 Thank you guys for getting it ready. Yeah, I like that now panic and freak out. I love that So hey, we're gonna start because it's five o'clock. It's watch me work. Whoo. I know we study only show in New York That starts on time Because we're writers And I'm Susan White Park and thank you guys for all coming for those of you Yeah, for you guys for those of you who haven't been here before and haven't heard me say this Again, haven't heard me say this before This is watch me work, which is two things and Drew will correct me if I forget watch me work is a Meta theatrical free writing workshop Watch me work is also a play and the action of the play goes like this for 45 minutes We will do the action together and then for about 15 minutes or so. We'll do the dialogue Okay, so it's it's a free writing class into play the me in the title is you so the dialogue after the work Session is going to be about your work and your writing process Okay, not mine, but yours and We're live streaming so for folks on Twitter who want to tweet in some questions. Drew has the address Yes, if you tweet us at watch me work SLP with the hashtag new play Well at watch me work at At watch me work SLP. That's hard to remember at watch me work SLP Hashtag new play Okay, I don't even know my own phone number anymore, but okay All right, so we're gonna work for 45 minutes and then we're gonna talk and It'll be fun And we're gonna do the clocks because I don't think this one works in one I know it's it's a visual it's a visual thing. Okay start working now work now Very good. All right. That's our time. That's our action time I sometimes wonder about productivity and What an average speed is or what it ought to be because I feel like I tend to work really slowly compared to Maybe compared to most writers I've seen so many writing coaches and such say that just you know Write and write and write and then rewrite later and I can't do that Especially if I'm working on a piece of verse I write a few words and then I revise those words and then I move on so You know and I mean it doesn't really matter in the end I guess not but I I wonder if there's a way to be more productive that I just don't get yet Right, right, right. Yeah Yeah Two questions like I Would say maybe look at the look at your career like Yeah, I mean I tried to Okay Your car Because it's a compounded Right, so what you're just gonna do is you're gonna write every day instead of one of those people who like dumps a whole big lot of money in their bank account, you know That's like a lot of money right away. I mean like when you live on like overnight, right? You're gonna be slowly accruing interest so you're What's on your side is that you're steady you do it every day or try to And you're steadily building the body of work. Yeah, okay So you're not like quick fast gratification flash in the pan and part of it is we have to get comfortable with Who we are I mean that's another right So it's how to write faster better or not to go crazy And how to be composed who we are Essentially, yeah, I mean when I look in when I look at my bigger projects like my my long-term projects It's and they're in progress and they've been in progress for three months six months or whatever and it's sort of I mean, it's hard to say If it's hard to say when the project will be done, then it's hard to even if I'm working on it every day and just chipping away it's like when's the when's the thing going to finally appear and so it can Get frustrating Maybe that's a different question. So So this is what you can do and it might feel like unnatural, but so many things are You know the bar that we all But it might feel forced Yeah You say, okay, I'm going to be finished. I'm gonna cross the finish line And you decide, you know, if you're working on it just for yourself. Yeah, I do that all the time I say I'm gonna be done by then You know and I get it and good, you know, I try to get it done by that day We're close to it and that does give you because you know something you can spend the rest of your life Because you want to get it out there exactly want to get it out So you have to impose a deadline and it might feel kind of not natural or whatever, but You know, I think there's a law It says I That But if you get somewhere with it, then you get to me if you get somewhere with it, then you get some I mean if progress is progress I Never I Write on the back of like And I so wanted to write about it And what do you do with the If it's it all depends if what I read turns out to be crap when I reread Then it just goes to the track But if it's something that I feel Before I send an email to myself with the play idea or the dialogue so that I keep it there Sometimes it gets integrated When I write on ran a piece of paper Oh, yeah, no It's sort of the sparked by this question about Very very fragmented right now my energy on different projects that aren't really I feel very fragmented I have trouble focusing in this instant I Think it's also so so what is the question I guess it's for folks about about that Like what to do so I have this project I have this other sort of idea thing and another thing that I just started writing that feels like separate to and I'm like Struggling and and none of them have any expectations around them either. They're just things Lee Lee has several different projects and She feels like she wants to work on them all at once. Yes Feel right, you know, you might not feel right, but Choose one project. I'm gonna work on this Until it's finished It's where the discipline comes in Like that You go to a dance class well, how often So you have to make you all your ass up out of your off your couch Let go of your control or whatever. I mean, I don't have but you know Right push away Facebook, you know and go to your dance class. It's a discipline, right? Okay, you have to apply the same transferable skill discipline So you have to say I am going to just pick one thing to work on until it's completion and what you're missing. I think it's faith That's You're drawn to things you believe in something And you're drawn to it You know, it kind of holds on to you and draws you back So you have to feel a belief in it So you have to pick one thing or some energy into it Put some time into it with everything decide make a list put it on a, you know, right on the index cards Stick it on your wall. This is the next project Give yourself a month to work on one project Or keep doing this Not right now. Maybe I don't like doing that. Yeah, focus or give yourself a week I'm gonna focus on this one project for a week and then I'm gonna go to the next I've done things like that I've written two screens place at once, but I wrote one what week one and then I switched to another one, too And I switched back and forth and down and both down at a certain in a certain amount of time Okay, so just we just hope When you this is that like production stuff more than writing is that okay? When you're working with the director like the first time you meet like what are some of the questions that you ask a director? When I'm working with a director, what are some questions that I would ask the director? Yeah When I'm working with it, I'm trying to think it depends on the project. I mean, I mean, it's someone, you know I'm guessing so because we're talking about you He's right down there. Wow. You see, you know him you're about to embark on a production Yep, and you have faith in this person. You're drawn to him. This faith is gooey and you He has read the script. Oh, he should be asking you the question. I mean, have you cast a play? Okay, great. So you're gonna be building your cast I have one person you're building the cast to work with this one person Talk about your play make sure you kind of on the same page as you know far as understanding the play goes Before you get in front of the actors, maybe established if you haven't worked with you before How are they talking about? You know how if you have a disagreement, how do I handle it for the actors? You don't want to have a smack down You might tell him your style and rehearsal and get a feeling of for his style So like that but talk about your play make sure that don't assume just because he's ready and he gets it Like you get Right I I'm wondering if it's a mistake to do as he was, or if they get both of these to draw. Right. One day the audience is going to be those two both of them. I already saw this and that. Right, right, right, that's a great question. No, well, what's your name? William. William. That's good. No, William! It's not. It's not. He didn't shake too. Yeah, right. So William has a question, so he's got four one-acts, he wants to combine them, and he really has a feeling that it will work and it will be a lot of fun. But he's also expanding one of the one-acts into a program to play. I wonder if the other one of the audience will like, feel gentle. I know, you know, they'll end up with two different things. Sounds like they're going to be two different things. Combining one-acts is different from expanding a one-act program. I do this one-act for you. I think it should be both. Yeah, yeah. If the characters are that interesting to you, and that excited to you, then you can do whatever you want. And if people come and they say, I've seen this before. I mean, you know, like, all the writers, you know, like, repeat themselves. I mean, you know what I mean? I've seen this before. Who cares? That's a thing. No, no. So this is also about collaboration. Collaboration? Okay. Okay. I've been commissioned to write a book for YouTube. And the director and I are really good with it. It's been up and down, right? It always is, but there's a lot of mutual respect and admiration, and all these things. And there are changes now. It's like, the script needs to be frozen. Yeah. Right. I'm crazy. And there are just, it's again, it's like this wonderful deep love and admiration. But I'm feeling a little inferior on. He's kind of trying to pull rank about certain changes in the book and certain changes in the characters. Right, right. And I don't know what my, I think I know what my rights are. But I don't want, it seems like mutually assured destruction a little bit. Right. I try to pull rank and he can pull, you know what I'm saying? Right. I can say, well, you can't really change that. And he can say, well, we don't really have to close the book. And then the whole thing floats off. You know, it's like, it's not going to happen. That's not going to happen. That's, you know, you know where we're going. You're going to eat? Yeah. Right. But it's, so I guess my question is, how do I balance this? Like, things feel really good. And, you know, we really respect each other. And we're both, we're both incredibly passionate and sometimes stubborn. Right. And my uncertainty about certain of my rights, certain things like, you know, shares in royalty, points in royalties and all, you know. Right. And my rights to the material. Right. Right. So, okay, so Ricardo's written a musical and they're a week from opening and there's tension, he's written a book for musical and lyrics too. And there's tension with the director. And, right? Yeah. So what, so what do you do? I mean, the points and the royalties and all that kind of stuff, that's your age and your representatives. Probably, kind of drama scale or something. You know, in your spare time. I know. In your spare time. I mean, if you're asking, if you're asking those kinds of questions, that's kind of a new question. And I, you know, that's okay. Don't worry about that. What I feel is that you're a week from opening and what always happens is you have a lot of anxiety. Always. Pretty much. I mean, almost always, right? And you're excited because you're almost opening and it's anxious and it's anxiety. You're seeing it. The director's a great guy. The director's a great guy. And there's tension. I would say, make the change that you feel is going to be right. And fully break, like you said, it doesn't get anybody, it's going to make the change that you feel is going to be right. If you can stand up for something that you want to have in the look, then stick to your gut. Okay? And the friendship will survive. The book is going to survive, like you said. They're going to use your book. They're not going to pull the book. They're going to use your book. Okay? But it always, you know, you've been through this before. It always is like this. You know what I mean? So it just is part of it. It's part of it. You'll be open to the ceremony. But stick to your gut. Don't let anybody kick you around just because you're with the director. Yeah. Yeah. You're going to be open to the ceremony. We handle getting back into a project that you put aside for a long, long period of time. Is he working on any tricks? Yeah. Yeah. So how long? Getting back into a project that you put aside for a while. How long did you put aside? Since the first watch we worked. Wow. So when was that? I can't remember. A couple of years. I guess a couple of years. I was doing other things. You were doing other things? This is what I was doing. I was doing adapting. Oh, right. Okay. So you were working on that. You put it aside to work on other things? To work on things, yeah. Great. And now you're coming back to it. Yeah. So what's really good is that you didn't put it aside and not do anything. That's really good. You know, it's like, you stopped swimming but you were running. So the muscles are still. It happens. That's good. Just put the time in. Put the time in. And again, it's one of those. Ricardo's at the finish line. You're at the starting line. It's icky and weird and fucked up and strange. You know, it's going to feel weird. It's going to feel weird. It's going to feel like that. So don't worry that it feels like that. Make sure you put the time in the daily thing or you have your writing muscles. So just, you have your writing time. You know, just put that in and don't worry so much that it feels weird. You know. And just again, set a deadline for yourself again. It also feels a little smarter. Smarter? Yeah, I think so. Oh. So you're experiencing this during that time period of learning more about playwrights. Oh, good. Seriously. That's good. That's good. So you can go back with really fresh eyes. And do you start again? Or do you stick up where you left off? Where are you? Are you at the finish line? Are you at the end? No. Do you have a draft? No. I know that. Great. Third. I don't know. It depends. I mean maybe you should start at the beginning if you're really going to finish it this time. You know what I mean? Don't start at the beginning. Only the fifth or third of the way through. I see that. Then continue. Yeah. Then start and continue. Okay, thank you. But I'm doing it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it for life. Then continue. And you can be right. I am. Oh, yes. I'm just saying that you're writing on your type. You're more productive. You're doing something like analog. That's supposed to have a laptop. I didn't know that we did your process. So when I saw that, I was really excited. Like I thought that was just really cool that you wrote on a typewriter. Yeah. And when you said she don't always, but it's really cool. No, I also wrote through my hand. I sent a text to myself. I get all these things on me first. I texted myself. I wrote some things from the pen. Sometimes I write with pencil. Typewriter. Computer. Am I more productive writing on a typewriter? Okay. Well, don't sit all day in front of anything. Even a fire. Even if we were came to. I'm saying honey. Don't sit all day. Don't sit all day in front of your computer. Maybe get up some kind of special screen. But I don't get like, you know, I just keep ease. Take very little effort. You know, but then I like doing this too. I like, I mean I just, I like to do different things. I'm like. Yes. I have a question. Say you bring some actors together to read a piece for the first time just to hear it. Right. Any tips on how to make the most productive use of your ears and your time to get the most out of it? Are you doing it in your house? Probably, yeah. Snacks? Of course, always. Okay, good. Have they, will they have read it beforehand? I told it or not? You could, you could, I mean you cast it already, right? They all know what part of the play do they know each other? Probably, yeah. Okay, so you might give it to them beforehand. So unless they're really good cold readers. People can read it right off the page. Whoa! Take the character. If they're not, they're like maybe they need to read it once and kind of get a take. An idea of what the character's going to be. But a lot of actors like to read it once beforehand. So you can email it to them. Ask them not to send it all around. Email it to the PDF so that the document won't, you know, change in transit. And have them read it before. And then show up having, at least giving them the opportunity to read it. They might not have the time, but giving them the opportunity to read it. And then, and maybe just if you could email them a few, you know, if you have any questions, email me or hear some thoughts that I had or invite a little bit of conversation beforehand. If you have, say, three hours to do the reading in your home. You can just jump right in. Okay, a little bit of exciting stuff. Can you use the typewriter? What do you then do to try to describe it? It's okay. It's okay. I love these questions. And I said this one before, so people ask this question. Because watch me work is for you. So I'm here for you. And we all have such a hard time giving time to us, ourselves, right? Because, you know, the way the world is set up. So what's always interesting to me and very beautiful is that, at a time where we schedule to focus on your writing process, a lot of time, and this is, every time we have like 10 questions, often, I have a troll who transcribes some of his bills. And you see, he writes it out, he writes it on my hand. And then, it's a long story. A lot of quilting. I don't quit. I'm serious tonight. I don't quit. Thank you. Thank you.