Thurs. April 25, 2024: Of Spring and Creativity
image courtesy of Morten via pixabay.comThursday, April 25, 2024
Waning Moon
Mercury DIRECT
Sunny and pleasant
Mercury goes direct today, thank goodness. Those might be tire tracks you see across me as it leaves, although I’ve definitely survived more chaotic Merc Rets. And we have a bit of a breather before Pluto goes retrograde on May 2. I intend to bask in it!
The latest on the garden is over at Gratitude and Growth.
Today’s LEGERDEMAIN episode:
Episode 184: There’s a New Corpse Talker in Town
Does Evangeline Thana offer Ren Foster the respite he so desperately needs? Or is she a threat?
Today’s DEADLY DRAMATICS episode:
Episode 110: The Dresser is Dressed
Misty takes care of Nina, who’s been taking care of everybody else.
Only 18 more DEADLY DRAMATICS episodes left!
I’m looking forward to getting back into the Nina Bell world in May and June. Although revision of STRANGERS IN THE SNOW, and work on a new story that has to go out by the end of May (only 5K, should be do-able) for an anthology call, must take priority.
I did another pass on FALL FOREVER, incorporating notes, and then sent it off to the other member of the playwrighting circle. She read it the same day and loved it. Her kind words nearly brought tears to my eyes. While any production would entail further revisions during the rehearsal process, I feel good about this draft, and feel I have achieved what I wanted/needed to do on it.
Did a quick dash to the post office and to the bank.
Came home and tried to figure out which play I should work on. I re-read the 27 pages I have on FROZEN AT THE PALACE THEATRE. While not perfect, the bones are there, and some of the character rhythms work well. I know where I want to head with it, but am stuck on how to pivot the next beat to move closer. I need to move from this ensemble scene of the five characters into more intimate two-character and/or three-character conversations to dramatize their dynamics and frustrations and stories and challenges, and then open back out to an ensemble scene. The final moment has been very clear since the idea for the play erupted; in fact, the prompt, in the playwrighting workshop, inspired the final image of the play first, and I worked back from there.
Meanwhile, the play about the PLAYLAND PAINTERS has its characters going, “Excuse me! Over here! I have something to SAY!!!”
I did some of the homework for the marketing consort, on the Fearless Ink and Pages on Stages sites. I’m working on the ideas/storyboard for the Fearless Ink video, and I’ve been adjusting hashtags on relevant social media posts (although I forgot to put them on the bagel posts yesterday).
I turned around two large coverages, which means I have three smaller ones to do today.
Headed out to Wild Soul River for tarot, making a stop at Wild Oats on the way. My bagels from Hexagon Bagels were waiting for me at Wild Soul River; I was so excited. I also bought votives for Beltane (raspberry). Tarot was good, as it always is, and I enjoyed feeling happy within the community and grateful for getting together with them on most weeks (some weeks, I can’t, but I attend as often as possible).
I admit it, I nearly ate a bagel on the short drive home from Williamstown.
Yes, we had bagels for dinner. We wound up eating 4 of the 6 in the order, and will eat the final two this morning for breakfast. Maybe not the most nutritionally balanced stretch of time over here, but gosh darn, is it good!
I am now going to have to build bagels into the budget at least once a month!
Because, dang, they’re good, and as an ex-New Yorker always in search of a decent bagel outside of the city and rarely finding it, the fact that Patrick and Nicholas moved here and started this business is nirvana. I tried to talk myself out of missing good bagels since I left NY in 2010, and I’ve found a few decent bagels over the years, but nothing that really filled the void.
We also found out that the local Farmers Market is starting two weeks earlier than usual and it will be on Main Street (rather than two blocks further off Main Street, near the grocery store). This means I can walk down much more easily, leaving the car at home, and wander. Because let’s face it, market day has to do with the social aspect as much as the purchase aspect.
Hmm, I think there’s a play in there somewhere. . .
I was about to give up a domain I bought during the pandemic, because I don’t have the resources to fully develop the project around it and then I realized that this is my public/community art opportunity, and I can go after grants for it. I’m pretty sure I’ve missed this year’s cycle, but that gives me time to develop a solid proposal and write grant proposals when next year’s cycle begins. So I’ll keep it.
Meditation was cancelled this morning. Charlotte will be sad.
I have next week’s LEGERDEMAIN episodes to get up, work on either FROZEN or LAUGHTER, and some planting. I have to write and submit a book review, and work on contest entries. The production manager at Fenimore has been in touch so we can finalize the details of getting the video from the staged reading up. I will post the link as soon as it’s live. I may do an email blast about it, too, if it’s only up for a limited time.
This late afternoon/early evening, I’m going to an author talk over at MASSMoCA. The person interviewing the author is one of the owners of the local bookstore. I haven’t seen her since I gave her a gift at the Winter holidays, although we’ve kept in touch via social media. I’m looking forward to seeing her again, and hearing what the author has to say.
If the weather holds, I’ll walk down.
I have a gift of time that would normally be blocked off for meditation. While I did my personal meditation this morning, I can use that block of time to create.
I hope you enjoy a lovely spring day!
