Progress

So, for some wonderful reason (!), I have had the best luck I've had in a very long time. I've been working hard to take care of several things so Travis and I can get on our feet.

At the same time, Shakespeare in Paradise 2011 is on its way with a few great productions. One of these is Dis We Tings 2011... which I am in! After two festivals as a stage manager, I will be making my stage debut!

Believe it or not, I was shocked. So I have a whole heap of preparation to do for this very special opportunity. I will be missing the opportunity to work with my Julius Caesar family and I do miss them. More so, I do regret having to pass up the opportunity to work with Caesar director, Philip Burrows, a mammoth in Bahamian theatre that I would have been honored to work with.

Nevertheless, I had decided last year that I wanted to move forward and that is what I am doing. My hope is to expose myself to more areas of theatre and develop skills to eventually be a good writer and director.

Here's to that!

Creative Sterilization

So here I am, stumbling through life and trying to grab happiness wherever I can find it. I graduated from COB in May and I've been trying to find a good job since (as well as overcome a series of unfortunate events involving several monsters and scary creatures, but that's not what this is about).

As much as I attribute being busy with school to my lack of time spent on this blog and writing in general, I have done little since indeed finishing school.

I'm in a new physical environment and my computer has been in the shop for the last week. So, I've spent a lot of time thinking about and tweaking ideas, rather than writing scenes and lines.

I have a whole slew of play ideas now and a whole new problem. I keep asking myself, 'why do I want to tell this story?'. I wonder if these stories can have subtext. Maybe I'm putting the cart before the horse, but I just keep trying to create something that's interesting but still a part of me. When I write, just write without complications, the plot lines just come out naturally. I don't force them... I don't think I can. So, I wonder how much of myself do I pursue in my writing...

Monsters can sterilize the mind. I'm fighting the urge to give up. They just keep sucking the life out of me. But I'm holding onto my wand for dear life... Can't let the monsters win.

Most Massive Woman Wins!

Last night, Travis and I went to see Most Massive Woman Wins! by the Peacock Theatre Company at the Hub.

One of the main things I had to get over in order to enjoy this production for what it was, was the fact that it describes a specific experience. When you study Bahamian literature, you become inundated with the notion that we need more theatre and literature that describes the Bahamian experience. This does not always have to be the experience of the Bahamian majority; in fact, we often criticize plays for being too stereotypical and focussing on lower income, inner-city issues.

That being said, Most Massive Woman Wins! was a collection of five short plays that looked at women's issues - namely body image, relationships, and sociopathic materialism. Issues typical of North American middle class women. This left me disappointed at first, since I thought the issues would be more universal. I suppose it was the kind of subject matter that can travel, which makes it universal in its own way.

In all, it was entertaining. A lot of it was supposed to be funny, but I have a tendency not to laugh at serious issues, even when they are almost being trivialized. By far, the best piece was the second, "Happy Talkin", where Melissa is waiting for her potential beau to call, but is bombarded by telephone solicitors who want to offer her better and better service for her patronage. It escalates from information about frequently dialed numbers to the offer of making someone want to call her. Though this was funny, the implications of big brother always watching and the level of control one has over their own life were major issues being explored here, which was fantastic.

My least favorite would be the final piece, "Dr Fritz or The Forces of Life", which was about a tourist seeking medical attention in a foreign country. Though the punchline had to do with spiritual healing, I didn't find it amusing that the piece made fun of third world healthcare. (We do live in the third world ourselves, with our tourist-based economy, but I digress.) It was somewhat orientalist in nature, which I find funny for a country that would be considered a part of the margin rather than the centre.

Aside from the expected overacting, the actresses were good. From a technical standpoint, I liked that they kept it simple in terms of lights, sound, costumes and set. What I do find somewhat indictable was the fact that they had a prime space like The Hub, but didn't utilize the possibilities. The play was presented traditionally with the actresses facing the audience. Without any kind of elevation, it would have done the players well to use a thrust or theatre in the round set-up. The audience would have seen a lot more of their movements and expressions, and that round style would have been perfect for their out of the box production.

In all, it was a good night of theatre, and we can look forward to the Peacock Theatre Company's hopeful development and improvement.

Things that break the flow

It's funny how focussed and determined you have to be in order to let your mind work freely.

Right now, my last semester at COB has begun and finishing the plays I started is always on my mind. Unfortunately, finishing my senior thesis research paper is much more of a priority, and I accept that.

It's funny though, cuz I get these bursts of creativity in very strange ways. I get ideas for new plays and ideas about re-writing my older pieces. I even get ideas about development and policies for Guyana (my plan at one point in time was to move back home and enter politics - another universe altogether). I just have to keep remembering to write it all down for when the time comes.

Anyway, right now I have to focus on finishing this degree, then I can focus on finishing something else.

It won't be long now...

Coming up for Air

So, obviously a lot has happened since my last post. Life intervened the second SiP ended and I've been trying to tread water ever since. I still haven't caught up on my sleep yet, but at least I'm done with COB for the semester. So let's see now.

A Midsummer Night's Dream
I really must say that I was way more involved in Midsummer than with The Tempest last year. I definitely knew Midsummer better because we had had so many readings of it beforehand and because we were trying to adapt various aspects of the language, unlike last time. It was a very committed process that I really enjoyed.

A big difference was also the fact that I was the only Stage Manager this year, and I did miss Rachael all the more for it! Larice was a great help once she got onboard and I was very grateful to have her with me. Patti and I spent a lot of time together and fostered a very strong bond. If it weren't for her many days, I can't imagine how broken I would have been from all the stress of school and the play. Thanks to her for all she did for me.

On the subject of thanks, I am also grateful to the twenty members of the Midsummer cast that shared their lives in this complex circle of trust. I was very impressed with the work they all did; many of them exceeding expectations. I love and cherish every one of you. Thank you.

Here's a link to a song that really helped me cleanse myself after Midsummer:

Alive Again by Matt Maher

Shakespeare in Paradise
I really didn't get much chance to enjoy the festival this year like I did last year, but I still enjoyed it Very much! For starters, Travis and I saw three productions: Horn of Plenty featuring Indio, Dat Bahamian Ting, and Woman Take Two. I greatly enjoyed all of them. Horn of Plenty at the National Art Gallery was a unique experience that made me glad to see more young people interested in performance and the festival. Indio was hilarious as far as I was concerned, more so than for other people from what I understand. I think maybe because I understood a lot more of what he was talking about, even though he had a very different background from me. Dat Bahamian Ting was also really funny. I was very impressed with Dana as usual, and it was wonderful to see a Bahamian play, translated for an audience abroad. As for Woman Take Two, it was a great pleasure to see the work of legendary Bahamians. What blew me away most, however, was Skeebo's performance as Harold. It was amazing!

The Road Ahead
So, once again with the resolutions, but I really want to try to write something every day... ideally. Sleep might get in my way, but I really need to commit myself to finishing something I start. Right now, I'm trying to convert a screenplay that I wrote when I was sixteen or so, into a play. It's difficult, but the more I learn the easier it gets. Hopefully I can be done by next summer at least (January, if I want to get ambitious =P).

Beyond that, The Melancholy of Suzanna is well on her way to making it to the stage. I've become very seduced by it and I'm enjoying its development. I would love to see more plays that set political correctness on fire (=P)!

Tings Mash

I leave you with one last thing. Strange enough, I find myself with an anthem that seems to keep me driven and make me feel powerful enough to carry on. It's amazing what music can do.

No Love by Eminem ft Lil Wayne

Shakespeare in Paradise comes to an end...

So, SiP 2010 comes to an end. And all our months of hard work came to fruition. As for me, I feel an exposition of sleep come upon me-aww

To be continued...

A Midsummer Night's Dream... has begun!!

Tonight was the first evening performance for Midsummer and it was AMAZING!!!

All the hard work that has gone into this production is Finally paying off! The cast gels so well and their energy drives the entire experience. Each group - the Royals, the Lovers, the Labourers, the Supernaturals - has it's own rhythm and energy. And the four groups combine so perfectly to make A Midsummer Night's Dream happen! The audiences love every minute of it! And I am so proud to be a part of the whole thing! From the story to the rehearsals to the production - it's just been so intense and so worth it!

I am so thankful to be involved and meet these kinds of people (cast and crew) once again! I can't wait to experience more! I love you guys!

In The Thick of Things

Ok , so I said at the beginning of the year that I would treat my blog a little better... and somehow I'm doing worse. lol... That's life for ya huh.



So, Shakespeare in Paradise has begun again and I'm once again involved with the signature production - this year it's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Needless to say we're in the thick of it now and there were a few moments where I thought I just couldn't get through it. But I'm still here, still trying to make it work (make it all work together). Needless to say, the play itself is still entertaining, even having seen it played over and over in rehearsals. I think that says a lot.



So doing that has taken up most of my time, which means I've been neglecting my own work. In Christmas I was working on an Untitled play. Well... I managed to give it a title and I worked some more on it. But I segued into another play - a conversion of a screenplay I wrote in high school into a play. It was going really well, and I'm hoping to pick up both projects once the festival and possibly the college semester is done.

But in the interest of time (and at this point energy), I'll wrap this up. There's a lot more work to be done, in every way I can think of. And I hope you all enjoy the finished products when the time comes...

Here's to Being Creative! (I need to stop neglecting this Blog)

So, pathetic as it is, this is my first entry for 2010.... I need to stop neglecting this blog.

Despite having a full plate this go around, I must say the year has been pretty good.

I managed to finish the first Act of my play (the concept of which I'm still trying to keep a secret) before school started. I had gotten quite blocked just after jumping that hurdle, but surprisingly enough, ENG 400 pretty much cured that. We had two playwrights talk about their works, and that did wonders for me. Particularly when Dr B came to talk about The Children's Teeth. Something just clicked in that room, and I was able to come up with some concepts that I can play with in order to finish Act 2. In between everything, I managed to churn out a lot in short periods of time. I'm still optimistic about finishing it soon.

Travis and I got our Sigma Tau Delta pins and certificates. Though I already knew I was an official member, it's a great honor to get the pin. I like pins (maybe just a little too much). I'm looking forward to what Sigma Tau Delta accomplishes this year.

We started dramaturgy for A Midsummer Night's Dream. Haven't worked on it in about two weeks, but we'll be having a reading at COB on Tuesday, so that should give us a good idea of where to go from here.

This weekend is the Sidney Poitier Conference and Film Festival. To be honest, I had never seen a single one of his films. I've still only been able to see the one (volunteering can do that). But! I am definitely gonna get my hands on as many of them as I can. Reading the synopses really got me excited about his entire filmography. If you get a chance, you should do the same (for art's sake)!

Not to mention, My team and I are getting a lot of creative freedom to play with COB's newspaper. I didn't think I'd be so into layout and design, but it's exciting. I've always liked graphic art, but this is giving me more incentive to be creative with things like a business card or something like that.

On a similar note (being visually creative, that is), I got another tattoo (on my arm) and dyed my hair (to match apparently). Being creative with my appearance is one of my favourite things to do and I'm constantly looking for ways to do that.

So here's to being creative! Here's to keeping things alive!

In the Aftermath of Life, SiP and The Tempest

Okay so this post is several months overdue, but it's been hard getting over the end of The Tempest and the end of Shakespeare in Paradise, especially when everything else came charging forward to "greet" me.

LIFE

So I had been joking up until October that the only reason I was able to keep up with SiP was because I was coasting when it came to COB. Hadn't done much work up to that point, and much of what I was supposed to do, I managed to postpone. I even squeezed in a reporting job at Islands of The World Fashion Week in November. I really enjoyed that, despite the fact that I never imagined myself attending a fashion show. I really look forward to having that experience again. Nevertheless, the semester is over now, and I managed to come hurtling out of it without any bruises. It's kind of a blur, and there are still one or two things I need to do, before the chapter is officially closed in my head. But that was another tough semester to get through. Now that I have a job, I suppose next semeste won't b any easier. But at least things are going to come together at some point in time. I guess I'm just looking forward to that.

SHAKESPEARE IN PARADISE and THE TEMPEST

I truly met some amazing people and had a fantastic time at Shakespeare in Paradise! I got to see 3 of the other 6 shows: Caribban Voices, One White One Black, and Music of The Bahamas. The Tempest itself managed to improve at every performance, until Sunday night, when it was perfectly "tight and yare"! Everyone's appreciation for Rachael's and my work as stage managers blew me away! Every night, hearing the things that the cast had said to me, it meant more to me that any of them could have known.

For a long time after, I think I tried to distance myself from the experience for a few reasons. For one, it was incredibly easy to "forget" about the withdrawal by burying myself in school. But more importantly, seperating myself from this living breathing entity was somewhat painful. I can't say right now how much I miss seeing everyone. Every now and then, Travis opens that small wound by saying the words outloud though. At the moment, I have it simplified to one single reminder on my iPod and iTunes: the song "Save Tonight" by Eagle Eye Cherry, which played the night the cast for The Tempest went to Crazy Johnny's. The song is accompanied on my iTunes by a photo of me, Rachael and Patti from that night. It's both beautiful and sad - the reminder of something wonderful and the fact that it couldn't last forever.

SO WHAT NOW?

Well, right now, I'm working at Catch 22, a really great shoe store in the mall. I like it. And of course, it's monopolizing my time. But. Not Anymore. I'm going to finish off the play I started this Summer before the year 2010 rolls around (hopefully), and then we'll see from there. There is so much that I want to develop in myself and the challenge is to find the balance in life that will allow me to always be at full potential... I suppose that's worth a shot.

I hope I make the effort to post again soon, but if not, don't forget:

All Tongue! No Eyes! Be Silent!