January 24, 2013

  • 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

January 17, 2013

  • AlterLab Retreat

    This weekend kicks off my AlterTheater's 2013 AlterLab residency. I've been so busy that I haven't had much time to mentally prepare myself. Note to self: I also need to go buy a new journal for all my 2013 AlterLab workshop meetings.

    If you'll recall I participated in AlterLab's inaugural year last season. It was at our first retreat that I mentioned this play idea about a fairy tale set in Brazil, but I hadn't intended to write that play during my residency. Of course the characters, well, they had other plans and I wrote The River Bride in record time (my own writing standards).

    This year the plan is for me to finish the other two plays in my fairy tale cycle: Wolf at the Door and Alcira.

    Wolf at the Door has a first draft that needs rewriting. And it's been stalling for some time because a) I turned my attention to The River Bride and b) I have an outline for it and outlines stifle my writing for some reason.

    Alcira needs a first draft, it's currently a few scenes here and there--though I do really like the prologue. So I have my work cut out for me.

    My residency goal this year is to finish those two plays. It's a tall order. Believe me, I know. But I really, really want to do it. I can do. I know I can. It's just going to take every ounce of me as a writer to do it.

    Look out 2013, here I come.

    -M

January 16, 2013

January 14, 2013

  • Things I Did This Weekend

    • finished an application for a play prize
    • finished a theatre festival application
    • thought about writing
    • saw Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen (thank you, Castro Theatre)
    • phone interview about gender parity in theatre
    • did my laundry
    • cooked one amazing steak
    • video chat with collaborators
    • almost finished my 2013 playwriting work plan (I swear, I'll finish it soon!)
    • got a flu shot
    • realized my January calendar is practically full

    -M

January 9, 2013

  • I'm Back…Finally

    Where was I and what was with the radio silence? Well, I was in Texas spending Christmas with my family and taking a bit of a media fast, ergo the radio silence. But I got sick right before Christmas and am just getting better. 

    It feels like ages since I've posted a blog post. In fact it's been almost a month which is like an ice age in social media time.

    Well, it's 2013 and I am feeling very positive about this new year. There's a lot of work to do and I'm trying to get a handle on all of it. 

    Where to start…where to start…

    Well, first if you haven't seen the San Francisco One Minute Play Festival, check out the video that's archived courtesy of New Play TV. This year they were able to label each play so you can find mine in the mix. 

    Watch the festival below:
    Watch live streaming video from newplay at livestream.com

    Second, if you're in NYC on January 25th you can catch a reading of my play Braided Sorrow which is in Poetic Theater Productions' 2013 Poetic License festival. More on all this in my next post. 

    Third, I'm working on my 2013 playwriting work plan and hope to have it up here on my blog soon. 

    Fourth, I'm working to complete some of the first items on aforementioned work plan as their deadlines were early/mid January. Seriously, January is hitting the floor running.

    Fifth, AlterTheater's AlterLab retreat is coming up. This year I'm going to work on rewrites for Wolf at the Door and writing Alcira. It's a lot of work to do, but I really want to finish my grimm Latino fairy tale cycle this year.

    And well, there's more on the work plan. But overall, I'm ready to get back into my writing work. My creative batteries are seriously charged and ready to be tapped.

    So welcome back, readers. Here's to a brand new year!

    -M

December 10, 2012

  • Another NYC Reading


    That's right. On Friday I was invited to have Braided Sorrow included in Poetic Theater Productions' 2nd annual Poetic License festival of new poetic theatre that will take place January 21-27 next year.

    Hooray!

    And I'd like to take a moment to point out this is the second opportunity that has arisen of late that came about because I'm on Twitter. Seriously.

    I met Alex Mallory, Co-Artistic Director of Poetic Theater Productions, online during a #NewPlay twitter conversation about political theatre. Side note: the Center for the Theatre Commons hosts weekly twitter conversations on Thursday at 11 PST using their hashtag #NewPlay.

    Anyway, Alex and I found that when it comes to political theatre, she and I agree on lots of issues. So we exchanged an email or two and I was asked to share my work. Since Poetic Theater Productions is interested in poetic theatre (and in providing a space for both playwrights and poets) I sent her my two plays where my poetry comes across the most: Braided Sorrow (my first play) and The River Bride (my latest play).

    I'm excited to have Braided Sorrow in a festival. Since its production in 2008 at Su Teatro in Denver, the play has had a life in academia thanks to many professions (Christina, Ashley and Esther to name a few) who've included Braided Sorrow in their syllabuses. And I'm glad to have another reading in New York so quickly on the heels of my November American Triage reading at Repertorio Español.

    I don't know any specific details about when my reading will happen. So more on that as all this develops. And I'm looking forward to connecting with the artistic team that Poetic Theater assembles. 

    I have to say, this a great way to end 2012 and begin 2013.

    -M

December 3, 2012

  • Taking Stock


    Even though there is still one more month left in this year, I think it's time for me to reflect on all I've accomplished with regards to my playwriting. Why? Because I often don't see the forest for the trees, because I often move from deadline to deadline without celebrating the good that's happened. And because I need to remind myself that my year wasn't stagnant, that in fact I did move projects forward and did have personal successes which should be celebrated, no matter how small. 

    So here is my list.

    What I Accomplished in 2012 as a Playwright:
    • Finished The River Bride. A record for me, in that I finished it in less than a year.
    • My AlterLab residency was a great experience.
    • Had a play fragment selected and performed by Unscripted Theater.
    • Went to Chicago for a reading of Woman on Fire at Teatro Luna--great experience. Saw lots of awesome shows, got to meet lots of great artists.
    • Wrote a study guide essay for my play Braided Sorrow which is taught at a few universities. I quite like that essay.
    • Was invited to write a short play about a doll exhibit. Play was one of many performed at a limited engagement event.
    • Had a breakthrough with the plot of Alcira, that is figuring out what the play is really about.
    • Applied to New Dramatists for the first time.
    • Connected with some amazing playwrights.
    • Joined a local feminist theatre salon that started this fall here in the Bay Area.
    • American Triage is a finalist in the 2012 MetLife Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition and was read at Repertorio Español--my first NYC playwriting anything.
    • Heart Shaped Nebula is gaining a lot of fans.
    • In talks to take Heart Shaped Nebula to Chicago. 
    See, a lot of good things did happen this year. For which I am very grateful.

    -M

November 27, 2012

  • Break A Leg!


    This is it. At 3:30pm PST/6:30pm EST the reading of my play American Triage starts at Repertorio Español. A big thank you to Allison at Repertorio Español, she coordinates the Met Life Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition reading series. And a big thank you to my director Tlaloc Rivas who flew into NYC yesterday to direct. 

    Don't think I'm forgetting about the cast and Tlaloc's assistant who are lending their talents to tonight's reading. 

    ¡Much mierda!

    -M

November 26, 2012

  • This Is It: American Triage Final Countdown


    This is it. The day before American Triage is read at Repertorio Español as part of their Met Life Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition. I really wish I was able to be there myself. It's too bad that fate and my limited vacation days conspired to keep me here on the West Coast. Never fear, my director Tlaloc Rivas will take photos and report back to me on the entire event.

    But if you, dear reader, happen to be in NYC tomorrow evening and would like to see my play, by all means head over to Repertorio Espanol for the 6:30pm reading.

    I have been thinking about this play for a few weeks now, not just because I've been prepping the script for the reading. You see, American Triage is the 2nd play I ever wrote (technically it ties for 2nd since I was writing it and Woman on Fire simultaneously--side note: there are were some interesting details that due to writing osmosis ended up in both scripts without me realizing it) and it's been about 4 years since I wrote it. In those 4 years I've developed a lot as a playwright, so I'm finding myself a little preoccupied by the fact that this play represents my abilities at an earlier stage in the game.

    Am I making sense?

    I'm still happy with the play I wrote. Lalo (the teenage boy in the play) is one of my favorite characters. Mainly because he just spouts off useless trivia, something I kinda used to do.

    And now, for no reason (actually some of you will know why):

November 20, 2012

  • American Triage Countdown


    We're 1 week away from the reading in New York at Repertorio Español. My director Tlaloc Rivas is finishing up with casting and created a Facebook event invite (love the image he found for it). I sent along a staged-reading version of the script last week, but now need to update it as I realized there's a dated reference in it. You see, I wrote the play in 2007, so when Fatima (who's 18 in the play) talks about something from her childhood the math needs to hold up today. Meaning, when she talks about being 10 and references her favorite band, it needs to be a band popular in 2002 and not 1997.

    It's a quick update that I need to make tonight and send along.

    I do wish I could have made it to the reading, but there is just too much going on at my 9 to 5 and no vacation days to spare (let alone air fare), in fact I'm going to have to work through the Thanksgiving holiday (a first for me).

    Such is life. For the moment anyway.

    -M