the MoJoe Lounge, just below me is the box office to the 30 screen AMC theatre here at the Easton Town Center. The large open lobby to my left that I'm lording above is somewhat distracting. There are a lot of people here for a Friday morning. Guess people are starting spring break a little early or something. I don't know. It's about 11:30am and I still have about an hour and a

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-86059078006689764982007-03-07T12:39:00.000-05:002007-03-09T11:03:03.509-05:00

I'm at the point in my writing "The Brothers Caramillo" that I love to be at. I have about pages written and am moving towards the end. I have a "first act" that tops out at 52 pages and a "second act" that is filled up by scene titles that are acting as placeholders. These scene titles are mostly names of characters that will be in the scenes: "Elian and Alex," "Dimas and Kate." Some are

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-33024052952822360672007-02-27T13:36:00.000-05:002007-02-27T13:55:51.673-05:00

This morning on the drive to school (not my school, the wife's school... I've taken to going with her since my new job doesn't start until next week in an attempt to get work done away from the TV), anyway, my wife, Rachael, was driving and from the CD player, the Joseph Arthur song, "Let's Embrace" comes on. And everytime I hear this song, my play "Father Bob" bursts forth from the ether of

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-74612822588906789572007-02-26T20:14:00.000-05:002007-02-26T20:25:18.165-05:00

I haven't written on this blog for a good couple months. There are many reasons, but one is the fact that I've been addicted to stories. I've been devouring books and movies and tv shows like never before. I'm not going to list everything I've seen, but here's some of what I've experienced:"The Brothers Karamazov""The World According to Garp" (film and novel)"1984" (novel and film)"Capote""

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-45531566952698796842006-12-02T15:13:00.000-05:002006-12-02T15:40:33.498-05:00

So, the plan was to complete a full-length (75 page) play by the end of November. I got close... 52 pages or so of "Goody Goody." It's not a full play; I don't know what it is exactly. Perhaps it's the first act of the play. I don't even really know what it's all building to. I once thought it was the story of a young stripper trying to be good, then it was about young man having to decide

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-4360097487820924492006-11-14T11:42:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:59:03.597-05:00

It's rarely the case that I change the title of a play... Why? I don't know. I guess the play titles usually fit. Either that, or I'm so insanely stubborn to consider the fact that a play's title might be wrong. The second one is most likely closer to the truth.I've renamed The Drowning Dance, and it's very difficult to call it by its new name, despite the fact that I've already renamed the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1162776004224647472006-11-05T20:09:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:03.264-05:00

At the moment, I'm struggling a little bit to stay on top of and immersed in the worlds of two different plays. It's pretty typical for me to be working on later drafts of one play while another play is coming out of my head for the first time. Right now, "The Drowning Dance" is in major rewrites. It's expanding like a giant breath. I've seen so many holes in the story that I left there when

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1162509063456323392006-11-02T18:05:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:03.120-05:00

A scene I thought of driving away from McDonalds:FAITH: Is this like confession?RON: I’m not a priest.FAITH: But close enough, right?RON: We’re just two friends talking.FAITH: I haven’t talked about this with anyone.RON: It’s okay.FAITH: Don’t want you to think less of me.RON: Believe me, there’s nothing you could tell me that would make me think less of you.FAITH: Okay. (Beat) I filmed a porn

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1162329278181811552006-10-31T16:14:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:03.011-05:00

Happy Halloween!!

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1162329241445030292006-10-31T16:08:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:02.900-05:00

Just like the National Novel Writing Month, Stephen Ptacek invited me to join him and his friend Dorothy in the first of its kind National Playwriting Month! For details and regulations, head to http://www.naplwrimo.org and join the ranks. At last count, we were up to 16! Use the month of November to write a play! It'll be fun!I already have my ideas brewing for the play, which I'm calling "

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1161201101117167432006-10-18T14:48:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:02.770-05:00

The first draft of the new and improved "Drowning Dance" is completed. I'm just trying to figure out more about what I want the play to be. I think it's very close to what I was attempting to accomplish, but, of course, I'm sure there's some fine-tuning that needs to be done, especially in the clarification of character relationships and the timeline. That's nitpicky plot stuff though. On the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1159997519983072092006-10-04T16:31:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:02.618-05:00

They don't have any. This terrible killing, massacre-- execution of young, Amish girls by a man who had "nightmares." And the Amish say, "Forgive." How can they bury their emotions? Don't they HATE this guy? Most of America HATES this guy and nothing's happened to us! How can they ignore the natural insticts to spit venom in the face of the one who attacked them? But then... What would

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1159483592924192332006-09-28T17:40:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:02.461-05:00

Rebecca's parents both worked when she was growing up. She learned to be self-sufficient from an early age. She amused herself with crossword puzzles, though she was never very good at them. She would solve all the "obvious" ones, and then start making guesses on the more obtuse one. Then, she would find herself with obvious wrong words and, because she did the crosswords in pen, she would

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1159187192187048792006-09-25T07:20:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:02.366-05:00

Can a priest say "shit" and still be seen as a highly intelligent and "holy" person?

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1159146312244646522006-09-24T19:59:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:02.249-05:00

A friend of mine has inspired me to get back on this and express my ideas. I need this to be an experimental breeding groud for ideas that may, at first glance, not appear to be "valuable" enough to be put in a script. Plus, having them typed out makes it easier to cut and paste it into a script once one of these imaginative mutants is deemed worthy of being in a play or as a play in itself.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1144955509669666672006-04-13T14:04:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:01.976-05:00

According to Wikipedia, here are just a few of the things that have happened on April 19th (my birthday).Events:1012 - Martyrdom of St Alphege in Greenwich, London.1587 - Sir Francis Drake sinks the Spanish fleet in Cádiz harbor.1692 - Bridget Bishop goes on trial in Salem, Massachusetts for witchcraft.1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Lexington and Concord – British General Thomas

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1141934552134328942006-03-09T15:01:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:01.824-05:00

So, thanks to this organization at the University of Iowa called Art Share, I’ve been doing workshops on playwriting for sixth graders at two different elementary schools. For my first workshops, I was helping the kids create a script for a puppet show that would be presented in front of an audience of their peers. Now, these kids were insane. They all were kind of depressed, and mostly ADD.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1139692316382607362006-02-11T15:15:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:01.681-05:00

In my attempt to understand my "process" as a playwright, I've forgotten that writing plays is just a different form of "writing." And that "writing" comes from "life." And so, whatever I'm "writing," is working on a play... So, here's an essay(?) I wrote earlier this winter:I gave blood on Monday. I hate giving blood. Well, not hate, but it scares me. Everytime. I don't like the way it

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1139536559509397912006-02-09T20:54:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:01.592-05:00

We had a visiting playwright this week—Ruth Margraff. She was responsible for shaking up my thinking of “Solamente Una Vez,” and since “Solamente” is being presented in Atlanta, I was excited for what new tools she could give me. Last year, we investigated our characters through Chinese fighting styles. This year, we investigated Bollywood. Here are some of the components of Bollywood as

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1138204648433695422006-01-25T10:51:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:01.484-05:00

The semester is starting to get busy and it's only been a week and a half. My FINAL workshop date at the University of Iowa has been scheduled on Feb 13th. So, I basically have 2 weeks to finish "Learned Ladies." I have one act. I just have to complete act 2. Plus, rewrite "All Grace" for the process of the Iowa New Play Festival. Come to Iowa City in May and see my play!In other news, I

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1137438513213550572006-01-16T13:33:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:01.363-05:00

I told myself that I wasn't going to revise "All Grace" until I knew who was directing the upcoming production in May. Yesterday, that plan kind of broke... In church, my mind drifted to my conversation with Jacques Lipchitz' daughter, Lolya, and I revisited a scene from "All Grace" in my mind. Ms. Lipchitz told me that her father felt that he had the ability to tell if a work of art was

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1137011336486066612006-01-11T15:01:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:01.237-05:00

The process of "Learned Ladies" has been strange to say the least. I've been working on it in small doses, writing small scenes based on "ingredients" given to me by two of my friends. The result was about five scenes at about 40 pages. What I've been doing lately is crafting a play out of these scenes-- how do they go together? What can be combined? What can be altered? Today, I reworked

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1136908945537331352006-01-10T10:39:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:01.075-05:00

Okay, this blog is about writing PLAYS and not screenplays, but I have to brainstorm this... A month or two ago, I was asked by a producer to send him some of my writing. I sent him "Solamente Una Vez," and while he enjoyed the play and the characters, he didn't think it would be marketable to a larger audience as a film. So, back to the drawing board. Thanks to my joining of myspace recently

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1135791858142243472005-12-27T13:43:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:00.913-05:00

How is it that the shower is such an illuminating place? Is it the rushing water, the heat, the steam? Is it the environment? Is it the fact that, perhaps, the shower is the one place where the actions are completely habitual and therefore my thoughts are free to wander? I’m not consciously commanding my fingers to massage the shampoo into my scalp, nor am I aware of what I’m doing, though I’

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1134162497920547492005-12-07T20:33:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:00.746-05:00

Not really.This morning, I entered into the room at 8:35. I had agreed to meet with a class of sixth graders. Sarah Moore, my friend Bryan's wife, had asked me to come and talk to her class about playwriting. They were in the midst of writing their own plays and she had wanted a playwright to come in and talk to them about where ideas come from, how a playwright writes, that kind of thing.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1131733392812779622005-11-11T13:22:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:00.509-05:00

Robert, Jessica, and I met at House of Aromas downtown on the Friday following the “harrowing” session of feedback given on Wednesday. We started the discussion, thinking and considering ways that the reluctance and resisteance of those in the class could have been averted. Was it an issue of bringing up the “frame” for our feedback before the reading had begun? That way, people would’ve been

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1131678020239370092005-11-09T21:59:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:59.970-05:00

Today was the third movement of Robert Blacker’s class. I received a call just moments ago from Jessica Dart who said, “Guess who just called me? Robert Blacker.” Apparently, Robert was so distressed and surprised by how the conversation went following my reading that he called Jessica merely to ask how I was doing. I perceived the conversation to be almost wholly unhelpful, but was

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1131719340930133272005-11-08T09:28:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:35:00.250-05:00

We’d finally come to the third part of Robert Blacker’s class: the “rehearsed reading.” I had finished a draft about mid-week the week before the deadline and a rehearsal was set for a Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, we were able to get back three of the actors in the main roles from the last reading: Couturier, Mary, and Devemy. Having this consistency would help us track if things have been

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1130448135371550292005-10-27T16:22:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:59.844-05:00

While the first "movement" of Robert Blacker's class proved to be quite a disastrous enterprise, the second movement was the exact opposite: a highly beneficial and prosperous endeavor. By prosperous, I mean that I left the meeting pregnant with ideas and ready to write. The first meeting left me unable to write for weeks. I had too many possibilities to even begin writing, there were no

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1129989983197652562005-10-22T09:06:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:59.655-05:00

I was in an office. The walls were old-fashioned stone, there was a large window through which stood a giant tree. There were calendars and posters of flowing words on the walls. It looked like a tiny church office. There was an older woman sitting at a desk in front of a computer. I stood there, it was as if I were talking to her.Suddenly, in walks a tall man. His head was nearly bald, his

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1129645763232717182005-10-18T09:29:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:59.499-05:00

There's this odd little class that we're taking this year with dramaturg Robert Blacker. It is in three movements, here they are again:1. Everyone reads a play (each of the 5 playwrights' plays), then everyone discusses it.2. A director and dramaturg are assigned to each play and then there is an unrehearsed reading with actors.3. The director, dramaturg, and playwright set up a "rehearsed"

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1127769347200682662005-09-26T16:15:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:59.284-05:00

Last Thursday, I spent eight hours at my second office (a coffeeshop called House of Aromas) writing a rewrite of "Solamente Una Vez." It was an exhausting day as I spent very little time outside of the play. Most of the eight hours, I was in the middle of the text, rolling around, writing, adding, deleting. It was quite a harrowing experience. In the past, when I worked on a rewrite of a

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1127155346499945002005-09-19T13:42:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:59.132-05:00

I find myself trying to do too much. But I like it. I feel as though I'm behind in everything, that I'm not getting anything done. But I am. Things are getting done. They're not getting done fast enough for me. I keep hitting dead ends and then can't move forward. For example, I've been trying to rewrite "Solamente Una Vez" for a couple of weeks now. I had my workshop weeks ago. I've had

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1126532492458394562005-09-12T08:41:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:58.973-05:00

Sherry Kramer gave us this rather odd and "pretentious" (Her word) assignment for last night. We were told to imagine that we were at the Superdome, or some such location, filled with evacuees suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. What play could we write for these people? What would they need? Sherry gave us three titles of plays to choose from: 1. "The Tempest," 2. "The Flood," 3

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1126298245746135792005-09-09T15:37:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:58.729-05:00

Right now I'm juggling three plays, trying to find the ways into all three of them. I have the dark, realistic play "Solamente Una Vez," which just needs some specifics ironed out and then I can let it sit. I have the more metaphorical and historical "All Grace," which needs the most work right now. And I have a new play, a loose adaptation of "The Learned Ladies" by Moliere. There are other

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1125512402522719772005-08-31T13:20:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:58.610-05:00

On Monday, I had one of the best Workshop discussions about one of my plays. I took "Solamente Una Vez" to workshop. I was a bit worried, as I always am, wondering if people were going to catch what I was doing. Most of the main themes of the play are submerged in action or the physical traits of the characters, so many of people's questions were valid, but not necessarily things for me to

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1124320101657484222005-08-17T18:08:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:58.425-05:00

I finished up another short play. These things go much further than I originally think they would. This week's ingredients (I'm now working with my friend, Kate) were: anticipation and "orange." My first image was a woman in an orange dress suit in a store's fitting room. I tend to go back to my original idea after its been simmering in the back of my mind as I actively search for something

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1123856280197452712005-08-12T09:18:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:58.288-05:00

Well, it's nearly the end of the summer "season." Orientation is next Wednesday, which means classes start a week from Monday. It's going to be a great year, I can feel it. Why? Because I've been working hard this summer, (though you wouldn't know from this blog), and I've had many breakthroughs. I've spent a lot of time experimenting with short plays and trying to understand the difference

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1118081836227839762005-06-06T12:57:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:58.187-05:00

This weekend, I decided that the only way to finish all my work this summer was to make a schedule and stick to it. So, each day, I'll have my work cut out for me. 8:30-10:30, I'll work on "Hades & Persephone." This morning, I cleaned up the first twenty pages and turned it into something manageable and fun. Tomorrow, I'll move into uncharted scenes of the "middle of the play." If I work

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1117118302361900062005-05-26T09:31:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:57.971-05:00

My first semester at the University brought about the play "The Drowning Dance." A romantic comedy with dark undertones. It didn't really work. And my rewrites that followed didn't work. In fact, I believe they destroyed the play. BUT a couple of months ago, after going to a bar to meet some old friends from undergrad, I have some new thoughts to rewrite this problematic play and turn it

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1116887657511121102005-05-23T17:20:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:57.530-05:00

Yes! "Solamente Una Vez" is finished! The first draft comes in at a whopping 68 pages. Shortest play I've written in awhile given that "Holy Schmidt!" was 114. Quite a difference. But I feel it's complete, no fat in there to be cut out. I did all the cutting as I was writing. Everything feels necessary. There were scenes that I had written that were given a new life. The ending

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1116708558752205402005-05-21T15:39:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:57.282-05:00

I sincerely wanted to be completely finished with "Solamente Una Vez" by now, but things have gotten in the way of writing. There's been a period of cleansing my system, trying to remember why all this writing stuff is so important to me in the first place. Is it some sort of emotional release? A necessity? An act that brings me closer to God? What is the reason I do it? Because it makes me

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1115993203772209062005-05-13T08:35:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:57.158-05:00

While working at the box office last week for the Iowa New Play Festival, I thought to myself, "Hey, I'm just standing around here not doing anything, what does this remind me of?" I worked at a credit union for almost three years. In that time, I wrote and rewrote ONE full play and wrote a couple of scenes of another. Since we were on computers all day long, I used to open up microsoft Word

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1115833451655028162005-05-11T12:42:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:57.029-05:00

Follow the full research and creation of a new play as I compile information this summer:Notre Dame de Toute Grace

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1114954844100439402005-05-01T08:39:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:56.859-05:00

Last night, I spoke with my friend, Andy, for a long time. Mostly catching up, but also discussing the usual politics and religion and state of the human race, you know, the basics. And through our talk, I found two additional new plays to write! I’ve always been worried about finding ideas for plays, but I guess it’s not too hard to find things when you’re discussing what’s true and beautiful

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1113860371542244252005-04-18T16:16:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:56.729-05:00

Having finished rewrites of "Holy Schmidt!" for the new play festival reading, I have started to push myself to the need to work on my new plays. Three of them. "Hades & Persephone," "Solamente Una Vez," and "Spiral from Normalcy." I have found myself slowly picking away at these plays like a four year old pokes at a plate of peas. So, it's slow goings on figuring out where these plays are

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1113182645868991812005-04-10T20:05:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:56.638-05:00

Another weekend, another draft of "Holy Schmidt!" Well, at least the second act of Schmidt... I've been engrossed and buried in "Schmidt" for the past couple of weeks as I try to get the draft ready for the reading on May 2. It's been so exhausting that I've only managed to sketchily work on my other plays. Though when I do find a scene or two in another play, I feel that it's my strongest

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1111595507539280182005-03-23T11:17:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:56.499-05:00

Okay, so we've had three guests visit the program recently, all three testing our limits of our imagination in terms of how to create and view our work. One guest, Norma Bowles, was very physical and made us focus on improvisation to create a collaborative piece to present to the community. The next, John Walch, was concerned with structure and spoke to us about "Feng Shui" revision, which

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1111594454720205372005-03-23T11:11:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:56.369-05:00

I found this little ditty from a writing assignment with a guest we had, professing my goals with my plays. It's always nice to focus in again on what your intentions are. I've been telling people that I want to write plays, but why, what kind of plays? Here's the answer:"I love a dark humor of the world, where lines are crossed, and characters still have a lot of youth in them. I love

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1110142220417452732005-03-06T15:49:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:55.997-05:00

I have a major love/hate relationship with rewriting. I love getting feedback, but sometimes I get bogged down by the changes I want to make to “fix” all the problems people had with the play. The fear that I have is that I’m a bit overzealous when it comes to rewriting. I think to fix one thing, I have to change several other things, and before I know it, the entire play is switched around

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1109613870944687642005-02-28T12:55:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:55.814-05:00

It seems to me that tiny problems in a script often end up being larger problems in terms of focus. Right now, "Holy Schmidt!" is in the middle of a major rewrite. I finished revising Act 1 earlier this morning and realized just how much I've been cutting and changing and moving, but also thinking to myself that the play is stronger. Yes, I've cut out a lot of my favorite moments that I had in

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1109277088917344332005-02-24T15:23:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:55.676-05:00

So, yes, rewrites are going strong with "Holy Schmidt!" and I've been working diligently for hours on end each day on it. I've been moving scenes and slicing without abandon. I wonder what the play is at the moment. I feel like I've cut so many pages and so much substance. The driving force behind writing this play has been trying to bring in the structure of animated comedies onto the stage

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1109016291508687622005-02-21T14:50:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:55.444-05:00

Last year, one of the graduate actors told me that I was the Rewrite King because I could slash and reorganize a play without thinking twice. I could make the second act the first act and not bat an eye. Hack and slash. And now, well, I've gotten over my post-workshop depression of "Holy Schmidt!" It usually only takes me a week to get over it and I start a new draft the Monday after my

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1107983716824085962005-02-09T17:55:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:55.280-05:00

Well. I've had to adjust to this new semester, trying to figure out how to handle the schoolwork and the schedule and find time to write. With a class in Anthropology, my workload for school has increased. Reading and writing every week. Not that I'm not used to it, but I feel like it takes more time to do this schoolwork. The readings are very dense. BUT- This class is about Latinos in

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1105485511012347332005-01-11T20:02:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:55.142-05:00

One thing that I can't think about when I'm writing is the fact that this whole playwriting thing is my job. Yes, I hope to make a liviing by tap tap tapping words onto a keyboard and creating worlds out of blank pieces of paper. That's so odd and strange and I get so consumed with the writing and the perils of just trying to write, just trying to get a story right, getting characters fleshed

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1105041875044617372005-01-06T16:03:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:55.019-05:00

I’ve spent time rewriting the grandmother play, adding and focusing the work. I think it works much better now that I’ve given the brothers more of an understanding. The play is now called “De Colores,” since it’s about the colors of paint and of race. I’ve been thinking a lot about race more and more, especially being in the thick of it here with my family. Last night, we went shopping and

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1104172987805406252004-12-27T14:25:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:54.908-05:00

On Christmas Eve, I flew into the Albuquerque airport at 10pm, tired and wanting nothing more than to go to bed. But I went to my Grandma's house, as we do every Christmas Eve. Hugs and handshakes. I found my grandmother and gave her a firm, yet gentle hug. She has never seemed more fragile to me before. Tamales and beans and red chile on the stove. Biscochitos (sugar and cinnamon covered

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9574048.post-1103564458175086722004-12-20T14:32:00.000-05:002006-11-14T11:34:54.734-05:00

So, this morning, just about 20 minutes ago, I polished off the official "first" draft of "Holy Schmidt!" A whopping 110 pages and an ending that I'm not so sure about. It wasn't the ending that I thought things were building to, but it works with the flow and feeling of the play. I think it will leave the audience angry and upset, but hopefully after they think about it, they'll find it funny

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016677909612436167noreply@blogger.com0