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3.2.13
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Performance, Playwriting, Project, Scripts

Spin the Bottle – March Smut

Last night at Annex Theatre, I read my first original smut at Spin the Bottle. It was exhilarating, nervous-making, and tremendously wonderful. Bret Fetzer, producer, prompted me to write my story about Emerald City Comic Con (this weekend, in Seattle!). I was inspired by several things: a former raver roommate who would dress up as a Unicorn, the lack of lesbian sex in the smut I’d seen at StB, and threesomes.

As I began writing, a new story emerged that I hadn’t originally thought of. I’d love to share it with you all. Warning, it is graphic! Also, I will post photos of the event as soon as I can.

As John caressed Sherlock’s majestic cheekbone, he realized this was the only man he could ever love. “Your cheekbones could cut glass. Like a unicorn’s horn pierces the heart of its enemies.” Sherlock stared longingly into John’s visage with his chocolate brown eyes for a lingering moment as he whispered, “Oh Johnny, unicorns aren’t real, but I love you so much that I don’t care.” Then he smashed their lips together, letting their tongues dance about like epees.

I asked Billie what she thought of my story, and she said it was a rough start and that no one will even know what an epee is.

Billie tries, she does. She’s a good girlfriend. She tries hard to care about my attempts to write Sherlock erotica, but usually she’s really more concerned with the next time we can make it to Taco Tuesday and Comic Con. Billie is obsessed with the Emerald City Comic Con. The lines to get in are long but I go with her anyway because I love her so much. Means I had better enjoy it.

So when Billie was getting ready for the big weekend by wearing the costume of her most favorite character ever: the Tenth Doctor—yeah, I know, weird, right? Because her name is Billie. Like Billie Piper. You know, the first companion from the reboot. It’s all total coincidence. Billie didn’t join the show until 2005 so her parents must be like, psychic or something. I mean, Billie’s parents. Not the Mr. and Mrs. Piper. Well, they might be psychic too. You never know.

Billie and I were getting ready to go to Comic Con, her as the Tenth Doctor, and me dressed up as her companion. She said I didn’t have to go as Rose (indicating hair color), that I could choose to be any companion I want, or I could even be a sexy TARDIS. Except I couldn’t remember what the TARDIS is and if it can be sexy or not. Billie said I should try wearing a sparkly blue tank top and a hot mini skirt, except I don’t own a hot mini skirt and that just felt so Kappa Kappa Gamma, circa 2002. But I really wanted to make an effort into finding a really good costume for Comic Con because Billie made me a promise. If went to Comic Con, she would find me a Unicorn.

Spoiler: We found Her.

Oh, not a real unicorn. I mean, a Dan-Savage-defined-you’re-never-gonna-find-one-for-that-perfect-threesome-Unicorn. A beautiful, bisexual (well, in our case, lesbian), sexually liberated, young, single, well-adjusted woman who breezes into town for just the weekend and fucks the shit out of you and then departs into the mist, never to be seen again.

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2.25.13
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Performance, Playwriting, Project

Upcoming Projects

From the cold depths of silent winter, I’m emerging to announce my upcoming projects for Spring 2013.

  • I am going to read an original smut story that I wrote for the March edition of Spin the Bottle at Annex Theatre. My story is Comic Con themed, since the ECCC is that same weekend in Seattle. Come on down to show, if you’re up for staying up late! I’ll be the last person to perform.

Spin the Bottle
Friday, March 1
11 p.m. Annex Theatre
$10/$5 Tickets

  • Cliffhouse by Allison Gregory and directed by Meghan Arnette (of Live Girls! Theater) opens March 8 at Hugo House in Capitol Hill. Featuring Artistic Director Kristina Sutherland, Meaghan Halverson, Troy Lund, and Vincent Delaney. The design team is amazing, the script is beautiful, and the cast is superb. Don’t miss this show!

Cliffhouse, produced by Macha Monkey
Fridays and Saturdays, March 8-30
8 p.m. Hugo House
$20/$18/$15/$12 Tickets

  • Last fall, Macha Monkey selected 2 plays from ACT Theatre’s Young Playwrights Program. We are producing these plays in a staged reading format on Sunday April 14 at Freehold, in the Black Box space. I’m directing Sweeping Beauty by Alex Kennedy and Ray Williams will direct The Play by Sam Hoyt. These adorable 12 year old boys wrote some fun and imaginative plays, and I’m excited to help them come to life! This event will be free.

Macha Monkey Young Playwrights Reading
Sunday April 14
2 – 5 p.m. Freehold Theatre
FREE

  • Annex just hosted the meet and greet for our upcoming off night production, Star Crossed, and other tales from a devious universe, written by Scotto Moore. Scotto Moore, Jen Moon, Ian Johnston, Katherine Karaus, and I are all directing original short works produced at 14/48 over the years. The cast is fun and the scripts exquisite. For a great, light dosage of what makes Scotto the great playwright he is, get ready for this show. It doesn’t open until late April and I can’t wait to get started!

Star Crossed, and other tales from a devious universe
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, April 30 – May 22
8 p.m. Annex Theatre
Will post ticket info later!

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10.10.12
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Performance, Review

Thoughts on Seattle Fringe Festival 2012

Last weekend, I attended the Seattle Fringe Festival 2012. I saw four productions, two of which were good, two of which were not. From what I’ve learned from different people who either attended the Seattle Fringe in the past or have been to other Fringe festivals, it’s always a risk. A Fringe festival is about gaining momentum, taking chances as an audience member (but only sacrificing about an hour of your time and $10), and then spreading the word as you know more. Advertising and marketing doesn’t really work unless the artists have already picked up momentum from performing in other locations. I only knew half of the artists I saw and had reason to believe their work would be good. For the other half of the performances, I took a chance based on the descriptions. I thought I would like them, I was wrong. I finally understand what everyone’s been saying all along: summary marketing proves to be ineffective and word-of-mouth is really the best form of advertising. Continue reading →

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9.2.12
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Project

New Project! 14 in 14

Today I started a new project, proposed by Courtney Meaker, called 14 in 14. We are going to read, write, or see a new play every day for two consecutive weeks.

I’m excited! I’m scared! I started a little project tumblr to keep myself inspired and on task. Check it out here: 14 in 14.

7.16.12
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Workshop

A Mouse Who Knows Me Workshop #2

We did it! We completed the second workshop performance of Scotto Moore’s A Mouse Who Knows Me, directed by Kristina Sutherland, to be produced at Annex Theatre this fall. In order to complete all of the songs and the script for the show, Scotto Moore produced a public workshop performance that included (almost) the entire cast of the show singing all fo the songs and reading the script. The result was an exciting and intimate performance at the Hugo House, followed by a really great talkback.

The best part of the process was being able to hear the music come together. I miss working on musicals (something I thought I’d never admit to myself) and I got chills when the actors would find truly musical and intimate moments with each other. The rehearsal process was a little rough because the main leads could only attend a few sporadically throughout the two weeks, but that provided an opportunity for the ensemble cast members to really hone in on the harmonies that will flesh out the production as a whole. Annex is a small space, and when everyone sings together, it’s going to be powerful.

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7.16.12
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Performance, Playwriting, Workshop

Thoughts after ACT’s June Construction Zone

Recently I went to ACT’s Construction Zone series (my first time) with my friend Courtney Meaker. Although I was underwhelmed by the evening, it did get me thinking. My

thoughts also came up during the conversations with Annex Theatre following pitch sessions. Who does theatre serve? What is self-indulgent theatre? Who is our audience?

This entry is not meant to come to any conclusions, but perhaps to open up a conversation.

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7.4.12
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Workshop

SLAC (Slash Artists Collective)

Of the many theatre projects I’m working on this summer (while simultaneously looking for new work… anybody hiring?), one of them is a new project called Slash Artists Collective or SLAC. A friend of mine, Carolynne Wilcox, invited me to join a new group being created by artists who are eager to learn more about other aspects of theatre by those who wish to share their knowledge. It is truly a collective, really an ensemble, because we have been switching off who leads the group every week.

But what is a slash artist? A slash artist is anyone who doesn’t identify as one type of artist. When people ask you what you do, you don’t just say, “I’m a props designer,” or “I’m a producer.” You say, “I direct, I write plays, and I design lights,” or you say, “I’m an actor, but I also stage manage and I’m directing a children’s play I wrote.” That’s a slash artist. Not defined by a single qualifier, everyone in this group has so much to teach.

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7.2.12
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Playwriting, Scripts

Choosing Scripts – solo v. consensus

Since Big Story Small with Pony World, I’ve been mostly reading scripts. I’ve gone through script submission processes twice before since I moved to Seattle, but on both occasions the processes were anonymous and ten-minute works. Reading nearly 300 ten-minute plays is a lot different than reading around 40 full-length scripts or 30 some-odd proposals. I have enjoyed and struggled through all of the systems but each time I learn something new and feel more empowered to do it better the next time.

In May, I organized all of the submissions for Macha Monkey’s upcoming season. I read all of the scripts, culled it down to the best (high quality, fit our mission) and shared them with the company. Not everyone had a chance to read the ones I selected, but they did read the best one, which we all chose. (Of course now the more difficult part is securing a director!) The position was more of a liaison between the ultimate decider, the Artistic Director, and the playwrights. This is a similar process to the one I used for selecting the ten-minute plays, except that I had to enlist my dad to help me eliminate the weak ones for that process because there were just too many to slog through.

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7.2.12
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Uncategorized

Recent and Upcoming Activities

I suppose I should update and maintain this blog if I want it to be legitimate, but I’ve been so busy decompressing from working on shows this past winter and spring that it was nice to be able to step away for a bit and enjoy the summer. (Unfortunately, we’ve been in the midst of Juneuary, patiently waiting for Official Summer, July 5.) So I think I’ll update in some separate posts to make it fun and to prevent this one from getting too long!

Coming soon:

  • Choosing scripts (traditional and non-traditional ways)
  • SLAC Workshops (and why they’re awesome)
  • Thoughts after seeing ACT’s Construction Zone
  • A Mouse Who Knows Me workshop (July 14, 6 pm, Hugo House)
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5.10.12
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Performance

Pony World’s Big Story Small at Theatre Off Jackson

Opening tonight at Theatre Off Jackson in the ID, Pony World Theatre is presenting Big Story Small. I got to do the dramaturgy for this project and I have been super excited about it!

I thought I’d post a taste of the information I’m putting in the lobby: My introduction.

This past week, I was given the honor and privilege to be a fly on the wall for Pony World Theatre’s final rehearsals for Big Story Small 2012. As an observant fly, my purpose was to provide an outside eye in order to connect the work of the playwrights, directors, designers, and performers to you, the audience. Tonight you will experience nine new and original works, with a twist: they are all adapted from classic works. Think of it as a Reader’s Digest version of all the plays you love or meant to read but never got around to… but better. The playwrights and directors develop entirely new concepts for every piece—but how? How does one condense a full-length play into merely 10 minutes?

Every single play you will witness tonight was originally written in the 20th century (with the exception of Medea). Each one is a classic. But how do you define classic? To be a classic, the work must speak to a wide audience spanning generations of time. The message must be universal and persistent.

Medea is a story of love and loss told solely in images. Playboy of the Western World reminds us that it is okay to laugh, even when the subject may seem offensive. In State of Siege, Pony World reminds us of the dangers of losing the individual, while they worked together as a group. Rhinoceros is an experiment with form, in the style of Ionesco. Mother Courage synthesizes Brecht’s aesthetics while staying true to the story.

Waiting for Godot, about everything that happens while nothing is happening, is perfect for Big Story Small. Saint Joan too encapsulates what it means to shrink a big story into a small package through set, character development, and story structure. Ontological Proof of My Existence is the perfect example of how to extract the essence of a piece and create an experience. The Cherry Orchard also showcases how to extract an essence of a story and show it in a small package, thereby highlighting the absurdity of the central family’s tragic experience.

All of these plays are condensed, distilled, and have had their essences extracted from their cores. The playwrights, directors, and company of Pony World Theatre have worked tirelessly and professionally to produce these works. I hope you enjoy this unique experience not only as an observer but as a participant, engaging with original new work.

Read all of the lobby displays here!

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