January 24, 2013
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Up For Air
It’s been kinda crazy since last weekend. And while today I have a momentary respite I go back through the gauntlet again starting tomorrow.
So this post will be a recap of all that’s transpired.
AlterLab Retreat
This past weekend kicked off my AlterLab residency. I and three other writers: Ann Brebner, Larissa FastHorse and Denmo Ibrahim.
Ann was in AlterLab with me last year and she is such an amazing woman with a wonderfully interesting life story. I thought she couldn’t possibly make my jaw drop again, again as in she had already made my jaw drop once last year (first time: she tells us that she got to read a first draft of Star Wars…Star. Wars. Because George wanted her opinion on it. second time: this morning when finding her IMDB page and seeing that she did the casting for Harold and Maude—one of my favorite movies). But if you read that parenthetical, you’ll understand why she made it drop yet again.
You can pick your jaws up off the floor.
We were back at Ann’s lovely home on Sunday. I love that house. It reminds me of the kind of home I want to own some day. Like this:
I have a thing for bungalow style houses.Denmo is an performer and writer I’ve known of here in the Bay Area but didn’t actually meet until this past weekend. She is one of the founders of Mugwumpin here in San Francisco. And thanks to Denmo I got a ride—a ride! A glorious ride!—to San Rafael. And on that second morning Denmo shared with me her most recent dream from the night before—I loved it. It was imaginative, dark and weird at times—just like my dreams. Now she’s exploring dreams as part of her AlterLab work—cool!
That last paragraph had a lot of em-dashes.
Just wanted to acknowledge that.
Denmo also shared her piece Baba with us. It’s truly fantastic and she’s a gifted performer. Last thing I’ll say about Denmo, I really love her tactical mind. She’s going to make me a more ambitious and productive playwright.
Larissa is the one playwright who is from out of town. While she’s based in L.A. she spends months on the road as a playwright.Hearing how she juggles multiple commissions and makes a living as a playwright is both inspiring and daunting (so much travel and time on the road). I know that I’ll definitely learn a lot from her as well.
The Grant App
For the past two months or so I’ve been working on a fellowship application, or rather a grant application to fund a fellowship. It’s with NALAC, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures. It’s my first time writing a grant application and I’m learning a lot.<I've had lots of support from Jeanette at AlterTheater, but we took a few weeks off because of the winter holidays. And well, it’s due tonight at midnight EST. But no worries, I’m done. I finished it all last night. The narrative, the budget, the sample, the letters of support. All done and submitted. And I am celebrating with a Peet’s hot cocoa.
More to Come
This weekend will be equally busy as I’m on the Alumni Council for my alma mater. I know, I know. All work and no play. But I am making plans (in my head) to go see some plays with friends or just hang out with my friends—whom I miss!Oh, and on Monday the “Yeah, I said Feminist” Theatre Salon is meeting. So I have that to look forward to.
More later,
M
