So there I was going to the Indie Lit Festival up in Frostburg. It was such a gorgeous day driving up, up, and more UP into the mountains of Western Maryland. I’ve done big-time bike riding around this area.

It looked like this all the way up from Baltimore. Gorgeous. Scenic as all get out. I was captivated by scenery and thoughts. The scenery part’s obvious, the thoughts pertained to what I would speak about at the Festival. I was part of the “Writing Character” panel, I was there to “represent” the Drama/Theatre perspective. I did what I could. Added things from the Playwriting paradigm, so to speak. As I’ve mentioned many times before, there’s a difference when you take things from the page to the stage. Characters in Literature can be portrayed with many paragraphs of idiosyncratic adornments. Theatre requires you to show it and move along. I’m not claiming any superiority, there is none to claim. It’s just a facet to be aware of. You already know the difference, what more can I add. My panel consisted of —–

(left to right) Alonzo, Jen Grow, Mark Brazaitis and Patricia Henley was the moderator. Since we were situated, as many panels were, at an Indie Lit “Outpost,” (we were in a room at Frostburg City Hall), our environment was a bit “Civic”. Maybe we could call it, “Shabby Civic.” Nonetheless, the conversation had much to recommend, and the questions were challenging.

I ended up buying several of their books, “Incurables,” by Mark and Jen’s “My Life as a Mermaid”. Actually, Jen introduced me to Kathy Flann — sitting right in our audience — and I bought her book and I’m almost finished. “Get A Grip.” She writes stories set in Baltimore, and to me they have a certain Lorrie Moore feel to the characters and situations.

I loved being on the panel, and it was all because of my Frostburg Pal Gerry LaFemina. Gerry and I go back a few years. My One-Act Play “Monifa’s Kiss” had a staged reading there back in 2010.