Being unemployed, among other things, has given me a tremendous amount of time to think and write. Well, maybe a little more thinking than writing, but I am getting there. My new play, THE UNLIKELY ASCENT OF SYBIL STEVENS, is hurtling towards completion. I’m about 1/3 through Act 2 and my goal is to have that puppy done by the end of the year. I am so stoked to finally have a new full length nearing done. This one took forever and a half to gestate. I got the first ideas for SYBIL over a year ago and its only been the past 6 months or so that I’ve actually been able to write the damn thing. It is, to date, my longest play yet. This is intimidating in a world where the most successful plays seem to be about 80 minutes with no intermission. I am hoping it can find a place in the world once finished. I have a selection of it going up next month in Packawallop’s The Lounge Series, which will be taking place on 12/12 at 7 pm. More details coming soon! I’m also working on a video-based project with my friend and crazy talented actress Susan Louise O’Connor, so stay tuned for that as well!
One thing I’ve really loved is getting to spend a lot of time with my cats. They are so excited that I am home. Here I am snuggling the hell out of my girl cat, Bean.
Okay...maybe she's not THAT excited I'm home...
In many ways, this past month has left me rattled and yet I am feeling incredibly peaceful at the moment. It’s been nice to have time just for me, to indulge my inner artist. I’m getting enough sleep. I’m taking stock of my life over the past ten years and my body of work. The other day, I unearthed my “first” play, TUMBLING AFTER. While it isn’t technically my first play (my first play was one I wrote when I was fifteen that consisted of emo adolescent yearning and plagiarized Tori Amos lyrics), it is my first full length play. I wrote the first draft in 2004. I was 23 and I had just come off of what was unquestionably the shittiest year of my life. I was depressed. I had quit acting. Mike and I were having problems. Everything felt broken and I had no idea where my life was going. TUMBLING AFTER is about a young woman named Jill who meets the love of her life in a bar and they get married within a week of knowing each other. Her husband, Brad, is unaware that Jill actually has a severe form of bipolar disorder, and things go awry with their union. It is a very earnest, honest piece of work that I am still very proud of. I don’t think thirty year old me could write this play now. Seven years have gone by, and boy, have I changed! The piece is a bit sappy at times and a bit overemotional, but I think the base is strong. I am thinking of giving it a rewrite and producing it, but just for a short run (2 or 3 performances maybe in a small, affordable space). Or a reading. We’ll see!
Thanksgiving is upon us, and I think the thing I am most grateful for at present is time. I have never had this much time off in my whole life. My mom pointed out to be that I’ve been burning the candle at both ends since I was just a kid. It’s weird to stop and really be with myself. I feel like I’m getting to spend time with someone that I haven’t seen in a long time. Funny how we lose ourselves in the shuffle.
