Bad Week.

Hello all. It's been a while.
So.


Things.


I had major problems this week. Had a family weekend, so that time got a little away from me. Then  I got sick, which hindered things. Once I was feeling better, I realized how much time I'd lost and freaked out, which isn't good. When I freak out, I freak out HARD. It's not a pretty picture. I've recovered (from both the sick and freakin'), but through the course of this week realized I hadn't contacted my collaborative professor. Oops.
I'm terrible. And embarrassed. And terrible.


SO. Promises to myself for the rest of the summer:
-Keep on top of things. Seriously. Keep in contact with people.
-Normal sleep schedule? Yes. It's a good thing.


So, other things.
I've actually had some breakthroughs this week.
My male lead character, Walter, has been more fully formed in my head. He's more of a sociopath than I expected him to be, but he makes a lot of sense to me (not the way he thinks, but the character itself). He's controlling and obsessive and lacks certain emotional capacities.
When Lola meets him, he's charming. She falls for him, and being the first "normal" man that's given her attention, she attaches almost immediately without realizing that he's not right for her, or really anyone for that matter. He's almost freakish in the way he acts. And on top of that, he's obsessed with the freak show (and just so happens to have met and seduced an ex-freak). It truly is an abusive relationship.


I have a timeline of Lola's life and I've written a couple scenes, at least in draft form, and I'm rather pleased with the results.


Here's the first scene, if you're interested:  Act 1, Scene 1


Some other things I've figured out are some of the play structure bits. I've got the beginning of Act II figured out (it's gonna be heartbreaking...) but right now it's the in between moments that are getting me. What ties it all together, how does she get from that idea to that idea? GAH.


Other than that, I've started reading more plays, two in particular that are centered around the freak show.


VENUS by Suzan Lori-Parks

For those who don’t know, “Venus” follows a woman from Africa, called the “Venus Hottentot”, who is carted away to England to be displayed as a “freak” because of her large posterior, and her “otherness.” It’s almost surreal in the way it’s played out, with choruses representing various groups, repetition and singing.

Overall, I found it to be a very interesting show. I was a little confused by it at first, given the way dialect was portrayed and the jumping around of dialog and characters. I ended up having to watch a clip of a production to fully understand what was going on in the first few scenes. This one was helpful, I also LOVED how they showed her "deformity":

I really enjoyed the simplicity of the piece though, the way people talked didn’t feel overly… sentimental, or extravagant. And it didn’t feel preachy, which is something I’ve been dealing with in going back through my writing. I’ve always had a problem with TELLING rather than showing, basically spelling out my moral rather than letting it be. This play has a way of doing just that… letting it be. And letting it be a story.

I also really liked the experimental nature of the show; it feels very… vaudevillian, which is appropriate.

THE ELEPHANT MAN by Bernard Pomerance

So. The Elephant Man. I don’t know how I felt about this show. I’m aware it’s won a bunch of awards, I just felt like it moved so quickly it was hard to attach to any of the characters. I got really mixed up about who was who for the longest time. I really wish I could see it performed, because I just wasn’t really won over by it. It was really interesting to see it in comparison to Venus though, it’s about the exact opposite of Venus, episodic and with grandiose speeches, cemented in an era…

I feel like I want to find a place between these two shows, the styles, I mean. Something between experimental and formulaic. Something both familiar and otherworldly. 

All that said, things will be better this week. I know it.