Granddaughters and Talent and YouTube How-to's

My older granddaughters just amaze me. They have so many creative talents. This past summer they were in my improv class and they were good. I saw some of their sketches and loved them. One wants to be a contortionist and then I saw her practicing and she's so flexible. She also wants to sing and she has a beautiful voice. The 11-year-old was writing a book and read two chapters to me. I wanted to hear the rest of the story but she hasn't written it yet. Both of them can paint. I wondered why I was so astonished and excited by what they were doing and then I realized it was because I hadn't found my talents by their ages. What an incredible thing for young people to discover something they can do well. The only talent I had which I learned at 15 was mime. Everything else I learned I could do, came after I was 30: picture book writing, play writing, novel writing, play directing, sketching, watercolor painting, acrylic painting. 
So a big cheer to the youth who find a talent: Keep it up!
And a big cheer to those adults who don't let adulthood dry them out but bloom at that time, too: Keep it up!
A big thank-you to those who post how-to's on YouTube, and those who give workshops and classes, for all the art centers and libraries that sponsor artists so I can attend for free. (My income couldn't afford all the classes that I would LOVE to take.)
All of you inspire me! 

(I better get busy and post a how-to on making the mime wall and other techniques so I can pay it forward.)

watercolor jellyfish

Watercolor Christmas cards

Madame Director

After casting a play, I start my first rehearsal with a "pep" talk. It goes something like this: "Before you auditioned, it was a democracy. Now that you're cast, it's more like a tyranny. My job as the director is to make you look great on stage. In a few weeks of rehearsals, you're going to be SICK of me and rehearsals. You won't want to do what I say. At that point, you will look at me and say, 'Yes, Madame Director' and you'll do exactly what I say anyway. Got it?" They chuckle in a frightened way and say "Got it." Then we begin the rehearsal.

There's a group of homeschooled teens that I've directed in Shakespeare plays, starting in 2012. In 2013, that first group along with some of their siblings were part of the play. In 2014, the olders helped backstage and the youngers were now moving on up into the major roles. This year, I'm directing A Midsummer Night's Dream and there are some of the youngers who are the olders, and newbies who are olders, too. I almost didn't have to go through my spiel; the oldies taught the newbies what to call me. The parents working with me call me Madame Director, too. Annnndddd, there are the little guys--young siblings of the actors--who come on as fairies towards the end of the play. They are so excited to have sparkly costumes and wings. My heart MELTED when one tiny voice called out, "Madame Director..." FYI, I'm very nice to the little guys.

Children's Theatre vs. Real Theatre

Does children's theater deserve less regard than real theater? I think I need to define and get more specific:
~When I say "deserves less regard," I mean less respect or less attention from the audience. Basically, does the audience get to ignore or, perhaps, make fun of performers if it's just a children's show? Is it alright if the audience becomes disruptive - such as yelling out to the performers, talking out loud or even whispering - if it's a children's show?
~When I say "real theater" I'm talking about going to a building that's got a stage and lights and props and costumes and there's an admissions charge.
~Now to get specific about the show:
What if the show is a group of children who are performing in the living room for their family?
What if the show is a group of children performing in a classroom?
What if the show is a group of children performing in front of their whole school and parents?
Does it matter if they're performing on the floor or on a stage? Should it matter?
What if the costumes or the set aren't fancy?
What if it's an adult troupe performing on the gym floor at a school?
What if it's an adult troupe performing on the grass at a park?
What if it's an adult troupe performing a children's show on a stage in a building that seats 500?

Here's what I think: The quality of the shows are definitely going to change but the quality of the audience behavior should not. I have seen the lack of regard by families who are attending a school production. "It's just the kids," they seem to think as they answer or play with cell phones or allow their younger children to run around. I have seen teachers stand in the back of the gym and carry on not-as-quiet-as-they-think conversations during a children's show put on by adults. For some reason, we've gotten the idea that it's okay to act differently if we're watching just a children's play than if we are dressed up and paying for a seat at the the-uh-tah. It's not okay. Audience members: act like you're dressed up; act like you paid a pretty penny to be able to watch a children's play, no matter where it's being performed or by whom.

Audiobooks on the Bucket List

I love audiobooks when I'm driving and when I'm cleaning or when my eyes are too tired to read but I'm still awake enough to listen. (I must admit, there have been times when I go to sleep while listening to an audiobook in bed; but then I also find myself asleep when the book I'm reading lands on my face. I have got to start reading books at other times during waking hours.)

I would love to learn the art of being an audiobook reader. There are some great narrators. Jim Dale comes to mind (Harry Potter; Liesl and Po). Man, can he do voices. I've enjoyed David Hyde Pierce (The Phantom Tollbooth) too. There are many others. I guess I'll put "Learn how to audiobook and record a book" on my list of things to do. Time to practice reading out loud. Do I have that kind of patience? That's the big question, for sure.

The whole reason I was spurred on to write this blog post is because an indie author, Megg Jensen, whose books I've been collecting and enjoying is having a giveaway of an audiobook....and I love audiobooks. So if you'd like to try to win her audiobook, just click here. (And may I be so greedy to ask that you not click on that link? I'd like to win. Thank you ever so much.)

My Apologies!

To All the Kids and Adults I Have Ever Directed:
I'm sorry for making you suffer through auditions and then having to get paragraphs and paragraphs of words perfectly memorized!

In February, I decided to audition for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in my own community. It was supposed to be primarily for children to perform in. There were a few openings for adults. I figured I could be a grandparent that shows up in the first scene or maybe a parent that shows up at Wonka's factory until my kid gets sucked up a pipe or blows up like a blueberry. What a surprise to be cast as Willie (the female version of Willy) Wonka! How delightful! But...that character never stops talking! There are thousands and thousands of gallons of words to memorize. I. Am. Feeling. The. Pain! My head hurts from memorizing; my throat hurts from projecting.

BUT THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

So, I am sorry for being a demanding director--and I thank you for all your hard work--but I'm afraid I'm not changing. I still must insist you memorize lines, get your blocking right, and act well your part. At least you know I've suffered as you have.

Shake It Up

Right when I catch the pattern, things change. I used to think change was no problem, but even as I type this, I can feel my pulse start to go faster. Excuse me a moment while I deep breathe...still breathing...okay, tension in my head is easing. About the C word: in the middle of Dec, my daughter and I traded roles. Not like in the movie Freaky Friday; as in, we have a Christmas play we perform every year and I've been playing the silly elf Tinsel and she's been playing Evergreen, the uptight, busy one that has lists for everything and just does everything her-elf instead of getting help. Hm. Which one sounds more like me? The only reason I've been Tinsel for so long is because that's the character who gets most of the help from the audience throughout the show. When my daughter started performing with me, she was a little young for being in charge of an audience. We switched roles this year. It was a great show, better than it has been! She was so enthusiastic and playful as Tinsel, and I had a blast as Evergreen, adding some uptight physical comedy that made the audience laugh. It brought new energy to an old show. So - Face the change! Shake it up! Try something different and the pulse be darned! 
To paraphrase John Stuart Mill: The person who never tries what he cannot do, never discovers what he can.
(Actual quote: "The pupil who is never required to do what he cannot do, never does what he can do." John Stuart Mill.)

Cool Uniqueness

Last month my 17 yo daughter auditioned and got a major role because her Irish accent was so good. Of course she does because we watch movies such as Darby O`Gill and the Little People, Waking Ned Devine, and The Magical Legend of the Leprechaun. Then we go around the house speaking in Irish accents to each other. Doesn't everyone?

Yesterday, she took some period shoes into rehearsal. The directors were impressed and wondered where/how did she come across those shoes. Well,  we have costumes at home. Doesn't everyone?

Sometimes we don't realize our individual and familial uniqueness, and we should. What's yours?

Split Focus

During the summer, I teach/direct a mime troupe of kids, ages 10-12. When the kids are creating group skits, I often have to help them so they don't have split focus. You know, where one kid is playing something up big, but so are kids 2 and 3. I'm so busy watching the two on the right, I miss what the kid on the left is doing. Split Focus. I have the kids practice downplaying some actions or even freezing so the audience will be looking at the performer whose movements are required for the story to move along.

So here I am, looking at the last date I posted and it's been six (6) months! Why? Split Focus. I get it even when I'm not on stage. I've been working hard on my writing projects and keeping my author website updated (including the blog there); then there's my business website; and life (laundry, cleaning, fixing, books to read, movies to watch, FB to post to).

And yet when I pulled it together to focus hard, I managed to get another book edited and uploaded! The Other Art: Theater Skills to Help Every Child (Home Edition) got uploaded to Smashwords two days ago and tonight I finished formatting it for Kindle and I uploaded the book to Amazon as well. Wow! I may have to focus more often.

Could Shakespeare Be More Wordy?

Well, I suppose he can't since he's no longer living.
I'm in the midst of directing his comedy Twelfth Night. 
Wait. I must start further back...
In high school, I read Much Ado About Nothing and didn't really follow. Then I SAW it performed! The physical action made it understandable and hilarious.
Back to the present...
Directing 12th Night. I cut it. A lot. I kept all the parts I thought I could make physically funny as well as verbally funny and keep the storyline intact. But I still cut a lot. I did keep one part though that I suppose I could have cut or reduce. It's that of the Priest who enters to tell the group that he just performed the marriage ceremony of Sebastian and the Countess Olivia. Does he enter and say, "I just married them a couple of hours ago"? No, he says:

Joys and Despairs of Teaching After School

I'm finishing up another eight weeks of teaching in after-school programs. Talk about a love/hate relationship.

Here are the top 3 things I hate about it:

1. The kids don't necessarily like theater. My class tends to be a curiosity or a lesser of several choices of evil classes.
2. It's the afternoon and there's been no down-time for the kids. You try going to work and being around 600 people all day, and listening to an obnoxiously loud bell every hour and even more obnoxiously loud announcements blasted through the intercom, then at the end of the day having a 5 minute snack with 50 people ready to bust out of the monotony but wait! It's not really the end of the day; it's time for more work--it might be fun work but it still saps the strength. Once you're done with that, you get to go home and do more work given to you to do specifically at home. Those poor kids-they need naps. I need a nap by that time!
3. For some kids there's not a lot of commitment to come. So it means I can never really teach anything beyond a few basics, before I'm back to simple improv games. There's so little continuity. Many of the kids finish up the class thinking that theater is nothing more than what I was able to teach them.

Here are the top 5 things I LOVE about it:

Creativity Takes Time, Energy and DEADLINES

I finally finished writing 10 short scripts for 2-3 children to perform. The ones that I like the most and I think came out funnier than the others are the ones in which I had DEADLINES. None of the deadlines were imposed by a publisher or editor (too bad, eh?), but by the calendar. For instance, I got one done right before my writer's critique group. I had to have something to take to the meeting, right? I couldn't live with the shame of showing up empty-handed. But I was busy and at the last minute (or hour or so) I

The Terrible Trivium

I think I've been trapped by the Terrible Trivium! I'm always busy but some of the really important things I want to accomplish never quite get done; and some of the really important people in my life don't get visited! If you've read The Phantom Tollbooth, you know what a demon the Terrible Trivium can be. If you haven't read the classic by Norton Juster, then let me share this part from the book so you know what I'm talking about:

A Free Edit Giveaway

Ack! So I've been extremely busy with teaching theatre, directing plays, writing scripts, memorizing scripts, and my son's wedding plans. We were supposed to be on vacation starting in a couple of days. Oh, well. I've thought about how much I need to post something. It didn't get much further than that.

Now there's an opportunity to get a free edit from a person who has been an editor at Harcourt for 10 years and is now an author and I figured I'd share it here (gives me an extra entry, plus it lets you know--good deal all around!)

Go here to enter: http://deareditor.com/2012/08/23/newsflash-a-deareditor-com-free-edit-giveaway/

Good luck!

Put on Your Seatbelt & Other Constant Reminders that Should be Constant

How often did you hear your mother say, "Put on your seatbelt" or "Wash your hands" or a thousand other little reminders to help you turn into a responsible adult? (How many times have I said those things as a mom?) My mother also said, "Lock your door," right after "Put on your seatbelt." Funny, one day I turned to do what she had asked and the door was already locked. I had done it automatically. Nowadays, I don't tell my family to put on their seatbelts because they do it automatically.

A week ago I was thinking that, as a director, maybe I concentrated on projection too much. Maybe I should ease up and concentrate more on the acting as well. No, duh, right? The acting is pretty dang important. Except

The Krispy Kreme Doughnut that Lived

We took a group of teen writers to Powell's Bookstore to attend a young writers event called Book Fan Friday. One of the parents of the teens gave us enough coupons for all of us to get a Krispy Kreme Doughnut! We headed for our treat stop right after the workshop (the workshop was lead by authors Ruth Tenzer Feldman and Michelle R. McCann). I did not know you could watch them making the doughnuts. And I did not know that it could be so intense.

To Be or Not To Be Validated

My world is tough. It's full of critics, the toughest being the one in my head. 
As a writer, I'm in a critique group. The members of the group are supposed to tell me what's wrong with my writing so I can improve the story. When I attend writer conferences, I usually pay to have someone else critique my work. I'm actually paying for someone else to criticize me!
As a performer, the angst is whether the audience is going to like my acting.
As a mime...

STOP TEXTING AT THE MOVIES!

Hel-lo. If you bring a flashlight into a dark room--no matter how small the flashlight--it is noticeable. If you start texting on your cell phone, it's like a little flashlight in a dark room; it's DISTRACTING. If you are so addicted to texting you can't put your cell phone away during a 1.5 - 2 hour movie, DO NOT come to the movie theatre. Wait until the movie comes out on DVD and watch it at home. And don't even think that you'll just leave the theatre if you have to text or take a call.

Thank you, Assistance League of Salem

Since November, we have been performing our play "Paul Bunyan" regularly in the schools, thanks to the Assistance League of Salem and their program Operation Art Adventures. They contracted with us May 2011 to do about 30 performances in the Salem area elementary schools and we'll be finishing up those performances next week on the 29th.

One AL member asked me today if I'll be going into withdrawals next week. I said that I'd be

Reading and Writing and More Reading Excitement

I got a Kindle Touch in November for my birthday...And that's my excuse for any blogging not getting done.

I love reading. Here's a sample of what I've been reading, not necessarily in this order:
*How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks - All for Free, by Jason Matthews
*How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months, by John Locke
*Smashwords Style Guide, by Mark Coker
(You can tell what that's all about, right?)

The Mist of Stuart Mountain

(a Halloween story just for the fun of it. Took me 1.5 hours to write, and it hasn't been edited; they'll be lots of mistakes but enjoy anyway).

The dog howled, not barked, howled. Then stopped. The noise was preferable to the sudden silence.

Inside the vacation cabin, Thomas held an open book on his lap. It made him look like he was reading. Sue stopped in mid-knit.

“The dog?” she finally questioned her husband.

“I better check on him,” Thomas said, closing the book and putting it on the new end table made to look rustic. “Probably got his foot stuck somewhere.”

Sue rose when her husband did. “Wait. The dog would still be howling if it was only his foot.”