The past few weeks have been uneventful.
My father went back in the hospital.
My nephew lost 90 percent of his skin due to a staph infection and he's only a month old.
One of my closest friends has prostate cancer and just had his prostate removed.
Nothing eventful.
But everyone's fine now. So that's why I haven't blogged.
Onwards...
Maybe it's just my air of defiance, but I keep getting rejection letters from theatres about this new play I wrote and I don't give a shit. I could honestly care less. I'm writing things I think are important and interesting and I'm going to keep writing and I've got bigger fish to fry other than the American Theatre. No hard feelings or resentment. I just don't have time to slow down. I'll be getting my work produced otherwise.
I have a new play I decided to write last week after having drinks with a good friend of mine who is an agent. I told him about this idea I had for a pilot and he said that he thought that would be a great idea for a play. So I've got this play writing challenge from Feb 15-March 15 to write a play in a month and I'm writing the play. But I also want to write the pilot, so I'm writing the pilot at the same time. I have no qualms about using the same subject matter in two separate projects simulatenously. I also think it's about being flexible.
I have a four character play I'm writing that tackles an interesting subject matter. In certain ways it feels rather traditional. Then I'm writing a pilot that expands on the idea. There are traditional things about that. It will be in the form of a one hour family drama, a soap opera. In the tradition of KNOTS LANDING, which is something I've been trying to write for a while. I love that show and I've been trying to write something in that vein for a long, long time. I think I finally found a great subject matter to base a show around.
But then I've got this modern day adaptation of MEDEA I've been trying to write for a while. It started as a class project in grad school. Then I picked it up again two years ago and tried to write something that took on pop cultural images of women. It seemed a little light. And now I'm writing something that is totally non linear and more of a meditation (or a MEDEAtation) on women's roles in family, romance and culture.
And then my friend Tony and I have been talking about writing a musical together and I have what I feel is a fantastic idea that takes place in the 1970s, which is an era that I'm obsessed about for its intersection of culture. High and low art. Dance music. Hip hop. Punk. Lots of things. I think this might be the idea that I've been tossing around about a band that is writing music for their sophomore album...but reincarnated. It follows some of the same ground. That project will be YEARS in the making, but I think I have a great idea for it.
All varied. But I just saw the surrealist women artists show at LACMA yesterday and it reminded me about something that often happens more easily in art. Artists change their style. They go back and forth. Or they leave something and go on to something else. I don't think one has to be pegged down in one certain way. It might be the reason why I'm still an unknown guy. But I also do work that motivates me and inspires me. It's the best way for me to do work.
So I'll go from this traditional-ish play to a night time soap to a dance theatre meditation to a musical. All things I love.
And right now I'm putting aside two plays I have fully written. They aren't interesting to me right now. And that's fine. Not everything has to come to fruition.
But I've got work to do, so maybe I'll blog, maybe I won't.
I've got a birthday coming up. So I'll probably blog. :)
