Devon Ellington's Blog, page 57
August 16, 2023
Let’s Help a Cat
image courtesy of Claudia via pixabay.comWednesday, August 16, 2023
New Moon
Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Venus, Chiron Retrograde
Rainy and humid
On today’s Process Muse, we talk about zero drafts or first drafts. You can read the post here.
My friend Chris is fundraising for her cat’s upcoming surgery. She is an artist and works in production, which means her income took a hit from the ongoing strike. Chris has adopted several cats that are old and were unwanted, and are amazing and funny and wonderful personalities. Griddle is Top Cat in the house, and everyone needs her. Chris also is the first one to help anyone else in need. So it would be great if we could help her. Every little bit adds up. The donation link is here.
The image in this post is not Griddle, but looks a lot like her (and like my own Tessa).
We have two serial episodes today.
One is from Angel Hunt:
Episode 59: Follow the Logic
Lianna’s time in The Library is running out and she must rely on instinct and memory.
The other is from Deadly Dramatics:
Episode 9: Nina Deals With Dynamics
Everyone wants Roger’s client list.
Yesterday’s post was rather long, so I put off mentioning a few things which are important.
One is the horrific wildfires on Maui. The devastation is heartbreaking. What’s enraging is tourists still flocking to the rest of those islands, acting like nothing is wrong. And the developers circling like vultures, hoping to create yet more “luxury” and “exclusive” enclaves out of the destruction.
Too many people suck.
I was pleased/relieved to see that the Narcissistic Sociopath was indicted on 10 counts in Georgia. With all these indictments, put him in jail and stop letting him run for president and hold hate rallies. For fuck’s sake. And when his supporters scream about how violent they’re going to get? Treat them the way you would any terrorist threat. I’m so tired of everyone pandering to the lowest common denominators of humanity, who think they are superior.
On to yesterday.
I drafted two episodes of Legerdemain, trying to get back into that story’s rhythm.
I finished this round of revisions of FALL FOREVER – still not completely happy with the memorial scene, but it’s better. I got it out the door to the place that insisted on having it yesterday. I have another interested party who will get it today, and then a third party who will get it in either October or November. A submission call caught my eye, I checked my stage play spreadsheet (aren’t you proud of me for having a spreadsheet for them), found two plays that fit, modified a couple of details to fit their guidelines, and got those out the door.
I wrote just over 4 pages of FROZEN AT THE PALACE THEATRE. Enough to get by on Thursday. I have to make a decision about the character who just entered before I can go any further, but I was too tired to do so by mid-afternoon.
I did the rounds to promote Legerdemain. I answered some emails. I worked on the flyer for the reading.
I drafted a quick flash fiction piece. It’s only 221 words, and can be up to 250, so I have some room in revisions. I will work on it today and hopefully get it out the door. The issue’s theme was specific, and I read over the source material, and was inspired by a particular phrase, so that’s what I built the story around.
I rehearsed the poem.
I went over the information for Thursday’s Nightwood Creatryx session.
Double yoga session last night: the regular yoga class and then a new moon class. Both were great.
Picked up takeout on the way home.
Tried to read and concentrate after dinner, but was too tired.
Got a disturbing email from the gas company wanting me to take a customer service survey for the interaction on August 11 – only there was no such interaction, which means they’ve been giving information about my account out to someone who is unauthorized. So, they are getting a letter today, cc’d to the Public Utilities Commission, demanding answers. I want EVERYTHING in WRITING.
The updated COVID booster will not be ready until September 15 now, which really fucks up my schedule, since I need to block off a week (or at least 5 days) after I get it. Well, deal with that in September; nothing I can do about it right now. I’d hoped we both would get our boosters the first week of September.
According to the weather report, we were under flood watch this morning, so I scuttled the plan to go to the laundromat. Of course, it hadn’t yet started raining by the time I got up, so I could have gotten it done. Well, push it to Friday, because there’s way too much going on tomorrow.
On today’s agenda: Draft another episode of Legerdemain, do some paperwork for the residency, get out another residency application, submit FALL FOREVER to the other producer, revise the flash fiction and get it out the door, work on the flyer for the reading, rehearse the poem, do the promotions for the serials, finish a bunch of thank you notes, get the letter out to the gas company, drive down to Lenox, and perform with my fellow poets. Then, come home and crash!
I wanted to get some other writing done in there, but I have a feeling it won’t happen. Tomorrow is a very fractured day, broken up by Zoom calls, so I don’t expect it to be particularly productive. Which means I have to dig down today and Friday and get a lot done.
Have a good one!
August 15, 2023
Tues. Aug. 15, 2023: A Creative Weekend and a Creative Start to the Week
image courtesy of Antonio López via pixabay.comTuesday, August 15, 2023
Dark Moon
Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Venus, Chiron Retrograde
Rainy, warm, humid
Another long catch-up post! Imagine that.
Today’s serial episode is from Legerdemain:
Episode 111: Jed Smythe’s Fate
Dorran and Dr. Josiah Hickey save Jed Smythe’s life, but what’s left of the man and his memories?
Friday morning, I struggled to get my act together. My brain wanted rest. I answered a couple of important emails. I booked my yoga sessions through the end of August. I booked a ticket to the one-man show where I met the actor and his husband in Great Barrington last weekend, and promised to try and make it. I will drop them a note c/o the theatre to let them know I have a ticket. It’s in October, but I figured I should book now, because it’s a tiny theatre.
I love that I get to attend so many good, professional shows here.
I was still in my pajamas, working on the computer by 9 AM, which never happens. I always change into “writing clothes” early.
But I got my act together, put clothes on, and got out the door a little after 10. I picked up some books at the library. I picked up my mom’s prescription. I picked up some groceries.
Came home and was too tired to go to the Clark. Unpacked the books and groceries, and took up residence on the couch.
An email came in from the archivist in Rye, with some suggestions; he’s been trying to find out what happened to the pieces in the Playland Boardwalk Museum, too. But he had a search link for old newspapers (that don’t charge, the way that big newspaper archive does).
I started running my ladies through there. I found a bunch of material on Dorothy Dwin; sketches she sold to the Albany Times Union and the Syracuse Journal in 1936. And a short article in 1935 in NY BILLBOARD that she sketched for 6 years at Playland, and then moved to LA. She taught art at RH Macy & Company at 55 stores around the country, and sketched at Paramount for 2 years, and Skouras Brothers for a year. She was at the World’s Fair in 1934, and then worked at College Inn Hotel Sherman in Chicago. She had a serious accident in March of 1934, but survived. She studied at Cooper Union, which fits in with the other information I have for her. According to an article in the MOUNT VERNON ARGUS in 1937, she was a sketch artist a
“The Sidewalks of New York” gala at the Pelham Country Club.
So that gives me more leads on Dorothy D.
Nothing definitive on Grace; plenty on Iris, but again, nothing definitive.
Information on Anita Minter, though; I found out why her name was familiar. She came up in research I did up here on a different project, because she went to Parsons with a woman from Saratoga and a woman from Montpelier who were part of research on someone else, and her name came up. It seems she is from Georgia. Again, more leads.
I have to contact the Hamptons Historical Society about the Darling family papers, to see if it’s the same Darling. Frank was also involved with Coney Island, the British Empire Exhibit at Wembley Stadium, and the Modern Art Expo in Paris. I’m hoping that if I can trace him through some of that, there will be some information on Grace.
I found a ship record of Grace coming back from England that makes sense with the Wembley dates.
More leads, but little conclusive proof.
So much for resting on Friday.
Cooked a nice dinner, had a glass of wine on the porch, read a little at night. I wondered why I am taking so long with the book I’m reading, and then realized it’s not holding my interest.
Found out there’s an antiquarian book fair in Bennington on Sunday, so that went on my list.
Up early on Saturday, feeling tired and disoriented.
Did some work on FALL FOREVER revisions. Considered making some more cuts to one scene; the logic isn’t working for me, aligned with something later. Then I need to rewrite the memorial scene, do a few proofreading/formatting/rhythm passes, and it has to go out the door tomorrow.
We were out the door by 9:30 and down to Lenox and Lee to do some shopping. Stayed within the budget I set, but wish I had spent less. Still, one of the stores I only visit once a year and stock up, so we did well.
Home, lunch, tired. Decided to skip the Clark, especially as some weather was coming through.
Finished reading a book I didn’t like, pace-wise, until the Epilogue.
Revised, edited, polished, uploaded, and scheduled the next four episodes of ANGEL HUNT. We’re entering the arc with the teenaged boys calling up a demon from an inept, egotistical wanna-be magician’s spellbook.
Worked on a long-term timeline for Nina Bell. I don’t know if I’ll get to write books that include all these important growths and changes in her life, but knowing where I want her to end up (even if that book doesn’t get written) helps plot these earlier books. I’d done a lot of percolating driving to and from New York last week on this.
Worked on the poem.
Worked on FALL FOREVER. Figured out the key to the memorial scene.
Cooked dinner, finished my wine on the porch, read a little.
It wasn’t that hot, but it was muggy, so I didn’t have a good sleep night. I woke up a lot, and was fretting. Worry about the housing situation is part of it. Knowing I need to actively seek out more quick turnaround, paying work is another. I’ve had very little script analysis work during the strike (which makes sense, although there are some categories of reading allowed by WGA). However, what’s being offered is 1/3 of the usual rate. Um, no.
Sunday morning, I finally got the poem finished. I said what I wanted to say; now I have to polish it. I have to time it, make necessary cuts if it runs long, rehearse, add breath marks, etc. But it’s done, and I’m happy with the overall shape of it. It can always be better, and that’s the next step. Still working on a good title for it.
Up on Sunday, had trouble getting going. Got my act together to head out to the door to Bennington for the Vermont Antiquarian Bookfair. Murder Maps had a fit that I ignored it until the last few miles. The fair was lovely. 15 vendors, well set up, I got there before it got too crowded. I bought a trio of tiny, leatherbound Shakespeare volumes from 1902 and a lovely edition of THE AUTOCRAT AT THE BREAKFAST TABLE (Oliver Wendall Holmes) from a guy who knows Bear & Bee, and wants to come to our reading in September! I made a note on his card so I’ll add him to my mailing list.
And all were well within my budget.
I bought another book, a biography of Cockrell, who hung out with people like Ruskin, William Morris, George Bernard Shaw, etc. I’ve been looking for that one for a good bit, and it was nice to find a copy within my budget.
There was plenty NOT in my budget, such as the glorious leatherbound volumes from a bookseller in Montreal. If I owned my own space with the correct cabinets for rare books, and had the available cash, there were several books I would have bought.
Everyone was very nice, I collected a lot of business cards, and got some ideas for stories, too, some of which are relevant to the Nina Bell stories.
I was surprised to see how many of the books on display were the same editions as books I own.
I was disappointed not to find biographies and published diaries of women writers, artists, and the like. There were some old cookbooks, but I either had similar editions, or they were ones I didn’t want/need for various reasons.
Still, it was a lot of fun, and I’m glad I went.
Bennington had a parade, so I had to take a detour to get home. But the signs were clear and well-placed, and I didn’t get lost once.
Stopped at Wild Oats on the way home and picked up a few things. After a quick lunch, I had to run out and buy a new teakettle (don’t ask), and more ink for the printer.
I made it home before the rain started. I read in the afternoon, Carol Goodman’s THE SEDUCTION OF WATER, which is very good. Shoutout to Greg Herren for recommending it.
Worked on the poem a little more. Cuts, choosing more precise words, the like. Playing with titles.
Reworked the scene in FALL FOREVER that bothered me. I gave the character a different choice in the scene, cut about a half a page, and now it makes more sense with the scene that comes in the second act. Leaving it the way it was would have opened a subplot with which I didn’t want to deal in this play.
Noodled, in my brain, the opening of FROZEN AT THE PALACE THEATRE. I won’t know until today if I’m reading this week or next week, but I want to be ready.
Too tired to cook Sunday night, so I heated up some leftovers. Went to bed ridiculously early.
Up late on Monday, much to Tessa’s disgust.
Thought good thoughts for my friend’s cat, whose test results were due on Monday.
I did a pretty substantial revision of the poem, and then timed a reading. I was a little over, and I felt like I was rushing, so I knew I had to make some more adjustments. Because I hoped I’d come in under so I could slow down on a few beats. I stumbled in the reading a few times, and there are a few places I can tighten the reading, so I decided to keep playing with it. I did another rewrite, with cuts, and tightening. I printed it out, re-read it with the stopwatch, and sheared off 18 seconds, putting me at 2:53 (the limit is 3:00). So I can slow down at certain points, and I should hit it properly.
I knew I’d keep rehearsing, yesterday, today, tomorrow before the performance. So I get it right without garbling anything or going so fast no one can understand, and yet stay within my time and am respectful to my fellow poets.
There are definitely a few beats where I want to slow down and lean into them for emphasis.
Poet David M. Perkins gave me some excellent advice about voice recording the rehearsals, and that’s helping me with rhythm and flow, too.
Responded to the changes I got on the flyer/program for the reading. Most of it is no problem, but I had font questions. Once there are some answers, I can get back to work on that.
Did a library run, swung by the liquor store. Home. Order some books by a poet named Wislawa Szymborska, recommended to me by David Perkins.
A sketchy “production company” sent me an email wanting me to write scripts for them at $10/hour. That would be no. Delving further into the badly written, often mis-spelled communication and then doing further research, it’s a self-published author who wants to hire someone to adapt the novels for screen. For material that, shall we say, is far to the right of my values. Not interested.
The Brooklyn Rail talk on Edvard Munch was fascinating. Jay A. Clarke, one of the curators (who is now at the Art Institute of Chicago) was part of the panel, along with artist and Jungian Sarah Jackson (who is local) and some others. The Brooklyn Rail has been around for 22 years. How is it that I just found out about it? How did I not know about it when I lived in NYC? Anyway, the program was excellent, and it gave me some ideas to take back with me next time I visit the exhibit.
It definitely took more than an hour, though.
By the time I got off that Zoom meeting, The Forager’s Daughter Tarot had been delivered. It is magnificent, and the book is extraordinary. I look forward to working with it.
In other words, I came up short on my To-Do list.
Then, of course, a bunch of international calls for submission hit my desk, fascinating ones, some for very short pieces (which often take longer than long pieces), so I may have to miss some windows this time around, but keep them on my radar.
I also have to get back on the promotion train for the serials. That requires about 2 hours every day.
Got the group breakdown from the Nightwood Creatryx unit. And yes, of course, I’m up to share work this Thursday. Which means today I have to draft something, so I can hone it tomorrow and early Thursday morning.
Fortunately, today, I don’t have to go anywhere until I leave for yoga.
I made a variation on gumbo for dinner, which was okay, but I should have stuck with a more traditional version.
Read a little, a fantasy novel that came highly recommended, but I didn’t enjoy it. The premise was interesting, but the religious undertones and intentional cruelty turned me off it. Put it aside and started one I’d ordered from the library because I’d read the first chapter in the back of another book and was intrigued. I have to get back into that world a bit.
Slept reasonably well, at least until about 3:30, after a weird set of dreams. Then, I thought out most of a flash fiction piece (It can only be 250 words), and the characters for FROZEN AT THE PALACE THEATRE finally started to talk to me. I’ll be (somewhat) ready on Thursday.
First priority today is Legerdemain, and then I have to finish the revisions on FALL FOREVER, so it can head out the door tomorrow. Checked one of the two places, and it has to be out TODAY, so that really makes it a priority.
After those two are done, I will work on the poem some more, and then get to the rest of what is turning out to be a long list.
One thing at a time. I will focus on the creative piece, and not worry about the overall list.
Have a good one, and we’ll catch up tomorrow.
August 14, 2023
Mon. Aug. 14, 2023: Intent for the Week — Stack Up Those Pages
image courtesy of Jerzy Górecki via pixabay.comThis week, I start pulling back from the travel, the socializing, etc. Part of it is in preparation for next week’s Mercury Retrograde (starting Aug. 23), and wanting to get a lot done prior to that, because of the complications associated with that retrograde.
Part of it is because I’ve been pushing hard on the extrovert front, and I need introversion and contemplation time.
This week, I will still be somewhat out and about: 3 yoga sessions, the online meditation group, the online Nightwood session, a Munch lecture later this afternoon. I will be out at the Clark, probably on Friday. I am reading my poem on book banning/gun violence at the Mount on Wednesday.
Also on the list: getting FALL FOREVER out the door, to two of the three places interested in it, and starting to write FROZEN AT THE PALACE THEATRE. The latter needs a new title, but for now, I’ll keep it.
Also, I need to get ahead on a few Process Muse posts, draft some Legerdemain episodes, polish/upload/schedule Angel Hunt episodes, and work on the flyer and program for September’s reading. Along with promoting all the serials, and getting out some pitches for freelance work before Mercury goes retrograde next week.
Busy week, and nothing will happen if I don’t sit down and do the work.
What’s your intent for the week?
August 11, 2023
Fri. Aug. 11, 2023: Sorting Out My Brain
image courtesy of Elisa via pixabay.comFriday, August 11, 2023
Waning Moon
Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Venus, Chiron Retrograde
Cloudy, humid, hazy
Time to catch up on adventures.
First, though, today’s serial episode is from ANGEL HUNT:
Episode 58: Library Intruder
A stranger breaches The Library’s safeguards to warn Lianna off.
And tomorrow’s serial episode is from DEADLY DRAMATICS:
Episode 8: New Demands on Nina
The company wants Nina’s time and energy beyond the office.
Now, we’re going to roll back all the way to Tuesday!
I was worried about incoming storms, so I left at 11, when we were teased with sun. I dropped off the book at the library, and mailed the bills, then headed to Williamstown and the Taconic Parkway. I trusted Murder Maps to get me on the Parkway, and hoped I could figure it out from there.
Murder Maps got me onto the parkway, and it was a pretty ride down. Not too much traffic, at least not until around Poughkeepsie. Once we hit Westchester County, it was the Taconic Parkway I remembered, full of absolutely terrible drivers. When I lived down that way, I avoided the Taconic whenever possible because of the horrific accidents.
Murder Maps piped up again, guiding me from the Taconic a short stretch down the Saw Mill, and then to the hotel.
Which is about 20 feet off the Interstate, and looked like it rented by the hour. And, honey, for what I’d paid IN ADVANCE for that room, it shouldn’t. If the room didn’t rent by the hour, the woman checking in ahead of me definitely did.
Which, hey, we all gotta make a living, but it was definitely NOT going to be the relaxing afternoon and evening in a hotel room that I envisioned.
I got a room on the 2nd floor, because no way in hell was I going to be on the ground floor there.
The room was tiny and dark and a weird shape, almost like a pizza slice but it was clean (no carpeting, first hotel I’ve ever been in without carpeting), had a big TV, and a microwave and a fridge. I couldn’t work at the desk in the room, because there were no outlets and no lights near the desk. Plus, when I sat in the chair, it was so low that the desk was up by my chin. I had to work sitting on the bed. The wi-fi pretty much sucked, too, and kept cutting out. The bathroom was tiny and an odd shape. The shower was an afterthought. There was no shelf in the shower to put the soap or the shampoo or anything else. It had to go on the floor outside the shower curtain. I was worried a black patch on the shower floor was mold, but it was just tile discoloration. The hair dryer did not work. Exposed sprinkler pipes ran across one wall of the bedroom. The air conditioner had to stay on all the time, because otherwise the room was stifling, and, due to a lack of screens, I couldn’t open the window. The air conditioner was positioned to blow over the bed, so I burrowed into the single coverlet all night, and hoped I wouldn’t get Legionnaire’s disease.
In other words, I was glad I’d packed as though I was going to be out in the wilderness for a month.
I didn’t feel comfortable leaving anything in the car OR leaving anything in my room if I went out. So I used Door Dash and ordered in Chinese, which was pretty good.
I did some reading, and I started drafting a new radio play for the Australian radio producer.
I tried watching TV (we don’t have cable at the house). It’s 3 minutes or news/program and 6 minutes of asinine commercials, either ads for drugs or ads by competing internet services. Hey, at least down there they HAVE competing services, unlike up here, where we only have a single option.
In other words, I’m not missing anything by skipping overinflated cable tv prices.
The only scripted shows on were Dick Wolf’s FBI trilogy. They fit the Wolf formula, and seem to have a larger cast of characters than usual, but, in all of the cases, the third act of the scripts were rushed (to fit commercials, no doubt), but then there were character buttons in the resolution that went on a few beats too long for the balance of the overall piece and came across as sloppy, rather than organic. I’ve worked on Wolf shows, and they run like well-oiled machines. I suspect these were draft scripts used because of the writers’ strike.
The reality show ads were all gross. And it was good to see ads saying that the pandemic might be over, but COVID is not, and urging boosters in the fall.
Had trouble getting to sleep, between the air conditioning and stuff in the room – TV, microwave, fridge. Finally went to sleep around midnight. Woke up at 4, then drifted into a doze until the alarm went off at 6.
This room should cost about a third of what they’re charging.
None of this is the staff’s fault. The staff is perfectly lovely.
Up, showered, went down to breakfast. Grabbed coffee, a bagel, and a bowl of cereal, and took it back to eat in the room. Packed the car, checked out, and headed to the Archives, which wasn’t far, but the construction and traffic made it seem far. Plus, Murder Maps kept scolding me because I didn’t drive through barriers set up for construction.
The archives are lovely, as are the librarians who helped me. They’d pulled a wealth of material. I got myself set up with the computer, digital camera, note pad, pencils, and the information I had.
I gave them the proven additional information I had on Dorothy Dwin, and they copied it, so they have it for their files.
I spread out my files, had their material spread out, too, had my notepad and pencils, and the computer set up so I could cross-check information, either from digitized files in the Archive, or from other sources.
I hit pay dirt early on, with an article naming four women who were artists at the beginning of the whole Playland thing. There are five women in my photos. I’m wondering if Dorothy Dwin did some extra work for them, or if the fifth woman is someone who came on staff later, and not Dorothy Dwin at all.
The payroll books had nothing, including the name of the lead designer/artist/assistant to Frank W. Darling, Grace Hutchins. There is a Grace Hutchins around this time who wrote a book on LABOR AND SILK, and was very involved in workers’ rights at that time, but I don’t think they are the same person. I have a lead on one of the other painters, who specialized in botanicals (there are lots of vines, leaves, and other botanical work in the original painting at the park). A woman by the same name was also a photographer and did an amazing project up in Alaska in the late 1940’s, but again, I haven’t yet proven they are the same person.
I need to find Frank Darling’s papers (the archives do not have them, but I found a lead on them), see when/if Grace is mentioned, and go on from there.
NONE of the women are in the payroll books (although women who were stenographers and bookkeepers and “temporary labor” were). I hoped maybe some of the “temporary labor” would match, but they don’t. That doesn’t mean some of them weren’t painters, too. It was a big park, after all, with lots of detail work. I jotted their names down, too, just in case.
I went through a lot of admin files and vendor contracts and the like, hoping maybe there was a contract with the painters, but no such luck.
During the WPA years, I believe that some of the women were paid through the WPA project, but I can’t find how they were paid early in Playland’s history. But I will send the names to the Rye Historical Society and see what the archivist there can tell me. I’ll check their digital archives first.
And I’ll go back to the various census materials, and see what I can discover.
For lunch, I drove a few miles to Ardsley, a town I haven’t been to in longer than I like to admit. My high school used to play Ardsley in football.
I had lunch in the Saw Mill Tavern, first time I’ve eaten inside since before the pandemic. Since I was the only person in the place except for the server, I wasn’t too worried. I ordered a tuna melt, something I don’t make at home because the broiler is sketchy here, and asked for a local beer – getting something from a Brooklyn brewery! That made me realize how spoiled we are up here with all our microbreweries. If I asked for “local” up here, I’d have five or six choices brewed within a ten-mile radius.
The tuna melt was very simplistic. Cold tuna salad on a toasted English muffin with a slice of Kraft cheddar on it. Not kissed by the broiler. But it was good, and so were the fries, and so was the beer. They had tiramisu on the menu, so I ordered that with coffee. I expected a small slice, but the piece they gave me was HUGE. And very good. But I definitely overate and waddled out of there.
Back to the archives (after putting gas in the car; gas is fourteen cents a gallon more expensive down there). I spent the afternoon in the files. I found a sketch of Playland for a county-wide employee outing that I’m pretty sure was done by one of the ladies. I photographed it, and will blow it up to search for any initials hidden in the intricate work. I got the name of the man who handled Playland’s publicity in the early days, and will do some research on him, and see if I can find anything about my painters that way.
Read through meeting minutes, seeing how Darling got permissions for this, that, and the other. Tried not to get distracted by the overall county parkway design. The Taconic was always intended to be beautiful, but I didn’t realize there was an overall design amongst the different engineers, coordinated by the County’s Chief Engineer on anything called a “parkway” and how they were meant to work together (rather than just roads that would connect every now and again). It’s fascinating, but not relevant to this project, other than adding overall color, and could well be its own project.
There was another woman researching in the archives about Croton Heights, which was a planned community in the mid to late 1920’s headed by publisher Halsey William Wilson (who created THE READERS GUIDE TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE). The small houses themselves were mostly purchased by women, many of whom were writers, editors, architects, librarians, and schoolteachers, and nicknamed “No Man’s Land” because it was almost all women. There’s an article about it here, and another one here. We all agreed it sounded like utopia.
There’s a potential story in there, too, a project for another time. The woman was a research assistant for someone who is writing a book about it. I believe it’s nonfiction, so I wouldn’t be stepping on any toes by writing fiction about it!
I didn’t find everything for which I hoped, but I found enough to keep going, and send me on other routes, and to other historical societies/archives. I will also actively seek out material on Frank W. Darling, hoping to find more information on Grace, and trace the painters from there.
My brain was spinning by the time I left, and I headed up to my friend’s place in Beacon. It was a pretty drive up the Hudson River, and one I hadn’t taken before. Down in NYC, we made so many jokes about how dirty the Hudson River is, one forgets how astonishing and majestic it is further up the county.
Murder Maps was bound and determined to kill me up around Bear Mountain, but I figured it out, and got back on track, making it to my friend’s place just before 5. Murder Maps swore it was only a 39-minute drive (I left the Archives when they closed at 3:30). I knew it would be more than that, even without avoiding attempted murder off Bear Mountain.
But I was tired and my brain was overheated. My friend left a key for me in a specific item because she was taking one of her cats to the vet and wouldn’t be there when I arrived. I had a different idea of what that item would look like, so, of course, I wandered around the yard, looking for it.
Finally, one of the neighborhood cats (who is sort of hers, but is insistent on remaining outdoors and visiting multiple houses for multiple meals), stalked out of the echinacea, gave me a look that clearly said, “you’re an idiot” and marched up to the porch to sit by the key’s hiding place.
I found the key, thanked him, he sneezed in disgust, and went back into the foliage.
I unloaded into the kitchen, and got reacquainted with the cats. A couple of them remembered me; a couple sort of did, but were still shy. One of them was downright terrified and levitated away.
I poured myself some herbal tea and settled into a chair to read and wait for my friend, and let the cats get used to me. Because I ignored them, they got curious.
My friend arrived only about twenty minutes after I got there, and the cat with her definitely remembered me, and got all the others sorted out.
We had a good catch up, and then I took her out to dinner at a local diner. I thought I was ordering a simple salad; it could have easily fed a family of four. But it was delicious.
Came home and yapped some more. I will put together some resources that I think would be helpful over the weekend for her. She works in television, so the strike’s hit her hard.
She’s taken on chickens now, and another friend of ours was up recently helping get the coop set up, and building what will be the main coop. I’m someone who prefers chicken in a pot rather than running around (too much? Sorry), but I admire her ambition. The chickens are very pretty, and some of them will lay eggs with colored shells. I hope the protections she’s put in place against hawks and foxes and raccoons and bears hold.
It’s a lot of work. Definitely more than I could take on at this point.
There were fireflies! I forgot how much I missed fireflies until I saw them.
Someone from FB tagged me to research and send information to a third party I’ve never met on something THEY COULD HAVE JUST GOOGLED and it annoys me. Do your own fucking work, and THEN ask questions. Don’t do this helpless shit without even trying, unless you’re paying me for the time.
One of the shy cats, a calico, came to make friends, get petted, and be cute. The tortie then wanted to make friends, too, but the calico batted her away. It was funny.
We chatted some more, but knew we had an early morning and then went to sleep. It was lovely to be in the guest room with the windows open and the mountain breeze coming in.
I fell asleep fast, and woke up around 2:30, when one of the cats said, “I am brave in the middle of the night and I want petting now.” So I petted him, and then one of the other cats said, “Well, if you’re petting, it’s MY turn” and it was. And then she pointed out there was a deficiency in cuisine she was sure I could do something about. I told her I couldn’t feed any of them, because she was headed back to the vet the next morning, so we’d taken up all the food before bedtime.
She then climbed on the shelf where I kept my phone, turned it on, and started pawing at it. “Honey, Door Dash is not gonna save you,” I said.
She huffed and stalked out of the room.
The young cat climbed to the top of a bookcase and planned a flying squirrel move (onto an inflatable mattress). I warned him it would not end well for any of us, and the other cat marched back into the room to chase him out.
I sort of dozed off again until the alarm went off at 5, but I had various curious visitors parading through.
Made sure everything was together and packed, and at 7, rode shotgun with my friend when she drove the cat down to New Jersey (NEW JERSEY!) for a vet drop off. I decided not to stress about time and traffic, and trust it would all work out, and it did,
We dropped off the cat (who was seriously grumpy by then), turned around and came back, picked up breakfast on the way, and ate out in the yard, which was lovely. I hope she can come up and see the Munch exhibit; I think she’d love it.
Played with the young cat who’d been so nervous around me. If I was there another day or so, he’d get used to me.
Was packed and on the road by 9:30, the time I’d planned. Murder Maps tried to send me off in a weird direction, but I’d memorized how to get to the Taconic when we’d headed in the other direction to Jersey earlier that morning, so I let Murder Maps have a nervous breakdown and got on the Taconic my way. I figured Murder Maps would be in a huff and not help me get off the Taconic and back to Williamstown, but it got over itself, and we were fine.
The drive up was pretty, in spite of a storm threat. I made it home just as it started to rain.
Unloaded the car, and got the laptop set up again first thing, in case Spectrum decided to be difficult, but it was all good.
Charlotte had waited in the window since the previous day. Tessa came marching up to tell me all the things that Hadn’t Been Done Correctly while I was gone, and Willa danced around to say hello.
Managed a piece of cake and a cup of tea before the first Nightwood Session via Zoom.
It’s going to be an amazing nine weeks. There are 15 of us, and we will be split into two groups, so that we can work more intensely. Everyone’s projects sound wonderful. I’m the one still waffling between projects, and I need to get my act together this weekend and figure out what to do.
I’m waffling between FROZEN AT THE PALACE THEATRE and a stage version of THE SUNDAY NICKEL (which I’m pretty sure should be a screenplay, not a stage play) and a draft of the short play inspired by Munch’s THREE WOMEN ON A BRIDGE. Or should I try a short play about my painters, using the photograph for inspiration, even if the reality of these women is different?
Part of it is I’m waffling between what I feel I SHOULD do within the timeframe/context of the Nightwood Creatryx unit, and following my gut. I must always follow my gut, but my gut isn’t sure, either.
I might write a few pages into each project, and see where it takes me. Whichever pulls strongest is the one I will bring in next week.
I collapsed onto the sofa after and took a nap, then heated up some dinner and went back to bed, where I slept like a log until the cats rousted me out of bed a little after 5 this morning. I am still a bit disoriented from it all, and my brain is fuzzy.
But my priority this weekend is the poem on book banning/gun violence that will be read on Wednesday, and then finishing this revision of FALL FOREVER, letting it sit a few days, and getting it out the door by mid-week next week. And, I need to rest. I don’t want to fall back into my usual pattern of doing lots of different, interesting things, and then getting sick.
Later this weekend and/or on Monday, I have some more work to do on the flyer and program for September’s reading,
Today, I need to sort out my brain, run some errands, write some thank you notes, and spend some time at the Clark. I was invited to an online talk about the psychology of Munch on Monday afternoon, which I will attend.
Have a great weekend, and I’ll catch you on the other side!
August 10, 2023
Thurs. Aug. 10, 2023: Friends, Old And New
image courtesy of Jill Wellington via pixabay.comToday, I’m headed back from my friend’s place, and jumping directly into the first Nightwood Theatre session.
No Gratitude and Growth post today, but make sure you check out Legerdemain!
We’ll catch up tomorrow.
LEGERDEMAIN:
Episode 110: Dorran’s Skills Tested
Can Dorran’s lockpicking skills get the stasis capsule open in time to save Jed Smythe’s life?
August 9, 2023
Wed. Aug. 9, 2023: In the Archives
image courtesy of Gordon Johnson via pixabay.comToday is my research day in the archives, looking for information on my Playland Painters.
After that, I’ll head up to my friend’s place in Beacon.
Today’s post over on The Process Muse is about a personal strategic plan, and you can access the Process Muse here.
Two serial episodes today, one from ANGEL HUNT and one from DEADLY DRAMATICS!
ANGEL HUNT:
Episode 57: Leads or Misleads?
Lianna’s on the chase, both intellectually and physically.
DEADLY DRAMATICS:
Episode 7: Office Routines
Regular staff always tries to take advantage of the temp.
August 8, 2023
Tues. Aug. 8, 2023: Creative Weekend Before the Road Trip
image courtesy of Mier Chen via pixabay.comTuesday, August 8, 2023
Waning Moon
Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Venus, Chiron Retrograde
Foggy, stormy, rainy
Phew! Busy times. But good busy.
Today’s serial episode is from Legerdemain:
Episode 109: Princess Hester’s Intel
A strong, smart princess has information on the upcoming trouble.
Friday, I hit the page running. I wrote 2 episodes of Legerdemain.
I edited, polished, uploaded, and scheduled 4 more Deadly Dramatics episodes.
Then I went back and revised, edited, polished, and uploaded those two Legerdemain episodes, realizing I’d opened an arc subplot between two tertiary characters is going to be sweet and sad and full of longing and have a lot of impact.
I did all the loglines. I did the Episode graphics for Legerdemain. I did 12 episode videos (4 for each of the 3 serials, for the next two weeks), and uploaded and scheduled as much as I could.
I finished 3 flyer options for the residency reading in September, and 2 different styles of program layout, and wrote the listing notice, and sent them off for comment. They will need work, but at least there will be some back-and-forth, and we have options. I want everything all handled before we dive into the residency, so we can just enjoy the residency itself.
I was too wiped out to trudge around in the rain to First Friday, so I skipped it. I figured I could either wear myself out and not enjoy my friend’s play, or cut bait on strangers and enjoy the play on Saturday.
The Goddess Provisions box arrived and it was a delight.
There was a ticket glitch for the play in Great Barrington, but we got it sorted out. Their box office is very kind.
On Thursday, at open studios, I activated the artist grapevine about the housing situation. Saturday morning, I activated another grapevine.
I got the information from Nightwood for the development program starting next week. They’ve expanded it to nine weeks, instead of eight, so that’s cool. I still don’t know what I’m bringing in to work on – I’m playing with FROZEN AT THE PALACE THEATRE, but I’m also wondering if maybe I should use the time to work on the piece inspired by the Munch piece? I don’t know. I’ll probably decide in the moment during the first session. Since it’s 9 weeks, I kind of like the idea of bringing something in, but also creating from the inspiration of the moment.
Speaking of inspiration of the moment, I’m gathering images and ideas to pin to the walls of the studio for the residency. I may bring in some fabrics/textiles, too, and even clay. I’m thinking in terms of “words AND” other materials.
Finished reading THE ECHO OF OLD BOOKS on Friday night, which was well done and interesting.
I’m putting together my books for the research trip, and I’ve admitted to myself that yes, I will bring my books AND my Kindle.
Up early Saturday. I revised, edited, polished, uploaded, and scheduled the final 6 episodes of the first season of DEADLY DRAMATICS. The season will run 128 episodes, and the final episode is scheduled to go live on October 5, 2024, more than a year away.
I was confused on the protocol of whether I should mark it “complete” once all episodes are uploaded, or once all episodes go LIVE. I asked on the KV forum, and, of course, got a bunch of mansplainers telling me I shouldn’t run something that long. Of course, none of them actually make their living writing. (eye roll).
Someone actually piped up and said they believed it was meant to be so marked once the final episode went live, or people would be confused. Which sort of makes sense? I will ask on one of the FB groups instead.
I feel really good about this season, and the story. The overall series arc has much more to do with Nina learning about her self-worth and a slow burn love story with a particular character and how they build their complicated relationship, with the murder mysteries being, well, not incidental, but being a way to reveal why this particular couple works well together. It will take a few seasons to get them together, but once they are, it will be worth it. And they won’t get boring just because they’re finally together! They’re better together.
I did some tweaks on the next arc/season, THE VICIOUS CRITIC. My plan is that THE VICIOUS CRITIC and BUT IS SHE A BETTING MAN? can work together as a single season, but each might be too much on its own for them to run together.
Got my act together and got on the road a little early to get down to Great Barrington, since I’d never been to that theatre before, and didn’t want to feel rushed. The directions I printed out on the map were wrong, of course. Once I was in Great Barrington, I pulled up Murder Maps to get the last bit in, and Murder Maps only tried to kill me twice.
I was there plenty early. It was too nice to go inside, so I sat on a bench outside with a book. A woman took the other side of the bench.
A man with a cane joined us, and we made room for him to sit in the middle. He started talking, and the woman got up and left. But he was kind and funny and interesting, and I didn’t mind talking to him, so we chatted about this and that for a bit, and then his husband came to join us, and we adjusted to make room for him on the bench, and we all continued yapping.
The husband is a fairly well-known actor who keeps his private life private, so I’m not naming him here. As one does with fellow theatre people in New York, we had our six degrees of Kevin Bacon, so while we’ve never worked together, we have a lot of connections in common, and that was lots of fun. The artistic director recognized the actor, and came over to say hello, and the actor and his husband introduced me to the artistic director, so there’s another connection forged. The AD is close friends with a director with whom I worked with a long time ago. And the new associate artistic director is someone with whom I worked a kazillion years ago back in the early days of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, so we will resume our acquaintance, I’m sure.
The actor will be doing a show in the area in the fall, and his husband made me promise I would come and see it. Of course I will, if I possibly can!
We yapped until nearly curtain time, then hurried into the theatre, which is very nice. I had an excellent seat, in the third row. It was a two-hander, written by the actor in the piece, with whom I’d worked in a small off-off-Broadway theatre on 42nd St. between 9th and 10th many years ago, one of my first jobs in the city. The actress was someone with whom I’d worked on a Broadway musical.
They were both excellent in the piece, the level of detail and the emotional range very strong. I do feel that the play itself needs some work; it goes on some tangents that, while the work itself by the actors was lovely, on a story level, it grew repetitive in the wrong way. There’s a lot of text in the piece (that’s part of the point), but there’s also a lot of subtext. Which is good, but stripping back some of the length of a few passages will let both the text and the subtext shine a little more, I think.
I waited for the actress after the show. She is still elegant, gorgeous, and usually the smartest person in any room she enters. I’d thought it has been 15 years since we saw each other; she did the math and t’s over 20. She said she recognized the handwriting (I’d sent a note to the theatre when I bought the ticket) the second she saw the envelope. She remembered things about me that I thought I hadn’t shared, but she always was incredibly perceptive. It’s part of what makes her work exquisite.
It had to be a short catch-up, because she had a short dinner break. But it was good to see her.
Murder Maps kept dropping out due to lack of cell signal (when it wasn’t trying to get me to drive off bridges and into walls), and sent me all over places and towns in the Berkshires of which I never heard. I found the Berkshire Humane Society in Pittsfield by accident (which is good, since I’ll probably take the cats there for their shots), and then I found a road in Pittsfield I recognized and made it home.
I picked up takeout on the way home that I craved and knew was bad for me, ate it anyway, and paid the price.
Weird dreams all night. Up later than usual on Sunday.
Out early to the grocery store. Bought more than I planned, but then, don’t I always?
Packed by food/snack/beverage bag for the trip. Started packing everything else for the trip. I kept reminding myself that I’m not going out into the wild. I’m going to Westchester. Near where I grew up. If I want a snack or my pen runs out, I can easily fix that. I don’t have to pack like I’m camping for a month.
And yet, I am packing like that.
When I drive, I do not pack light.
I don’t understand why clothes are such a problem lately. I have plenty of clothes. I even like most of them. I worked in wardrobe. But deciding what to wear has just become a lot of work lately, and trying to figure out what to pack for the trip, ridiculous.
I do pack fairly light for clothes.
Two days involve a lot of driving, so I will dress for ease and comfort. The day in the Archives is a lot of sitting, so again, comfort, but I want to look reasonably put together. None of this is difficult, and yet it feels that way.
Backed up the heck out of my flash drives and computer to the external hard drive, just in case.
Put together the tech, the files, the other stuff I need for research, and for the time in the hotel room. I’m kind of looking forward to just chilling in the hotel the night before my day in the Archives. Got all my directions and a PAPER MAP for travel. Because paper maps don’t try to drive me off bridges.
And I’m out of printer ink again, because of course I am.
Running around packing and preparing the fridge and the cupboards, etc., my mother reminded me that she is perfectly capable of feeding herself and, in fact, did so for many years. I know her. No matter what I leave for her, she will eat hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches. Which is fine for a few days, but I want her to have other (healthier) options, too.
Got tomorrow’s Process Muse post polished, uploaded, and scheduled, and started the one for next week. I’d hoped to do some ANGEL HUNT revisions, but that wasn’t happening. My head wasn’t in it.
Put on real people pants, packed my bag, slapped on a hat, and headed down to Lenox early. I wanted to do some writing in the sunken garden. That didn’t go as well as expected; it was crowded and very buggy, even with bug spray. Most people enjoyed the space and moved through but there was that one couple (there’s always one). The guy was an older white man trying to impress his new, younger girlfriend, especially with his money. All the talk was about his money. They had a very cute Norwich (or maybe it was Norfolk) terrier – but the dog was off-leash (not allowed there) and kept running off to hang out with people. Most of them were fine with it, but some of the other (leashed) dogs were skeptical and some of the other visitors weren’t dog people.
Use a leash in a crowded public spot. It’s as much about protecting the dog as anything else.
But no, Mr. I’m-so-rich-no-rules-apply-to-me couldn’t be bothered.
I may well kill him off in one of my stories.
They FINALLY left and I moved to the bench in the garden (I’d tucked myself in a niche in the pergola, trying to concentrate and block out his incessant monetary droning). Through it all, I managed to draft two poems (which will probably get tossed) and do a bit of work on the book ban/gun violence poem. I have the opening and the closing, but I need to get from one to the other.
I wandered back to the stables, where the poets were gathering. Bill invited a guest curator, poet/performance artist D. Colin to curate the poetry/sculpture walk, with her contingent of activist poets from Troy and Albany. They were fabulous, incisive poets and all around excellent humans. It was a lot of walking, a little too much back-and-forth for some of us, rather than a circuit of the grounds, but the Mount had some carts to help the older and less mobile get from place to place. I was disappointed that more of the poets who regularly read weren’t there; one, in particular’s absence did not surprise me, because there was no way for her to make the event about her, and that’s what she likes to do (while pretending she’s reticent). She’s an excellent poet, but she sets off red flags for me every time we’re in the same space. But there were a couple of other regulars I felt should have stepped up and help with host duties to the visiting poets, who weren’t there.
It was also great to talk to the poets, bask in their talent, and have conversations with them. And, one of the regular Word X Word poets and I figured out that we’d also met at the Berkshire Small Business Expo! We knew we’d met in a different context than poetry, and finally figured it out.
By the end of it, I was sticky, sweaty, full of bug spray, and all together gross, but happy.
Drove home, hosed down, just had soup for dinner, and sat out on the porch with a glass of wine.
Weird dreams Sunday into Monday.
Up at a fairly reasonable time. Did some more packing. Did a library run, forgetting one of the books I needed to return. Oh, well, I’ll pay the fine when I return it on Friday. Picked up a few things at the grocery store that I’d forgotten (milk and onions), got a free walnut coffee cake as a membership appreciation thing, and bought a giant box of small Popcorners bags, (some of which immediately went into my food and beverage bag for the trip). I love Popcorners, and they’re not always available around here. Especially now that Christmas Tree Shops is out of business as of the 12th.
Swung by the dollar store to pick up some cases I need for my pens and pencils for the archives, and some more puzzle books for my mom.
Bought a couple of lottery tickets to break a twenty. I guess one of them is 1.25 BILLION this week? Ran into a neighbor who joked that I shouldn’t buy a ticket because “you can’t possibly spend that much if you won.”
I just looked at him and said, “Have you MET me? I totally could. And it wouldn’t all be spent on myself.”
Packed up some more stuff for the trip, like my vaccination card and masks and toiletries, etc. Everything’s charged, and the chargers are packed.
I got up next week’s Process Muse post, so I have nothing to worry about this week that needs to upload for next week. I uploaded both Legerdemain videos for next week, and one each for AH & DD. I can’t upload the final two until I’m back on Friday.
The book I was sent for review is marked by the post office as delivered on July 21, but sure as heck wasn’t delivered HERE, so I don’t know where it is. Trying to fill out an online form to search for it, you have to check the box “I acknowledge it was delivered to the correct address.”
Um, NO. It wasn’t, no matter what the scan says. Mail’s misdelivered around here all the time. I spend way too much time re-distributing mail that winds up in my box that is for other streets, not just other houses on this street. Too bad they don’t show me the same courtesy.
So someone has a memoir set in Ireland that I was supposed to review.
Got three play submissions out the door.
Printed off the notes for THE SUNDAY NICKEL, which was supposed to be a screenplay (idea born at the workshop in Williamstown), but maybe that’s the stage play I want to work on with Nightwood. FROZEN AT THE PALACE THEATRE doesn’t feel like the right play to work on now.
Booked a ticket to the next play by the Great Barrington Public Theatre, which will be done at The Mount, in Lenox, and ordered The Forager’s Daughter Tarot, which I’ve been looking at for a while.
Had an email conversation with a radio producer in Australia. I may send them a couple of pieces when I get back.
Weird dreams about a pair of cats named Text and Subtext last night.
This morning, I have to pay a few bills and pop them into the mailbox on the way out of town, a drop a book in the book drop I forgot to return yesterday.
Anyway, I hit the road in a few. Hold good thoughts for me! It’s not a great day for driving.
August 7, 2023
Mon. Aug. 7, 2023: Intent for the Week — Make the Most Out of It with Enjoyment
image courtesy of Gordon Johnson via pixabay.comTomorrow, I leave on a short research trip. I intend to enjoy every moment of it (even though it looks as though I’ll be leaving in bad weather and might have to change my route to avoid flooding).
I’ll be doing research in an archive; visiting a friend on the way home; having some time to myself in a hotel room; jumping right into Nightwood Theatre’s Creatryx program; once I’m back, spending more time at the Clark.
That’s the week’s agenda, and I intend to savor it.
What’s your intent for the week?
August 4, 2023
Fri. Aug. 4, 2023: It’s All About the Art
image courtesy of Gerd Altmann via pixabay.comFriday, August 4, 2023
Waning Moon
Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Venus, Chiron Retrograde
Rainy and chilly
Yesterday was kind of fun, in all directions.
Today’s serial episode is from ANGEL HUNT:
Episode 56: Reading and Remembrance
Lianna’s research unlocks childhood memories.
Tomorrow’s serial episode is from DEADLY DRAMATICS:
Episode 6: Back to the Office
Nina’s cute med student neighbor, Matt Hathaway, offers her safe harbor for the night. But now, Nina has to face a return to the office.
I got some of the DEADLY DRAMATICS edits done before meditation. The online meditation group was a lot of fun, although Tessa and Charlotte fussed at each other, both wanting the Zoom attention. Tessa is discovering Zoom, so we all should be very scared.
Between meditation and leaving for yoga at the library, I got the rest of the six episodes revised. Again, there was an episode I needed to split. So I have more than 125 episodes for the season.
The yoga session was good, and stretched out some of the aches from Tuesday’s class at the studio. We keep having different teachers at the library; I’m trying to be flexible, but it’s hard to maintain consistency.
Picked up books that came in; swung by the liquor store.
Home, a quick lunch, and then headed out with my mom to the Clark. I wanted her to see the Munch exhibit. I was welcomed at reception like an old friend.
Down we went (masked, because there were so many people). I revisited some of my favorites, and spent time with some pieces I hadn’t paid much attention to the first time. One of the staff came up to me, almost hesitantly, to tell me pens weren’t allowed in the gallery and offered me a pencil. I apologized, which surprised her; I think she was afraid I’d give her a hard time. It makes perfect sense not to allow pens in the gallery.
The pencil was from the Berkshire Council on Suicide Prevention which I couldn’t decide if it was ironic or poignant, paired with Munch.
I will bring pencils to use next time.
I made some notes. I was pondering a series of work called “Separation” which a couple was also looking at. The man said, “Do you think that’s us?” with such sadness in his voice that there’s a story in there.
I think the first piece I will build around one of the works is a short play built around “Women on a Bridge” with the three women in their yellow, blue, and pink dresses.
We stopped in the store, where I bought a couple of books on sale (a novel about art collecting, and a book about books in Florence), a postcard of one of my favorite Renoir paintings in the collection, and a hostess gift for my friend in Beacon, because I saw the piece and it told me it was hers.
We stopped in the Humane Ecology exhibit, which was fascinating.
Home. I heard from my friend in the play at Great Barrington, and we’re going to have a quick hello after Saturday’s show (she has a very short dinner break, and I don’t want to cut into it). Heard from my best friend from college, who said my notes on his play gave him fresh energy to tackle the next draft, which is great. Heard from someone I recently met through another friend, and we are making arrangements to get together near the end of the month. Heard from the Rye Historical Society with an apology for not getting back to me, and we’ll talk about spring.
So THAT’s all good.
Got six episodes of DEADLY DRAMATICS polished, uploaded, and scheduled. There are only about seven left in the season (unless I split some more episodes). Got up next week’s Legerdemain episodes. Today, I have to do two more, so the following week is taken care of, too, and prep the Process Muse posts for the next two weeks.
Did the social media rounds for Legerdemain.
The weather was wonky. But I made it down to open studios as MASSMoCA anyway. As always, there was some wonderful work going on: a scientist with precise natural world sketches and the words under them evoke visceral emotion; an artist working in color and perception; another artist using his experience as a DJ to explore cultural tensions; a filmmaker using film, plant, and washing soap/citric powders to create a new type of effect; and an artist working in fiber, making quilts out of tote bags and old jeans, to tell old stories (through quilts) in new ways.
I ran into the stained-glass artist I met at the Artist Meetup back in June, and we talked about her new projects, and about Nightwood Theatre and the Playland Painters. She’s interested in the painters, and I will email her the photographs this morning. We will get together for a drink in a few weeks, when things settle down for both of us.
There’s a poet on Bluesky, Xan Indingo, and we were talking about poems inspired by vintage recipe titles, and I think that’s something I might work on in the residency this autumn. I’m collecting various images and recipe cards and things to pin up to the wall in the studio.
I mean, first, I need to decide what I’m going to work on in the development workshop with Nightwood starting next week, if it’s FROZEN AT THE PALACE THEATRE or something else.
And, I need to finish this draft of FALL FOREVER and get it out the door by next weekend, and dig into the Llewellyn articles.
But all in all, it was a good creative day, for both my own work, and for inspiration by other artists’ work.
I woke up at 3 when the downstairs neighbor revved his car engine on his way to an errand. I had trouble getting back to sleep and was awake when the thunder storm started at 4. Tessa wished to speak to the Manager, please. Too much commotion.
I have a lot to do today, between serial stuff and working on the program and flyer for the reading. I’m hoping to get down to first Friday tonight, so see the work of Walkaway House’s new fiber artist, and to get over to Gallery 51 for their opening (and maybe catch someone with whom I knew from the artist working group last year, to talk about a couple of things).
Tomorrow, I’m off to Great Barrington to see my friend’s play (although I will do some writing before I leave). Sunday, I’m going to listen to fellow poets at Word X Word – the organizers have brought in some poets from other venues, and I’m excited to hear their work. If the weather is nice enough, I will go down a little early and write in the Sunken Garden at the Mount.
I will also pack for my trip, because if I’m not packed far enough in advance, I get antsy. I was trying to decide which books I should take, or the Kindle, but I’ll probably take both.
By the end of Monday, I have to have everything cleared off, upload/scheduling wise for next week and the following week, because I’ll be out of town, come back in directly to start Nightwood, and then on Friday is my next day at the Clark.
I like it, I like it.
But I have to be organized.
Have a great weekend, my friends, and I’ll catch you on the other side.
August 3, 2023
Thurs. Aug. 3, 2023: Scattered
image courtesy of Myriam from pixabay.comThursday, August 3, 2023
Waning Moon
Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Venus, Chiron Retrograde
Partly sunny and cool
Hop on over to Gratitude and Growth for the latest on the garden.
Today’s serial episode is from Legerdemain.
Episode 108: Post-Op
Shelley wakes up to family support, but it won’t make it easier running things from her hospital bed.
Yesterday was kind of a scattered day. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck, just completely exhausted. The astrological predictions for the month tell me I’ll feel exhausted at the END of the month (we will be in 7 retrogrades then, truly time for a blanket fort), but I’m there now.
It will be fine. I have a lot of “good busy” this week and next week, and then I can dial it back. I like what I’m doing, so it makes it easier to push through the tired.
We wrestled with the slipcovers. They’re okay, although it’s obvious these had been returned several times and were just shipped out again. Some had directions; some did not. Some of the directions did not match the slipcovers. They’re a little baggy (when they’re supposed to be stretchy). But they are soft and will do for now.
Yes, I do see the writing on the wall about measuring and making them from scratch. That is not happening at the moment.
Amazon sent back my bad review about the incorrect shipping information on them – well, maybe SEND THE REVIEW REQUEST AFTER I GET THE DAMN PRODUCT. So I wrote a worse review detailing what was wrong with the product.
I wrote to Rye Historical Society saying since I still hadn’t heard from them, I assumed next week didn’t work for an appointment, I had to set my other appointments, and I’d be back in touch in spring. Seriously, if they’re closed or on vacation, have an out of office message on the email and/or put it on the website. Don’t just ignore email and leave people hanging. I know they’re a small organization, but six business days is more than enough time to answer an email. Two business days is the protocol. I suspect they want me to pay them to do the research FOR me, but that is not what I want. I want to get into the archives and dig myself.
Booked the hotel in Elmsford for Tuesday night.
Packed up my friend’s socks, wrote out some bills, and headed for the post office. Sent off everything, bought some more overseas stamps, and activated the post office grapevine.
I had hoped to draft a new episode of Legerdemain, but that didn’t happen. I revised, edited, uploaded, polished, and scheduled what had been five episodes, but is now six episodes of DEADLY DRAMATICS, getting me into next August. Twelve more episodes, and this season will be uploaded and scheduled.
Read my friend’s play. He’d sent me the submission guidelines and asked for suggestions for cuts. He’s got a good play there, and eventually, I think it will run about an hour. But this play needs to run 10-15 minutes, so it needs to be cut in about half, while still maintaining voice, character, plot, themes, and humor. So I suggested some pretty deep cuts. Sometimes it was tightening; other times it was cutting entire beats for this draft. It needs some formatting work, and I’m not sure if that will be enough (and he hadn’t yet written the end), so we’ll see where we are in the next draft.
It’s a really fun play, and I kept emphasizing that the cuts were for time and to fit the guidelines, not because something was wrong with it.
But it took much longer than I expected to do all that.
I need to face that I’m just not as fast as I was ten or fifteen years ago. At anything.
Enjoyed sitting on the porch after dinner. Went to bed pretty early because I’m tired.
A new COVID booster is up for approval, which makes me feel better. I was going to talk to the pharmacy about boosters anyway. Hopefully, we can get them next month, even if we have to pay for them.
Had stress dreams all night, so woke up tired.
This morning, I have meditation online with Concord Library, then yoga at my own library. In the afternoon, I’m taking my mom to the Munch exhibit at the Clark, and getting in my day at the Clark today instead of tomorrow, since tomorrow is supposed to be nasty weather. Tomorrow, I will focus on the program and the flyer for the reading (which I’d hoped to have done earlier this week), so I can send it out for initial feedback while I’m on my research trip next week.
In between there, I hope to get in some more work on DEADLY DRAMATICS, and I have to get next week’s episodes of Legerdemain up. And the following week’s. I need to work ahead. I need to do all the videos and graphics and promos for the next two weeks this weekend, and schedule them to run while I’m gone. Some channels won’t let me do anything. If Tweetdeck shuts down this week to paid only usage, the only place I’ll be able to schedule ahead is TikTok. I’ll deal with it as it comes up.
Have a good one, my friends, and I’ll catch you tomorrow!
