The Road to Mecca by Athol Fugard

Last Friday I went to see Athol Fugard's play, The Road to Mecca at the Roundabout Theater. Although the cast was stellar…I have to say that the piece was over-written. The story could have unfolded without so much exposition. I was drowning in words. I held up pretty well in the first (hour-long) act, primly perched on my seat, listening to the conflicts that were unfolding for the two main characters (Miss Helen and Elsa Barlow). I was interested, invested, and following along. But once the intermission came up, I realized I didn’t quite understand the relationship between the characters until deep into the second act.

Rosemary Harris (Miss Helen) had this gorgeous monologue halfway through the second act but it went on way too long and when it was over, I thought the play was close to finished…only to learn that it would go on for another 25 minutes. It was a painful 25 minutes because the exposition continued and new information was introduced. From that point on, every five minutes, I thought the play was winding down only for more words, more story and I was overcome with an attack of the giggles. In this instance, I was really glad I was in the nosebleed seats because I couldn’t stop laughing. I kept asking out loud, “Is it over yet?” only for the actors to go into another monologue.

The acting was superb. The stage design and lighting were beautiful. I just wish some of the monologues were tighter. I think the next play I want to go see is Look Back in Anger by John Osborne. It’s been in previews this past month and it opens on Thursday night. Hmmm. We shall see.

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Breakeven by The Script

I know this is not a new and shiny song. None of my favorites ever are by the time they are engraved into my psyche. Anyway, Breakeven by The Script has been on a loop all morning for me. It’s my theme song for today. It slipped under my skin and took root. Woke up with the music in my head. Listened to it while I getting ready for work. The chorus kept playing in my head on my way to work. And now I’m sitting at my desk…listening to the song yet again. I tell you, when my brain wants to gnaw on a song, it just won’t let go.

I just really like Danny O'Donoghue’s voice and when he hits those hit notes…I’m belting along…wishing I had a better voice. :-) This is also a song that makes me sway and groove in public. Standing on the subway, moving from side to side and wishing I could break out of my own skin and dance out loud.

Mark Sheehan riffing on that guitar brings me “glad-to-be-alive” kind of joy. When I get home I am going to blast out this song across the apartment. Can’t wait.

The Script came out with a new album on Wednesday called Science and Faith. May have to preview the album and see if I can find a song that can move me the way Breakeven has done today.

Rock on people, rock on.


L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Brr-isk Day

I finished a rough draft of Chapter 8 and will be bringing it in to writing group tonight. I am sitting here reminding myself that it’s all right for it to be a rough draft right now. I am aware of the glaring holes. And I have to temper myself otherwise I’ll rush in too soon to fix it and then make a bigger mess. So…I will wait. Let the new lines…the new direction of the story…gel up before I try to reconstruct them into something else. Ergh! Does any of this make sense? Gosh I hope so. Cause at this very moment, I’m finding it difficult to communicate in the written form. Perhaps I should try symbology or hieroglyphics to get my point across.

It’s a windy day in Nu Yawk Sitty but I’m a-liking it. While people are bundling themselves tighter into their wooly coats…I am walking around with a smile on my face. Windy days are great for clearing the cobwebs. The moody blues that have been weighting me down the past week have dissipated the last two days. I feel lighter and brighter. There is something about clean, crisp air that wakes me right up.

It reminds me of when I lived in Oswego. The college was right by Lake Ontario so we would get this amazing burst of cold air coursing through the campus. Yummy. I would take my red bike and pedal through town as fast as I could go. That was fun and I miss having a bicycle. Then again, I’m not sure how safe I would be riding alongside NYC traffic. Eeek! I don’t think a rinky-dink bell would save me from the likes of NY cabbies who don’t like sharing the road. Ah, I digress. That’s a conversation for another day. Anyway…that’s all I’ve got for today.

Peace,

L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

One foot out the door

It’s the Friday before a long weekend and I am feeling antsy. I want to get moving, I want to get going but I am sitting here waiting. At the moment, there is nothing immediate that needs to be done. I could work on my writing but I’m covering phones today. I can’t take the constant interruption without wanting to rip someone’s head off. So the writing will have to wait.

I brought the latest chapter into my writing group yesterday. The feedback they gave me was on point. They brought up the places where they felt there was something missing or that needed to be reworked. My second main character is too similar to my protagonist and now I am trying to figure out how to make her voice more distinctive. What I have in my head isn’t quite translating out onto the page yet. I’m not frustrated about it… just trying to work it out. Ergh. Means reworking chapter 7 again. *rubbing my face off*

I’m still working on finishing up Chapter 8. I spent some time yesterday researching 2nd degree burns, what’s considered extensive and life threatening and the complications that arise. I managed to add another 200 words to the chapter. It’s something.

I can’t stop thinking about this story. My brain is filled with images and scenes of things to come and I jot down a sentence or a couple of lines to remind me later. I’ve resorted to jotting notes on index cards and scrap paper. Not really a good method since I’ll look at the notes later and need to decipher what my cryptic messages mean. There is a fine balance between writing too fast and writing too slow. I don’t want to lose what’s coming up but if I rush through then it’s about having to fill it out later. Goodness. Am I griping? ‘Cause it’s starting to sound that way. Okay I think that’s where I’ll stop for the day.

It’s a windy, rainy day and I have one foot out the door. Just have 2.5 more hours before I can go.

Peace,

L~

Go Giants!! 

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Word count...up

Hmmm, been working on chapter 8 today. Added 1,389 words to this new story line for a total of 1,557 words. Yes, counting words helps me keep track of the growing progress of this novel. There are still more chapters that haven’t been touched by revisions yet but wondering now if they are going to fit with these new material.
Eventually, will need to skim further pages to see if the older material can be salvaged and repurposed in with the new material. ergh. Square peg…round hole…pushing hard…doesn’t seem to want to go in. Must find a way to make it fit. Hehehe. No, not really. Just need to look at the work, see what can be used and what can be scrapped.

Brain feels a bit fried today. Grey cloudy day, foggy brain. Everyone seems to be sick with a head cold/ sinus infection/ hacking cough/ plague lately. Trying not to get sick by ducking every time I hear someone cough or sneeze. Grrr…my throat is starting to hurt. Psychosomatic much? Perhaps. Off I go… in search of a much needed cup of hot tea.

Peace,

L~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Restless...

My brain is full tonight with thoughts of parallel universes and alternate realities.  We go through life making a thousand decisions big and small and each of them take us down one path or another.  We have encounters or miss opportunities based on those decisions and I think how different would our lives be if we had taken a chance instead of hold ourselves back.  Or if we had held ourselves back when we've leapt headlong down the rabbit hole...only to find ourselves in a dead end reality.  No, this blog entry is not about regrets. It's more about thinking of the larger cosmic reality.  Quantum reality.  The lives we are living in parallel universes and how those lives might have unfolded.

What if I had never lived with one person and had finished my graduate degree earlier?  I would never have met the next person.  What if I had applied and been accepted into Cooper Union to pursue an art degree instead of hiding from that desire? I would never have pursued theater and playwriting. What if I had continued teaching at the college level?  What if I had moved forward without the safety net of a plan B career?  Where would I be now in terms of my creative work? What if I had stayed away instead of going back? Out there in that quantum reality those lives are being lived. Which ones made a go of it?  Which ones crashed and burned?  Which ones are happy and jammin'? Which ones sit in the dark with a laptop asking those questions?  And if I could change any of those decisions, would I have done anything differently?

What a way to fry one's brain in the middle of the night?

This is when those questions come up, late in the night when the apartment is quiet and my thoughts are allowed to run rampant through the grey matter.  They bounce off the walls, make me toss and turn as if I had to make those decisions all over again.  No, thank goodness once was enough.  But there is hunger that stirs in the pit of my stomach.  It burns with ambition...wanting best outcomes. Hell, I don't know if it's work related or life related but...it has sharp teeth.  I want to tamp it down with gin and smokes but why unscrew that cap now.  In the light of day, those teeth retract and I manage to melt into the moving crowds of trains and commuters.  This life...this reality...is too small to appease the hunger.  Must dream bigger...because the soul is restless.



All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Pleasure Principle

I brought chapter 6 to my writing group last night and it went really well. Gosh, it’s so good to have a support system as a writer. They were positive and encouraging and they asked lots of really good decent questions that I can wrap my head around. Even some feedback that I wasn’t able to hear earlier, someone else mentioned it last night and it clicked for me.

I’ve had a note (more than once now) that I need to fill in some of the history of this futuristic world that I’m creating. I was reluctant to hear it because I knew that if that was the case I was never going to finish this story by the end of last year. So here we are the first week in January and there is more to go, more to fill in, more layers to unravel but I’m encouraged and feel pretty optimistic for a change. It could also be the mild sunny weather we are having today too. * big cheesy smile *

Anyway, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I am a slow prose writer. When I try to rush, I don’t allow the story to unravel and reveal the many little secrets that are starting to surface. It does help being more consistent in my writing practice. As in, sitting down and actually writing every day even if it’s only 200 words or just going over the work that I completed the day before. It’s my new obsession and it brings me pleasure again.

For too long, I was in a state of perpetual perfectionism that constrained me, tied me up into knots, spit me out and made me question myself and this ability to communicate this story. I’m shaking loose...and working on letting go.

Being the control freak that I am…well let’s just say it’s easier said than done…but I’m getting better at it. Anyway, last night’s writing group….was amazing. I was high and buzzing off the good vibes and being in community with these talented, intelligent writers…and talking about writing craft, social justice, teaching and whatever topics we hit on…just added a wonderful dimension. And if I forget about this feeling, I’m coming back to my own blog and reading this entry. Rock on!!

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.