Wiffee Nicole treated “me” to a resort getaway for my Birthday. So there we are in Northern Virginny. A cloudy evening downing some bubbly under the threat of rain. What decadence. I think I shall have champagne every evening from now until the end of time. Because of the overcast day, it looks not so green. But when it was sunny, it was a delight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And as further celebration of my Birthday MONTH, I took a ride out to Ladew Gardens. Ladew is an incredible garden famous for it’s topiary arrangements.

Those aren’t real dogs. They’re TOPIARY. And in front of them (unseen) is a fox. You get the picture. I love riding my bike out there. It’s about 50 miles round trip. And it’s steep at times, very good workout. I enjoyed the hell out of March. It’s wonderful having a built-in excuse for every little impulse. As March faded, I found myself face to face with something I’d been putting off, but couldn’t put off any longer, “B-SIDE MAN”. It’s a one-person play about my life. Hoooooo boy. Adventurous. Sexy. Funny. Should I go on? Why “B-Side?” Because when they used to make “records” (45’s) frequently the real gems could be found on the B-Side. Off the beaten track. Unexpected. Here’s a paragraph:

“…Girls wore skirts to their ankles, and looked like gypsies. There was also some unspoken law that said women must work on pottery. Prissy city boys posed as lumberjacks. They wore plaid shirts and rolled their own cigarettes because it was manly and independent. And everyone was in love with “honest work”. Work with your hands, work with your mind, work that was pure. Work that was original and not corporate. In that first fall, I saw guys come to breakfast without shoes, but carrying a guitar. Girls seemed to fall out of bed wearing nothing but bedsheets and army boots. And there we all were. Leaves. Color. Mountains. Nature……….SPACE.”

So that’s how it sounds. More to come…….

 

I worked long and hard to create a music video for the Welch Library. Couldn’t use the song I wanted (copyright issues out the wazoo), but I think this one presents the daily Life of library Informationists.

 

I’m working with a local film entrepreneur, Octavius Johnson, who wants to be “the black Walt Disney”. Octavius dreams big, but really—-should there be any other kinds of dreams. Little do he know that he entered the Big Dream Capital when he crossed my doorstep. He and I collaborated on a screenplay called “Latch Key Kids,” and he’s doing a web series based around the same characters. Here’s the Video from the series. That’s his son doing the singing.

When I first met Octavius I didn’t give him the time of day. But our paths crossed later on, and I was more inclined to listen. The reason I didn’t initially? As a writer, I’ve had my share of people who need an idea expressed, written, conveyed, put down, drawn out, created—-and while all that sounds fine n’ dandy, there’s never any back-up moola behind the request. Or, somebody just moves on. There’s only so much free-lance you wanna do. I’ve never done alot, but I’ve had my share of working on somebody’s project that dragged on, only to have it go bust, and leave Alonzo without a dime. I feel positive about Octavius because he’s been trying this for awhile, and I can see he’s talented and has the drive. I’m not saying any of this LIGHTLY. Sometimes, (MOST TIMES) one of those equations is missing. We’ll see how it all plays out. But why can’t Octavius be the black Walt Disney? The position’s open s’far as I can see.

So there I was the other day atop the Empire State Building, and the Demons that haunt all Playwrights came outta nowhere. I won’t list them all (it reads like the Dead Sea Scrolls). I can’t say I fought my way back to the Optimistic World. That doesn’t always happen. But sometimes, your mind breaks out the Comparision Handbook To Playwrights More Successful Than You. Never a good move. What triggers it? You saw somebody mentioned somewhere. You saw somebody get a grant somewhere. Or somebody got a production somewhere. Did I mention the list goes on…….and it’s not a pretty thing. It’s like Spaulding Gray’s monlogue about John Malkovich. Spaulding’s on a cruise. Malkovich’s on the same cruise. Spaulding riffs on Malkovich getting a message about a movie part being offered to him. Spaulding wonders how the backstory machinery that brought Malkovich to this opportunistic moment, didn’t do the same for him. It’s quite hysterical.

 

Such is the dirty darkside of Playwritting. You want your ego to be out there on somebody’s lips. You want your plays to be somewhere in transit, somewhere on some money-man’s desk, some Artistic Director’s personal gadget—-you want your ideas in their curious little-get-me-Alonzo!!—HANDS. And when you feel as if that place doesn’t exist, those people don’t exist, or that that the galaxy of opportunity is barren……..well, there you are fighting off airplanes on top of tall buildings. So no, this isn’t some grand medical catharsis, or even some overcoming struggle to regain lost identity. No, this is the insidious, creepy fantasia of you and your own damn mind. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t live in that place. But I visit enough to know all the players on a first name basis.

Saw “Gleam” at Center Stage this past Saturday and it had rewards aplenty. I used to teach Zora Neale Hurston ALOT and from the moment I opened the first book, I was just so impressed by the essence of her voice. Reading her was like discovering the life of the world. In teaching her, I quickly saw how difficult it was for students to grasp the language. But—-this is where ye olde playwriting EX-PURR-TEASE comes into play. Because I’ve frequently found that audiences use language to to tune out of a cultural experience, just as they also use it to tune in. Especially so with Drama.

You can show 1,000 people being killed or massacred onscreen, but try and have a character speak a sentence or two that you can’t “get” or understand? Lord Love a Duck—-they won’t take the journey. Especially, if they’re listening to people of color. Folks want ethnic, but goodness don’t let it be too ethnic. Anyway, now since Zora now sits among slightly more literary and dramatic royalty than she used to, audiences are more inclined to stay with her.

Finished “Smiles From God,” and now, just like pushing my tiny paper boat out into the little nearby stream—-I’m setting it free. What it about you say? I put out a synopsis in one of my first posts. And it’s still the same. Didn’t finish it in time for the Baker Awards. But maybe the Bakers aren’t for me. That’s not saying Alonzo’s not good enough. That’s just to say what I said.

 

 

 

 

I had a thoroughly enjoyable time giving my social media lecture for the Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. I tried to convey a little of what goes on with being a Communications Specialist, and also I wanted to keep things lively. My first social media talk, and it was like riding your bicycle over beautiful terrain—-but you’re just not all that familiar with your surroundings. But the group seemed to be attentive, and though they were pretty familiar with FB and Blogging, they seemed fairly curious about what platforms (I go to Hootsuite, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon) to use for finding information.

Two years ago——Who knew I’d know that?

 

 

 

 

As my time went along, I began to feel—not just comfortable with talking to them (they came from mostly the Apache tribe, I believe, and were there to learn how to become social media soldjas!)—but also more comfy with what I had to pass along. Hey, it’s a brave new world for everybody. When I first learned how to work on a computer (a MAC and still IS) I remember thinking I was almost too “mature” to learn this technicalities of computer life. HAHA! Well, here I am entering my 3rd or 4th lifetime…..

 

 

 

….and still learning. Morale of story: you’re never too old to have  transformative moments. Also, to have someone value your opinion enough to want to hear you speak, or to give you an audience—-is a joy all by itself.

Script Update: Almost finished rewrite of “Smiles From God”. (You know you LOVE that title). The synopsis is below in another post. But I’m loving the process. It raises the question: Who serves the better purpose—the person who creates the idea or the person who brings it to fruition? To me that’s the essence of the play. But of course it wouldn’t be a play without a journey.

Nicole (wiffee) told me about the Maryland History Day and next thing I know I’m a volunteer. As a great person (wiffee again) once told me, “everything in life is an opportunity”. I was closed to that when I was younger, took me awhile to get open enough to accept it.

 

Yes, Alonzo is headed out to LA this spring. Staying with my friend Charles. The festival takes place all around Hollywood Blvd, so I’d imagine it’s quite “atmospheric”. But one of the major themes is film noir, and (if I can use the patois of the medium) “that’s suits me just swell.” I don’t know where to begin talking about it.

For me, when I first saw “The Sweet Smell of Success” I knew there was a darkness that I hadn’t experienced or seen before. This was ages ago, and I thought it was a damned grown-up movie. People were tormented, raked over the coals, and then it seemed somebody sat back and laughed at ’em. “The Asphalt Jungle” was another. Marilyn Monroe wanting to take a vacation with her “Uncle Lou,” Sam Jaffe caught cause he was watching a teenage girl wiggle and Dix trying to make it back to the ranch. Any ranch. Juicy stuff. Theater-Wise, it got me thinking about CHARACTER. I saw the roller-coaster characters could take emotionally—-they weren’t just bad people—-they were deliciously bad people.

I read today (a small mini-book that I have “Cult Fiction”, and I forget the artist who said it) that artists who live at each extreme are the most fun to appreciate. If you stake out your claim as the typical next new thing, and you embrace all the traditional accoutrements of said new thing (take Lady Gaga or Russell Brand), then you are considerably less fascinating than the artist who plays in that world and also the world of mainstream society. Give me the Lady Gaga who also writes like a bad-ass conservative. Dudley Moore was funny in “Arthur” PLAYING Arthur. Nobody likes Russell Brand movies because he IS Arthur. There is a distinction, and based on how his movies tank—-one that audiences already know.

 

Since I started my blog, I’ve been feeling/playing catch-up. I directed “Zulu Fits” this past fall and it felt like my summer was snatched away (rehearsals! rehearsals!) from me. Yeah, yeah—so I’m whining. But this being a brand new year, just I’d look back at some moments. Won’t be continuous with this, just from time to time.

In one of my “I miss the summer of 2011” special scenes (now that it’s 2012) I thought how comfy/cozy several of my “Zulu Fits” actors—-Lauren Blackwell (L), Alonzo (zats me!) and Yakima Rich (R) were on this BOO-TI-FUL day. We were all loungin’ at Joe Squared on a summery, sunny day. Howard & North Ave in Baltimore City provided all the miscellaneous “atmosphere” (think very low-budget Times Square) we needed. Anyway, Lauren has since given a tremendous performance at “Maggie The Cat” in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” (Herald’s of Hope Theatre Company) and Yakima is working with Barry Feinstein’s (Theatrical Mining Company) acting workshop. It’s an understatement to say that both ladies were a delight to work with.