Emily C.A. Snyder's Blog, page 20
July 26, 2011
The Fall of Borders
In Marlborough, we're mourning the loss of Borders Bookstores. Here's an informative link regarding what happened. An interesting watch for anyone who's invested in the publishing industry.
The Fall of Borders
The Fall of Borders
July 25, 2011
In Praise of Insomnia
Recently, my mother informed me that I was only a genius between the hours of midnight to six a.m. It's an unfortunate truth that I seem to write best 1) under a deadline, and 2) in the wee hours of the morning.
The deadline assistance makes logical sense. As a theatre person, everything's a deadline. The show will go on, whether you're ready for it or not! Similarly if you're writing a play, there's a certain date where you simply must have sides for auditions, and a mere 72-hours after that you'd better have a script to give to the actors!
Novels are harder, though, simply because they're enormous in scope and have a tendency to get richer as you write them (at least for me), and so I fully understand why Douglas Adams famously said: "I love deadlines. I love to wave at them as they pass me by." (A nice nod to which was in Pirates of the Caribbean 2.)
But my justifications for why insomnia is a blessing are as follows:
In the wee hours of the morning, there's simply nothing else to do but to fill up the time with words.
In the wee hours of the morning, every other sane person is aslumber - which means that there is no one awake with whom I can distract myself from the accusatory blank screen.
In the wee hours of the morning, there's a sense of impending deadlinery, insofar as the dawn will inevitably come and I'd better get some sleep before it becomes tomorrow...hence I must finish what I am writing today. ("Today" always being that time before the dawn. None of this meridian nonsense.)
Or on a slightly more silly note:
Theatre people don't know the meaning of 10 a.m. anyway.
My grandmother was an insomniac, so there's simply no hope for it.
Clearly, it's not that I'm up too late, it's that night comes too early!
So I wonder...when do other people find their genius flowing?
The deadline assistance makes logical sense. As a theatre person, everything's a deadline. The show will go on, whether you're ready for it or not! Similarly if you're writing a play, there's a certain date where you simply must have sides for auditions, and a mere 72-hours after that you'd better have a script to give to the actors!
Novels are harder, though, simply because they're enormous in scope and have a tendency to get richer as you write them (at least for me), and so I fully understand why Douglas Adams famously said: "I love deadlines. I love to wave at them as they pass me by." (A nice nod to which was in Pirates of the Caribbean 2.)
But my justifications for why insomnia is a blessing are as follows:
In the wee hours of the morning, there's simply nothing else to do but to fill up the time with words.
In the wee hours of the morning, every other sane person is aslumber - which means that there is no one awake with whom I can distract myself from the accusatory blank screen.
In the wee hours of the morning, there's a sense of impending deadlinery, insofar as the dawn will inevitably come and I'd better get some sleep before it becomes tomorrow...hence I must finish what I am writing today. ("Today" always being that time before the dawn. None of this meridian nonsense.)
Or on a slightly more silly note:
Theatre people don't know the meaning of 10 a.m. anyway.
My grandmother was an insomniac, so there's simply no hope for it.
Clearly, it's not that I'm up too late, it's that night comes too early!
So I wonder...when do other people find their genius flowing?
Looking for a good beach read?
Look no further than the ...
Looking for a good beach read?
Look no further than the novels below! Whether you're in the mood for in-depth fantasy like Tolkein, a quick fairy tale, or a tongue-in-cheek romp through the Alps, you're in luck!
Look no further than the novels below! Whether you're in the mood for in-depth fantasy like Tolkein, a quick fairy tale, or a tongue-in-cheek romp through the Alps, you're in luck!
July 5, 2011
Poster for As You Like It
Despite feeling behind on the ...
Poster for As You Like It
Despite feeling behind on the times, voila the first template for the As You Like It poster! Hurrah!
Music: "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart" as covered by Rufus Wainwright
Mood: Struggling against ridiculous feelings of unaccomplishment. Silly brain.
Thought: "Keep calm and kiss a friend." Ah, rehearsals!
Despite feeling behind on the times, voila the first template for the As You Like It poster! Hurrah!
Music: "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart" as covered by Rufus Wainwright
Mood: Struggling against ridiculous feelings of unaccomplishment. Silly brain.
Thought: "Keep calm and kiss a friend." Ah, rehearsals!
May 27, 2011
How do you solve a problem like Orlando?
I apologize for...
How do you solve a problem like Orlando?
I apologize for some of the funky formatting. Blogger doesn't like me today.
One of the most common critiques I hear of As You Like It is typically lobbed at its putative hero, Orlando. "As You Like It!" They scoff. "That's the one where you've got some lovesick jerk running around the forest sticking bad poetry up." Then they go on to extol the
I apologize for some of the funky formatting. Blogger doesn't like me today.
One of the most common critiques I hear of As You Like It is typically lobbed at its putative hero, Orlando. "As You Like It!" They scoff. "That's the one where you've got some lovesick jerk running around the forest sticking bad poetry up." Then they go on to extol the
AYLI Script Changes...the easy version
So, Jeremy brough...
AYLI Script Changes...the easy version
So, Jeremy brought it to my attention that what was meant to be just a description of the plot for As You Like It is waaaaaaaaaaaay too convoluted to make notes in your script by. Here's an easier version. And you can all hug Jeremy at read-through later.
Pre-Show
Pre-Intermission
1.1
1.2
1.3
2.3
Transition to the forest
2.1
2.2
2.6
2.4 through
So, Jeremy brought it to my attention that what was meant to be just a description of the plot for As You Like It is waaaaaaaaaaaay too convoluted to make notes in your script by. Here's an easier version. And you can all hug Jeremy at read-through later.
Pre-Show
Pre-Intermission
1.1
1.2
1.3
2.3
Transition to the forest
2.1
2.2
2.6
2.4 through
May 26, 2011
Plot forAs You Like It
The plot for As You Like It starts...
Plot forAs You Like It
The plot for As You Like It starts out strong and then seemingly fizzles. Also, some of the scene arrangements don't really flow from one to the other. Sooooo, here's the crazy new arrangement of the plot. Feel free to make notes in your scripts NOW!
Pre-Show· Jacques recites "All the World's a Stage" while Duke Senior, Rosalind and everyone of his court
The plot for As You Like It starts out strong and then seemingly fizzles. Also, some of the scene arrangements don't really flow from one to the other. Sooooo, here's the crazy new arrangement of the plot. Feel free to make notes in your scripts NOW!
Pre-Show· Jacques recites "All the World's a Stage" while Duke Senior, Rosalind and everyone of his court
May 22, 2011
Inspirations for As You Like It
So, I thought I'd put in...
Inspirations for As You Like It
So, I thought I'd put in a few things which are inspiring me at the moment. Visually, I'm thinking of frames and boxes. In the beginning, Duke Senior, Rosalind and Orlando will be boxed in separately, to "Que Sera Sera" by Pink Martini. I love that the music is haunting (I first heard this rendition on Dead Like Me, which pilot a friend showed me), and just a
So, I thought I'd put in a few things which are inspiring me at the moment. Visually, I'm thinking of frames and boxes. In the beginning, Duke Senior, Rosalind and Orlando will be boxed in separately, to "Que Sera Sera" by Pink Martini. I love that the music is haunting (I first heard this rendition on Dead Like Me, which pilot a friend showed me), and just a
As You Like It: Characters
Who knows how accurate my ide...
As You Like It: Characters
Who knows how accurate my ideas of the characters will be by the time we get to August! But this is what I'm thinking of re: each of the characters in As You Like It.
Rosalind
Rosalind is hyper-intelligent, but shy and very skittish when she is usurped by her uncle, Duke Frederick. When she first sees Orlando, she is immediately smitten by him, perhaps seeing in
Who knows how accurate my ideas of the characters will be by the time we get to August! But this is what I'm thinking of re: each of the characters in As You Like It.
Rosalind
Rosalind is hyper-intelligent, but shy and very skittish when she is usurped by her uncle, Duke Frederick. When she first sees Orlando, she is immediately smitten by him, perhaps seeing in
May 19, 2011
As You Like It: Why I Love It
As many know, I had the op...
As You Like It: Why I Love It
As many know, I had the opportunity to play Rosalind (in part) when I was in England in August of 2000. It was a heady experience, even with just a taste of what it means to play this character. Every night I read all of her scenes to better understand her. Various other folks on the tour with us, old stage folk, lent me books by the great British actresses
As many know, I had the opportunity to play Rosalind (in part) when I was in England in August of 2000. It was a heady experience, even with just a taste of what it means to play this character. Every night I read all of her scenes to better understand her. Various other folks on the tour with us, old stage folk, lent me books by the great British actresses
