Back Dat Thang up

I cannot tell you how many brothas I've seen strut past a Village Voice stand, double back to check out this week's cover, grab a copy, and continue to strut down the street while staring at this chick's tail.

I couldn't find a large image to post, but you get the idea.

Funny stuff.

[click the pic for more info]

Red Without Blue

Red Without Blue is a wonderful documentary co-directed by my old college roommate Brooke Sebold. I had a chance to see a screening back in March. It was fantastic.

Synopsis from Red Without Blue site:

An honest portrayal of a family in turmoil, RWB follows a pair of identical twins as one transitions from male to female. Captured over a period of three years, the film documents the twins and their parents, examining the Farley's struggle to redefine their family.

You have two chances to catch it, lucky, lucky:

On the big screen
Newfest Film Festival
AMC Loews 34th Street Theater
312 W 34th St (at 8th Ave)
New York City

June 2 @ 5:45pm
June 3 @ 1:30pm

***

The Sundance Channel
June 25th @ 9pm

Know about it.

Bjork

I wouldn't call myself a Bjork fan, but I listened to her concert on All Songs Considered and fell in love with a few songs. Her voice dancing around techno beats and a brass band often gave me chills. I'm a lil' bummed I missed the performance. At least we have this nifty slide show.

Greg Tate, one of my favorite writers, reviewed the same concert. I might be reading into it but doesn't it read as if Mr. Tate may have shed a tear being in the presence of such greatness? Check it out here.

Yo, I need to put up my play list. For real. No joke.

Rockin' & Swayin'

Lots of good music coming soon!
[Click each pic for more info]

Cliff Hanger

Not a big fan of cryptic posts, but I want to drop this seed with the hopes that I'll elaborate in the near future.

I've always been insecure about my writing skills. I didn't receive an ideal introduction to grammar, style and punctuation in grade school. Stuff didn't really click until junior year of high school (yikes!). I've always felt limited in my ability to communicate via the written world--which is weird considering I write plays and stuff. I sometimes censor myself because I'm not really sure how to punctuate a phrase or a thought. One of the reasons I started the blog was to improve upon these skills; I'd write my thoughts, hit the "post" button and instantly my work is in the universe, no rewrites allowed, baby. I want to develop my spontaneous writing muscle, and this blog helps me do that.

I seek harmony with the written word (insert chant here). If I plan to use words to make a living, I gotta get cozy and comfortable. I have to pinpoint the delicate balance between my voice, my style and correct usage. Currently reading articles, books, essays, posts by different writers with different writing styles to get a better sense of how others handle these tools.

While English grammar/punctuation can be intimidating, it's not an impossible thing to embrace. It's a matter of expressing my thoughts to you. Communicating with you so that you'll stick around.

Bomb Mag

The Spring 2007 issue of Bomb Magazine features playwright Paula Vogel interviewing one of her former students and current bad ass individual Sarah Ruhl.

Know about it.

Da Hustle

One problem I have is I want to do everything. I have ideas that I think would be killer, but I can't muster the nerve to take the first step. Being the kind of I-gotta-figure-shit-out-before-I-make-my-move individual, it's easy for me to confuse planning and researching with taking active steps towards an end product. I have design ideas for t-shirts and messenger bags; thoughts for a novel (and maybe the sequel); photo and documentary projects; this podcast thing I've been thinking about; oh, and this buddy screenplay.

Gotta figure out how to get things moving. Get things going.

A wad of cash duct taped to her inner thigh

Yea so I dropped a wad of cash on these sneakers yesterday knowing damn well I need to save money for grad school. I have lil' to no common sense when it comes to finances.

I'm a fairly immature and emotional spender.

I'm on the brink of June 2007. I'd like to have enough money to get a place to live, rent a Penske truck, and pay for food the first semester. Can I do it? My friends have all agreed to chew me out if I talk about shoes, buying dinner, and/or buying gadgets. I'm also gonna think twice before I make Starbucks runs or buy bottled water.

Oh, yea, and I just ordered my bank to funnel X amount of dollars into my savings every 2 weeks.

I used to chant a "have more money coming in than going out" financial mantra, but somehow it got abandoned.

So. I think the key is having concrete/specific goals and plans. I'd like to be somewhat happy and calm come August.
That would be nice.

Speed Racer!

FUnky White folks

Aftermath

You: how'd the reading go?

 

The short answer to your question:

It went well.

 

The long answer to your question:

I definitely like the play more than I thought I did. The cast was great. They were smart, funny and quick. We had five hours of rehearsal and they were stellar. And because I had such great talent, I could focus on the story to know what I like about the play and what I don't like.

 

I feel better prepared to start the 3rd draft. I've also grown more determined to see this play (end eventually others) on its feet: a production where actors are off book, light cues, stage manager, etc. 

 

Daydreaming of the DRIP production, I realized I'm not entirely sure what that means. I've performed in plays, written them, seen them but I've never produced a play or directed one. As a younger playwright a production was an abstract goal. If it happened, great. If it didn't, no big deal. But as I create more complex pieces that involve movement, rhythm and sound, I yearn to see the world in its entirety--fully realized. And I'd like for people to see the play fully realized, too.

 

So now, I'm researching the nuts and bolts of producing a play. What exactly is the process I'm asking theaters to go through with DRIP or revelations::theouttakes. Is it a process I can orchestrate myself? What are my responsibilities as the playwright? What are my expectations? What is the reality?

 

The reading went well. I learned a lot. I'm ready to take things to the next level. Just have to figure out what that means....

 

 

--
www.christinaranderson.com

Coolest Community Blog design goes to....

honeyee.com.

It's like the disco floor in Saturday Night Fever.

Shakin it

I had the great fortune of seeing the dance troupe Urban Bush Women perform at the Joyce Theater last night. I left the theater with a greater sense of art, dance, movement. In short, I was inspired. When I say these women are bad ass individuals, I mean they are bad ass individuals. Each and every dancer was powerful, passionate and inspiring. It was like watching eight muses for 90 minutes.

Get hip to Nora Chipaumire. She was fabulous in a piece titled Walking with Pearl...Africa Diaries (2004).

Bonus tidbit: Founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar is from Kansas City, MO. Whoot! Whoot!

I've never had a desire to be a dancer, but I've always enjoyed watching them. Seeing the ladies perform last night made me realize how much dance and movement live in my own work. I frequently envision choreographed pieces in my plays be it combat, modern dance or clubbin moves. What's this all mean? Well, I think it might be a good idea to learn some dance/movement terms. And what does that mean? I don't know. I just have to get better at describing choreographed movements on the page. A part of that has to do with learning the forms and structures of various artistic genres. It's possible that I have to become familiar with lots of terms in order to accurately capture what's going on in these stories I tell--cinematic terms, combat terms, various dance terms, theater terms, etc. In short, I just need to keep learning stuff.

It's all about getting better.

Ah and I've also taken a greater interest in marketing and entrepreneurship. I'm not entirely sure where to apply the knowledge, but I'm picking through information and books nonetheless.

Yo, I'm starving.

What Exactly is this DRIP play?

Set up a blog to (re)introduce the latest play. My first foray into self-promotion. [blush]

Know about it.

DRIP at Ars Nova

DRIP
by
Christina Anderson

Directed by
Liesl Tommy

Monday
May 14th 7pm

Ars Nova
511 W. 54th at 10th ave.

rsvp: rsvp@arsnovanyc.com

Among the literate

A few things:

I finished Delillo's The Body Artist and started The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk. It's nice to escape to Istanbul while riding the A train.

I'm starting French lessons via podcasts. I'll be the first to announce my intentions to write a novel or a play or a folk album--something while living in Paris. I will create art in that city before all is said and done. (whew!)

Me like-y Tori Amos' new album a lot. I've never been into her music (although I was always intrigued by her bench grind.) This album offers lots of goodies. Unfortunately, I'm NOT feeling her new look.

I've gotten official paperwork in the mail so I think it's safe to say I'm starting Brown in the fall. (!!!) I have to figure PVD housing, moving and how to say good-bye to NYC (sniff, sniff). Should I get a bike or a moped?

RunEasy

Speaking as someone who's always wanted to be that chick who sprinted past meek pedestrians on city sidewalks, ipod mini strapped to my bicep (a.k.a "the gun"), sun beating against my back, Firestarter blasting out of my headphones, the wind blowing against my--

Ahem, speaking as someone who's always wanted to be a runner, I'm glad to see Reebok's new Run Easy campaign. It's been a long time since athletic gear companies have steered their campaigns towards us regular people who don't wanna sweat Gatorade or puke after workouts. I'll never be the hardcore chick zooming past nannies pushing SUV strollers in Central Park, but I can totally keep up with the Run Easy krew.

The Name Game

I'm currently reading The Body Artist by Don DeLillo. He is one of my favorite fiction writers and while this novella isn't his best work I'm learning a lot about structure and pace. I also continue to be impressed and inspired by the amount of control and confidence that exudes from his text. He is constructing a world one word at a time; one sentence at a time; one paragraph at a time; etc. It's a wonderful thing to witness.

There are lots of passages in The Body Artist that describe various things: particular body movements/gestures, locations, vocal qualities, landscapes. DeLillo often steers clear of using flowery adjectives or similes and simply names the location or body part then tells us what it looks like or what it's doing.

Example:

She poured milk into the bowl. He sat down and got up. He went to the fridge and got the orange juice and stood in the middle of the room shaking the carton to float the pulp and make the juice thicker. He never remembered the juice until the toast was done. Then he shook the carton. Then he poured the juice and watched a skim sizzling foam appear at the top of the glass.

She picked a hair out of her mouth. She stood at the counter looking at it, a short pale strand that wasn't hers and wasn't his.

There is something wonderfully matter-of-fact about that excerpt, and it reminds me that it's okay to simply tell it like it is. He describes the activities, the movements, and all of a sudden--to me, at least--there is an image / a scene for me to hold on to. No need for lyrical or poetic construction. The action exists without the clutter.

Also (and this may sound a lil duh), it's important to accurately name objects, animals, materials. Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones) writes, "Give things the dignity of their names....When we know the name of something, it brings us closer to the ground. It takes the blur out of our mind; it connects us to the earth....I am noticing what is around me and can name it. It makes me more awake."

Note to my inner-novelist: Take it easy on the frills. Just tell it like it is.