Recently in EPL Writer in Residence Category

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to ask a question. Rehearsals were going very well right up until today when I asked what I thought was an innocent question about the play's ending. Suddenly, the play's premise blew up in all our faces. We were frantically trying to piece everything back together, but nothing was fitting. We couldn't go back to the way the script was, because the question had basically ruined our idea of how the play would work. Plus, if I came up with the question, there was a good chance the audience would too.

After about an hour and a half of talking, debating and yelling, I finally figured out what I had to do to revise the ending to make it actually work. Welcome to the world of new play development, where questions can blow up scripts. It's awful when the question is asked, but it's better to blow up the play now and fix it.

Guess what I'm doing tonight?

I just finished my revision of Mothership Down, and now I think I have a real play instead a premise with a bunch of dialogue. Weird thing about revisions is how the story can emerge just from cutting and reworking. I didn't know the spine of my play until I was about halfway through the revisions, but once I had it nailed, the rest of the play took shape. The toughest part of the rewrite was the last third. I had to toss out what I had originally written, because it did not fit the spine at all. I didn't mind losing what I had written, because what replaced it was far more dramatic and interesting. Time and time again, I'm reminded how amazing the creative process can be when you give up your ego and give in to the process. It reminds me of going on a roller coaster ride. If you clench and worry about the ride, you'll never enjoy the full experience, but if you give in to the ups and downs, you suddenly find your inner child again.

I think I have one more pass to do to the script before rehearsal. Of course, that's when the play will take another evolutionary step... provided we find the actor. Argh! Nothing like leaving things to the last minute to cut down the choices for actors. I'm sure we'll find someone, but I'm not sure what's going to happen on the first day of rehearsal. It may be a very short first day of rehearsal, followed by a round of panicked phone calls.

My return to the Fringe Festival has been officially christened with my first flub. Thanks to the Edmonton Public Library, I have a BYOV at the downtown branch. Thanks to my own stupidity, when I confirmed my performance dates, I wrote April instead of August. The facilities manager said I had no bookings, which sent me into total panic mode for about a day. Many stressful hours later, we sorted out the error. From now on, I'm triple checking all the e-mail messages I send.

On the bright side, I figured out what my play is about and it only took a couple of drafts. I think I have a better handle on the premise. Applying the concept to the first third of the play has really helped to streamline and clarify what is going on. I'm working on the second section now, but I know the real work comes in the final third where I have to revise everything. Right about now I wish the Fringe was in April and not in August. Panic!

Most writers look forward to a notes session with the same anticipation as facing a firing squad. After spending weeks, months, or even years honing a manuscript, the writer must then face the cold, hard truth of someone else's perspective. It's a vulnerable place to be in for sure, but it doesn't have to be a horrible experience. In fact, if you have the right mindset going into the session, you can walk away inspired.

Today, I'm meeting the director of my Fringe play, Mothership Down, to get his take on the script. Like anyone else, I'm imagining that he'll say the script is brilliant and not a word needs to be changed. I'm also a realist, and I know that no first draft is ever word perfect. I also would rather hear what's wrong with the script when I have a chance to fix it than hear critics and audience members complain about the production when all I can do is suffer their barbs.

So, I look at notes sessions as an opportunity rather than as a chore. The key is putting my ego off to the side and opening my mind up to other people's opinions. I don't have to listen to their suggestions, but I should pay attention to their concerns, because they'll illuminate the script in a different light. And that often inspires me to pursue avenues I hadn't explored before. I often find that any kind of script exploration, whether or not it yields tangible results in the script, always helps me understand the characters better. And if I know them better, they become more real.

My advice to anyone else going into a note session is to put your gun in the drawer and close it, then open your ears and mind to what the person has to say. Who knows what inspiration you'll find.

June 20, 2011

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

THE POETRY ROUTE

To mark the 100-year anniversary of Chinatown in Edmonton, the Edmonton Poetry Festival seeks Chinese-themed submissions for its Autumn 2011 flight of The Poetry Route, a project that puts poetry onto ETS vehicles.

In honour of the cultural and historic significance of the local Chinese Community, selected poems will be displayed in both Chinese and English on buses and LRT cars for a minimum of eight weeks.

Submissions (maximum 10 lines) may be in English, Chinese, or both languages, and can include excerpts from classic Chinese poems; work from contemporary Chinese or Chinese/Canadian poets (in English, or translated); collaborations; work from Chinese writers whose writing has been censored; etc.

Please include a brief biography of the author (and translator, if applicable), plus contact information (email address, snail-mail address, phone number).

Email submissions to: poetryroute@gmail.com

Deadline: July 18, 2011

www.edmontonpoetryfestival.com

Stroll of Poets

The Stroll of Poets gives poets of all ages and experience levels an opportunity to connect with an audience, both through reading series and an annual printed anthology. They provide a range of opportunities for poets to learn and improve their craft through workshops.

The Stroll was formed in 1991, when it began as a one-day festival of readings along Edmonton's Whyte Avenue. Poets signed up each year to take part in afternoon readings. The Stroll's programming switched to a weekly reading series in 2006. This series now provides the core of the Stroll's programming, supplemented by a variety of other popular activities.

Some of the programs include the Poets Haven Reading Series, the Greenwoods reading series, the Stroll Anthology and the Killer Blinks. Check out the Stroll of Poets at this year's Edmonton Poetry Festival (April 25 - May 1).

I don't know what I ate yesterday, but it did not agree with me at all. I'm only now starting to feel halfway to being human again. Unfortunately, the day is pretty well shot for getting started on my Fringe play. Maybe that's a good thing as I do want to write a political satire about the crazy antics in our provincial government, but there have been daily developments and I just want the targets to stop moving so I can write something that's still relevant come summer.

Hmm. Maybe that's a lesson to myself. Maybe instead of trying to chase the tail, I should try to build a play that can draw from today's events but not necessarily rely on them. Yes, I think that would allow me to write something that won't be dated as soon as it shoots off my printer. Okay, now I have to start rethinking how to approach the play.

The good news about today is that even though I didn't do any work today I still feel productive. My editor just sent me an e-mail about the first book in the Barnabas Bigfoot Series. She had three little changes and that was it. The book will on its way shortly to the publisher for the next phase of editing. Yay!