I’m embarrassed at how long it’s been since I’ve updated this blog. I hope readers have had a wonderful 2012, and are excited about the prospects of a new year. I’m beginning my year by committing to actually completing my first “playwright’s purge,” which means I promise to write—something, anything—every single day in January. As my paying work has dropped precipitously in 2012, I should have the time to do this, and I encourage anybody reading to join me and the fabulous group started by Mark Harvey Levine by clicking on the link above.
So far, six days in, I’ve completed a new short play that I’m really happy with and will be uploading to my short plays page shortly, an application for a women’s playwriting prize, and this blog post (which counts!). What I’ve found is that even thinking “I’m going to write today” instead of thinking “This is not a writing day” has me thinking more about writing, what I will work on, etc. Today, I wondered if I should work on my scene structure for A Kind of Salvation (which is now just a working title), a new ten-minute I’ve been thinking about, character development monologues or—as it turned out—this prize application. AKOS work will definitely be part of this month’s plan, though, as it will soon be workshopped as part of the Emanuel Fried New Play Workshop, the deadline for which is Monday.
I know that writers are supposed to write every day, but with four kids and the need to actually earn money, that can sometimes be difficult. If you’re able to pull it off, I’d love to hear how you juggle to do it, and what dividends you find that it pays. I’m hoping that this productive start to the year will make 2013 a good one. It’s already off to a great start:
*Seeds will have its world premiere at Road Less Traveled from March 1-24.
*”Cake Top This,” a short play about marriage equality, has its world premiere in Minnesota at Box Wine Theater’s Raucous Caucus III.
*I’ll be attending the annual Dramatists Guild meeting and awards ceremony at the end of the month.
*My short play, “You Haven’t Changed A Bit,” appears on the Barrington Stage in February and, since they’re paying a travel stipend, I’ll be going.
*In March, Ithaca Dramatists Guild regional rep Aoise Statford will co-host a pair of submission seminars at the Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca on March 4 and the Road Less Traveled Theater in Buffalo on March 23.
And that’s just the beginning… I’m once again co-curating the Buffalo United Artists BUA Takes 10: LGBT Short Stories festival with Matthew Crehan Higgins. We’re still taking submissions through January 31, so if you’ve got a ten-minute play with an LGBT theme, check out the guidelines.
Finally, if you’re an actor who has somehow found your way to this blog, I’d love to encourage you to read this two-part piece I wrote on the actor’s life in Buffalo. From what I hear, more and more college professors are encouraging students to come here to build resumes because Buffalo offers an incredibly artistic life in an affordable town.
Stay warm and writing,
Donna
