Learning

I have been in a wonderful challenged state these days and not just by the wildly swinging weather of March/April. I hope that you are too, as being challenged, it seems to me, is one answer to the state of being.

How so? I have started a second theatrical adventure. This one involves the play: House of Butterflies. I have plays on the New Play Exchange and was informed of an opportunity at the RedTwist Theatre (which I, of course, did not get). (I am up to 30 submissions with lots of ghosting and two official rejections. I am told that I should rejoice in rejections as it means that I have skin in the game. Hah!)

But because RedTwist had my email I was subsequently informed of a grant opportunity for the Independent Producers’ Initiative. The IPI grants money to produce you own play here in Chicago. So I texted Tyler Nielsen who had read plays of mine, in particular House of Butterflies. At the end of the reading he said that he was both too old and too young for the characters but he would love to direct it. When the proposal came I asked Tyler about it and he is quite enthusiastic. I had started a budget but Tyler has taken it over and added in all kinds of things I, as a novice, had not thought about. We asked Jenny to be a consultant as she is extensively self-produced. Jenny threw out the fact that we would need insurance. Tyler the fact that we need in addition to lighting, stage design, and much much more a stage manager. All the things that go into producing a play. It really is an education.

And even more so it is gratifying to see that a second piece of work, apart from Cold Fusion the Rock Musical, elicits strong endorsements in the sense of other people joining in with extensive work of their own.

I have no illusions, we probably won’t get the grant, but it is a process and who knows maybe money will come from somewhere, i.e., the giant theatre goddess in the sky.

I sent a link to the demo of Cold Fusion to a friend, who waxed enthusiastic about Kyra’s work. I also mentioned it a FaceBook post and got a bounce from someone who knows about Cold Fusion saying that he would love to be at the reading but isn’t in town.

Also on the table, just completed a 10 minute comedy “Turkey Bones”; reworked Jessie and the Architect, and gotten out the books to begin research on John Quincy Adams.

Been a while

The equinox has come and I just looked and see that it’s been a while since I have been documenting my journey into playwrighting.

On the discouraging side I have now submitted 25 times with no feedback. I am told I am to feel good about my activity. Hrmmumph.

I think I need to read through again Jessie and the Architect. It must subconsciously not be working because I have not submitted it the extent I have House of Butterflies and Whose Story Is It.

On the excellent side I now have a full and satisfying draft of Turkey Bones. I think it will do but am running it by others. Now the debate is to do another 10 minute play so that I can have a reading of all three or to go onto First! First! about the first amendment as I have sketched it will prove to be challenging.

Also on the good side I have asked on of the readers of House of Butterflies who had waxed enthusiastic about it to be a director and he has agreed! There is an opportunity to write a grant proposal to subsidize a portion of the production costs. I costed it out and it would run 10-14k for a 6 production run. Am seriously considering it! Oh my indeed.

The date for the Chicago Dramatists hosted reading of Cold Fusion the Rock Musical is looking more and more like a tunnel light. Is it a train or the end of the tunnel? Not quite clear yet. Kyra has most of the musical writing done. We are debating combining two songs into one. We will likely record, if not video, the reading.

When I talk to people about what I am doing they all seem to think that I am continuously active, but I feel an act very much like a couch potato!

Rats

I created an Instagram account “Pbleadlady” three weeks ago and am already locked out of it. The new one is “alanahfitch6” and I posted something into it just now. An update that the play Fool’s Gold is having a musical reading as Cold Fusion the Rock Musical in May. Tiktok may be one step too far for me as I am still very ambivalent about the whole social media thing.

I shared the outlines of my soon to be started (Thursday or Friday) plays Turkey Bones and First! with my son and he was less than encouraging. Seems that that is the response to all of the plays when I begin to write them. I guess I don’t do elevator pitches very well on the fly.

I did some work on the Geek page (Teaching Instrumentation with a Single Analyte: Lead Lab) and checked that the Analytical Sciences Digital Library is still running and accepting web sites to monitor (which it is). That means that I will being trying to get all of that material reorganized.

A New Phase

Kyra and I are busy working out the logistics for the May 25 reading. She has rewritten several songs and I them very much. Actually, I like everything about this process. It is so exciting to see words on paper go through a translation process by another person. Hope I like the musical as well.

We are now reaching out to actors and actresses. I was going to try an email social media campaign to get people to come but we have decided that it should be a small trusted audience who will give us good feedback, so you all are all un-invited.

The video content creator is still, I hope, going to make two sets of material for us (without the time date) that can go on Kyra’s and on my websites as a more general promotion.

I just saw on the website for the Dramatists Guild that one can sign up to work silently with others on zoom as a means to set aside fixed time. I am participating in another such group for the electrochemistry book and can recommend it as a time organizer.

Well….To Answer That Question

I posed the question as to the completion of this web page. I am sure you all knew the answer to that before I did… of course it wasn’t. In addition to types, gaffes, misattributions and the like there were formatting problems and more feedback from family and friends. Now I think that what other tinkering I do will be, hopefully just that, tinkering.

I signed up for as “Pbleadlady” in Tik Tok and Instagram in a fit of promotional enthusiasm but think that is a step to far for me. As I understand it ,I need followers to have much of an effect and getting followers is a multiple post per day. Not for me.

It is still cold and snowy and a good night for contemplation. Right now I am contemplating two new plays: one to be a 10 minute comedy: the synopsis got a laugh out of some so that is good encouragement. The second is more on “First!”. I have knocked up a general concept paper with which I am happy, though the ending will need much work. And the research/reading to do…oh my!

I had planned to post only once a week, but Kyra and I are meeting again on Monday…. so who knows?

Done, Or Is It?

So I have started this website and I think it is done, but isn’t that an oxymoron, like a monk saying a door was finished? It’s never finished until they take it away. I included ALL of this chemistry on the thought that the ‘lead lab’ was well enough known that it would drive traffic to the site. But because lead is such a toxic element and there is so much interest in it, most of the lead lab searches send you to businesses offering to measure the amount of lead in your drinking water. Now I am worried that if theatre people poke around on the website THEY will be driven away, ha!

Meanwhile Kyra sent another song which is wonderful! I love it. This one is a rewrite of ‘The Beautiful Law’ which is about peer review. Some topic for a pop opera, right. It works beautifully (pun intended) however. It’s going to be great. Here is Kyra’s website: https://maestramusic.org/profile/kyra-jane-leigh/

Overcoming Inertia

I have been working hard in the last year to bring my playwriting skills back up to snuff. The next, most important step!, will be to get that material out there. To that end my mentor Jenny Magnus has been teaching a class in “amplification” by social media campaigning. Check out my Instagram and TikTox accounts “Pbleadlady”. They are cram filled. (Not really as I have nothing to put on them.) So I started on this web site. I got quite depressed to look back and see how little I had accomplished in the last 10 years of my chemistry career, which, of course, made me despondent about theatre. BUT! In deciding to put in all the materials of my favorite class as a means of driving traffic here I have come to see that I was very busy. Hope somebody enjoys the using all of the exercises I built.

In the meantime Kyra has told me that she is revising songs for the musical Cold Fusion. I am so exited about that. Stay tuned to find more about the collaboration.