Wednesday...tonight writing group - wow, the last two weeks sped by since the last time we met! Looks like there will be about nine writers meeting in the back room at Panera tonight. Believe it or not, I'm always a little nervous about the pressure of writing in that venue. It's a tall order to be given a random prompt, find inspiration, lay down the first sentence, find the arc of the story, and then bring it to conclusion - all in fifteen minutes! There have been a few times, when "I got nuthin", and I just sit there and watch other people write. Luckily those times are rare. Tomorrow I'll report to you and maybe share with you something I write tonight. Have you ever noticed that almost everything I write involves babies dying? Weird what bubbles up.
Last night, Natalija's "Acting for Singers" workshop. I know I've got some singers reading this blog so DO check her out. Here's a link to her website bio. She wants to do more of these kinds of workshops so, if you're interested in being on her mailing list, you can reach out to her via the website, I'm thinking (or call me and I'll give you her number). The workshop was four hours long with the first three hours not at all about singing - it was straight acting! Boy, were most of us out of our comfort zone! We didn't have to make believe we were trees but just about everything short of that - silly movements, contorted faces, embarrassing noises - you just had to surrender to the indignity of it and leave your pride at the door! And then scenes from powerful plays that we briefly rehearsed and then acted. I was Hamlet!!! - the scene where Ophelia breaks up with him. (Alas, I didn't get to read the famous, "To be, or not to be" speech). But I did get to say, "Get thee to a nunnery!"
Finally we put the first three hours of acting to musical use and worked on a song, bringing to it, a fleshed out back story, a setting, an intent of what we wanted, conflict, action - from which emotion pulsed. Different than how singers usually approach songs. Typically, we just gush with unscripted emotion and hope the audience "gets" what we're feeling. Natalija says something to the effect of, "Focus on the story, the characters, who you are, what you want, where you're going...and the emotion will take care of itself." My song, I Thought About You was beautiful. I was on a train, in my own private berth, I'd been there since the afternoon, having left my boyfriend that day. He decided I wasn't what he wanted but he was confused because he also still loved me. I had to leave him so that he could feel the loss of me in his life. As I watched the little towns roll by and the moon shine down on yards with old cars on blocks, I thought of him and hoped he would come and find me - I was headed home to family to heal. Done with making my case, done with pleading, I realized the next move was his - had to give him the space he needed to decide. But oh, was I blue! I hope I get to sing that song to you someday - it's beautiful. Here's a link to a version by Shirley Horn.
Lately I've been thinking a lot about being OK trying new stuff and being really bad! Case in point, last night. I'm sure my Hamlet would have made a critic cringe! Similarly, if you saw me practice piano (the new chord method Mark is teaching me), accompanying myself, you would laugh because it goes something like this: Smile...chord...though your heart is aching...pause while I find the next chord...chord...Smile...oops, cringe, wrong chord....OK, got it this time...even though it's breaking....chord. Takes me about six minutes to sing what should be a two and a half minute song! Really awful!!! Anna is getting a piano - she used to play and I reminded her that it's OK to be bad at first! James is frustrated because he can't beat me at Scrabble. He's got an excellent vocabulary and he's smart as a whip, but he lacks the acumen seasoned Scrabble players have, doesn't know Scrabble "ropes" very well. He aspires to play tournament Scrabble which is an awesome goal. I hope he gives himself permission to suck for a while and endure the learning curve.
Acting last night was not something on my bucket list - I have never aspired to be a good actress. I remember my friend Rochelle saying to me, "How is it that you're really good at everything you do?" Answer was simple. "I only do things I'm good at!" Now I'm thinking that's a dumb way of living. The truly confident person isn't afraid of trying things and being amateurish. I could make a long list of things I'd like to try my hand at that I wouldn't shine at - dancing, volleyball, chess, glass-blowing, swimming, calligraphy, painting, race car driving, guitar.
The challenge today is to make your own short list of a few things you'd like to try. Pick one or two and sign up for classes or get a how to manual or video. Give yourself permission to be really awful at first - don't be discouraged. Laugh. Let others laugh at/with you. Be a neophyte. The book, The Happiness Project talks about novelty as a component of happiness. I, for example, love to sing. I'm good at it. I work on it, but it's no longer a hobby that challenges me to get outside my comfort zone. Thinking it's leaving our comfort zones that will spice up our lives with novelty and excitement. Bull fighting, anyone!?
Peace,
Sarah
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