Interests:Poetry, theatre, film, yoga Expertise: Poetry Published in Traverse, 26 (issue D), Pomona Valley Review, BorderSenses and Double Room.
Playwriting American Triage : Play commissioned by Marin Theatre Company 2006. 2007 MTC Nu Werkz series; 2008 MTC workshop production.
Braided Sorrow : 2005 Bay Area Playwrights Festival; 2006 Ford Amphitheatre Latina/o Summer Play Reading Series; 2006 Chicano/Latino Literary Prize 1st Place winner, University of California Irvine; September 2008, 1st production, El Centro Su Teatro, Denver, CO; 2009 Pen Center USA Literary Award for Drama.
Ghost Limb : (Work in Progress) Just Theatre 2007 Play Lab.
Heart Shaped Nebula: (Work in Progress)
Woman on Fire : 2006 Primer Pasos: A Festival de Latino Plays, Latino Playwrights Initiative; 2007 Bay Area Playwrights Festival BASH (Bay Area SHorts); 2008 In The Rough Occupation:Playwright, Poet
Here's what I plan on seeing in the next few weeks:
Little Brother at Custom Made Theatre. I already have my tickets and am looking forward to this show. Josh Costello whom I first met when I did a workshop production of American Triage at Marin Theater is the director for Little Brother. The show has been getting a lot of good buzz and press. Can't wait!
Marilet Martinez. Photo by Annie Paladino
Tontlawald by Eugenie Chan over at Cutting Ball Theater. Eugenie and I were in the same class of resident playwrights at the Playwrights Foundation. She's collaborated with Cutting Ball a few times before doing some exciting and experimental work. I'm also excited to see Marilet Meartinez and Rebecca Frank in the show.
Nothing like capturing the zeitgeist of an Internet meme to convince me I should go to a show. What show is that? Why it's Jesus in Indiaover at The Magic. Above you'll see my good friend Baruch doing his best son of God impression.
And last but not least, I intend to go see Hugo Carbajal in Counter Attack over at Ashby Stage. Counter Attack is a new play by Joan Holden loosely based on Candancy Taylor's book Counter Culture. I don't know very much about the play itself--I'm going to see Hugo--but I'm glad to check out the work of Stagebridge.
That's the next few weeks. I can't think or see any further than that. Sadly. Nose to the grindstone.
Yesterday I ventured out of my neighborhood and headed to the other side of Golden Gate Park to the Outer Sunset. I don't often spend time in this part of the Sunset (19th Avenue), usually I stick to the Inner Sunset, so this was a welcomed change of pace.
My destination was Drip where I found friend and fellow playwright Octavio Solis working on his computer. After a hug I got myself a mocha and red velvet cupcake (they were carrying cupcakes from a baker whose red velvet cupcakes sing a siren song like you wouldn't believe and well, I couldn't resist).
Yeah, tell me you could walk away from one of these guys.
It had been a few months since I last saw Octavio. We first met about five years ago or so, and as we're both originally from Texas we hit it off. And as he's a super busy playwright it's pretty common that I see him maybe every 6 months or so.
It was great to catch up. We each talked about the projects we were currently working on and Octavio was very generous with his advice. That's something I truly have loved about SF, I've found the playwriting community here is very open to sharing insights, information about opportunities, referring one another for projects--a rising tide lifts all boats kind of mentality.
Before I knew it about an hour and a half had passed and my delicious mocha was completely drunk. So I headed home and doubled down on my productivity by working on The River Bride. I'm happy to report that progress is definitely being made on that play. In fact, I somehow made it past 60 pages without realizing it (I had been in the 40 page doldrums for ages).
This morning's commute turned into a very productive writing morning for me. Granted if you look into my journal what I actually wrote doesn't seem like much, but it's just what I needed to crack open The River Bride a bit to expand the role of Señor Costa.
Maybe it was the rain.
Yes, the dreaded rain. Now I do enjoy rain, just not standing in it waiting for the bus or walking through it on the way to the bus stop. It hasn't been a particularly rainy winter--one of my first winters/springs here it rained every day from early December to late March. Every. Day.--but we do have rain forecasted for the next few days or so
Anyway, I think all this rain got me thinking about the opening scene in The River Bride which has a short thunderstorm. A thunderstorm with pink lightning (yes, that can happen). And I thought of Señor Costa and Duarte out on the river as the storm begins.
SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT
I only say "spoiler alert" because if you don't want to know any of the connections that get revealed later in the play, then perhaps you shouldn't read about the seeds of correlation I'm trying to sow at the beginning of the play.
Now the first time we see Señor Costa is when he and Duarte bring Moises into the Costa home. So I wrote a bit, just a bit of how they found him, how the the lightning reminds Señor Costa of something he can't quite recall, how they begin to pull in the nets and how instead of fish they pull in a man. In my head I saw Moises' arm come up over the side of the boat, just an arm clothed in a white cotton suit.Limp, yet not lifeless.
I very much liked that image and mystery it evokes, as well as eluding to the connection between Señor Costa and Moises.
SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT ENDED
This is good. Very good. I need to keep the momentum, even if small, going for The River Bride. I have to turn in my latest draft to AlterTheater in early February because mid-February is our scheduled AlterLab workshop and my play will be up at bat to be read by actors and discussed for feedback purposes.
When I'm writing I usually go with music that won't distract me too much. Lately I've been listening to Amalia Rodrigues, the Queen of Fado. It's a fitting musical choice since she's singing in Portuguese and I'm working on The River Bride (which is set in Brazil).
But not all my writing is creative. That is, sometimes I have to answer emails, work on submissions, or do some other playwriting work that needs to be done. And a few nights ago while putzing around on Spotify (which consists of looking up bands I like and then looking at whom Spotify says is similar to that band--a sort of musical Kevin Bacon game if you will) I came across TV on the Radio.
Yes, I know, I've been living under a rock with "80s music nostalgia" chiseled on it.
Anyhoo, I started listening to their latest album Nine Types of Light (which is a wonderfully poetic title) and I am soooo digging it. Especially the song "You" which for some reason reminds me of Peter Gabriel (you can take the girl out from under the 80s nostalgia rock...)
Well, if you're on Spotify, I suggest you check them out. It's definitely headphone music.
And here I find myself for a second night running listening to TV on the Radio's Nine Types of Light.
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