 question. It's five o'clock. It's Wednesday. Lord have mercy. Are we ready to go? We're ready. We're ready to go. This is Watch More. It's five o'clock on Wednesday. Happy July. We've made it to July, I know, which means that we're halfway through 2020. Is that right? Anybody? Correct me if I'm wrong. Yay, we're halfway through 2020. And we've been doing the show for 11 years in the lobby of the public theater. And now, long story short, now we are doing it in our homes or spaces and bringing it to your spaces. Thank you to the public theater. Thank you to HowlRound for organizing and helping make this all possible. This is what we do. We work together for 20 minutes and then we talk with you about your work and your creative process. So that's what we do. We do it every day, four or five days a week, year after year after year, because why? Because we love you. And that is true. And if you want to ask a question, Audrey's going to tell you how to get in touch. Go girl. Thanks, SLP. If you want to ask a question and you are inside of the Zoom, all you need to do is click on the raise your hand button in the participant tab, likely at the bottom of your screen on a laptop or at the top of your on an iPad or a tablet. If you're watching on HowlRound.tv, you can tweet at us at WatchWeWork SLP with the hashtag HowlRound, H-O-W-L-R-O-U-N-D. And you can also tweet at the Public Theater's Twitter, which is at Public Theater NY or right to the Public Theater's Instagram. And those are the ways. And we've had some special guests on Wednesday. Today we have a special guest. It's Helen Keller, everybody. Helen Keller. If you don't know who Helen Keller is, use Party of 20 Minutes to find out. She's written several books, but she's written a book on optimism. No, she will not be actually coming in and sitting beside me, but she will be present in her wonderful work of literature. If you haven't read this book, it's a great book to read. I don't get any money for plugging her material. She's amazing. And she says some really, really cool things in it. She was born in like 1800s or something. So she got a lot to say this woman. Anyway, that's our special guest today, Helen Keller. We're showcasing her book called Optimism. And it's interesting how she links optimism with work. If there is a lull in the question and answer. During that time, perhaps I'll read a little bit to you guys. If not, no worries. Here we are. Go. All right. All right. We are. Here we are. Are there any questions? Goodie. Lots of questions. Oh, goodie. All right. We got Melania. Melania. Uh oh. Did it work? Yes. Thank you. Hello, Susan, Laurie. Hey, Melania. How are you? I'm fine. I'm fine. I want to I know that I usually tell you, but I feel so blessed to watch my work. You are being such an important person in my life. I want to thank you. It's not only about my creative process. It's a lot and all this look, but it's about myself and things that I am discovering about myself and it's an adventure. You know, I am reflecting a lot and learning a lot and I am very thankful. I think that I am very happy that I saw Carol yesterday and the grandson is getting better. I was worried about and then I want to ask you a question about something that I kept thinking after we talk a couple of days ago. We were talking about the possibility of sharing my work with people that I trust so they can really learn language in Spanish. Okay. And what happened to me was that I entered to I arrived to the United States. I fell in love with my husband. We got married. We had our children, the two first our two first daughters. They were born in Argentina in Buenos Aires where I am from. So and then I came here as an immigrant with my family. The girls were very little. So in the middle of the transition to a new country, a new language, a new situation in life being a mom. I don't want to say I quit writing, but there were so many things that writing began to be something that I wasn't doing until after several years, I discovered watching me work and I remember tweeting and I was in my at that at that moment I was first in New Orleans where we were and now in Miami. So I was in Miami and rediscovered this necessity and this enjoyment that I have when I write. So what happened to me now is that the people I trust to read my work is people that is in Buenos Aires in Argentina. We talk and I love them and they love me, but it's been a long, long time since I present myself in front of them as a writer. It's been years. It's like it's like another life. I don't know how to and now I am with this situation that I am Melania, but I am discovering so many things about myself and my situation and all these things that you say about the putting the mask first so I can put the mask and this taking care of myself and listening to my body and what is happening to my body that suddenly I discovered that I was exhausted and wasn't working well and something was happening. So now my question is how can I approach respectfully to these people in order to give them something to write but without being I don't want to impose or and at the same time I don't want to be like okay I am writing because these are things that I am writing but they are first draft. It's not that I have something finished that they say okay but I have the trust to tell what do you think about this. So it's a good thing to explain to them the situation and then present something or sending an email explaining and with the work and if they want to read let them read it or not. I don't know how to to go to them because I am still like discovering myself in all the situation but at the same time I want to be brave in order to say okay this is me and this is me it's not that it's right or wrong it's me whatever it is so I would like to listen to you what you think about the situation. I think it's beautiful that you have friends who love you and who care about you and they don't know the you that you've become you know the full you that you become they might know a lot of things I mean I'm I'm guessing they know you have children right okay great so you're holy it's not like you've kept your entire life you know no no they don't they so they so they know a lot about you but they don't know everything about you. I wonder if it's possible to do something like a zoom call okay and just start talking about your writing maybe okay you know like in a hangout you know do you zoom hang out with your friends in Argentina and Buenos Aires yeah so you could just say you know you know you could just start talking about it and maybe after a couple of zoom calls of talking about it you know then maybe you could say could I could I read a little passage to you guys I'd love your feet you know what I mean so it's a it's a slow process it's face to face like this you know what I mean it's personable you're very personable you're wonderful to listen to so I would think that doing um a face-to-face kind of thing would be better than sending an email okay you know which is kind of distant you know just talk to them about your writing maybe tell them the story of one of your plays or one of your works just talk about it so you're not asking them to read anything you were asking them just to listen to you okay you know what I mean you see what I mean so slowly gently ease them into this you know sort of revealing yourself as a writer not because we're worried about what they're gonna think but it's a lot for people to process and I want you to you're I want your friends who love you to have an opportunity to receive it in the appropriate way so it's just a lot you know so yes I know so it's like oh okay and then you're asking them to read something and then you know I mean unless they're like literary managers or they own bookstores or you know do they anything like that do they do you have a lot of writers in your in your friendship group when I when I was in Argentina before the first year of my marriage I worked as a writer in Argentina so they are some professional yeah okay okay so just you know just a conversation just talk to them about it okay you know what I mean and then they'll be like excited you know and then maybe maybe you want to could you read something I've written that kind of thing sure sure send it you know can we then talk about it on zoom sure sure you know you know just give them an opportunity to respond in a loving way because you don't want to catch them off guard that's all thank you yeah yes yes and I love how you find because I am I have this situation that I go from here to here and I love that you you go like with the flow I am learning I like that well we all are me too I'm learning too okay thank you thanks Melania good to see you good to see you too um all right up next we have Emmanuel there you are with the cool background hi that's that's zoom um so thank you very much first of all um I've been doing this for many many weeks and it has been literal a literal lifesaver so thank you so much and thank you to everyone who's asked all these questions I finished the first draft of a play and I bought a timer and it's like my price possession which is really silly but I'm so excited to have it anyway um so thank you very much for sharing that excitement about timers um so I have a question uh there is a musician that I'm going to be working with and he is asking me to write the lyrics for pieces that he's going to write for a choir of 16 to 18 year olds and he would like he would like them to learn something he would like them to have fun and he wants to talk about climate change capitalism like all of these big things because he wants all he wants them to learn about all of these things um and he wants them to have fun which is great um but my question is so he's been sending me these texts that are quite heavy and quite you know capitalism you know and look at what we've done and we've destroyed the planet and like you know everything is very true um but I was wondering because you've talked a lot about finding the character and then the themes well later maybe erupt in the writing but this is the opposite where I'm given like these quite heavy themes and I guess I want to turn it into a story like how to find the lightness how to find the playfulness and still um talk about these themes I guess and respect what he's saying that he wants these kids to learn about about all of these things uh-huh that's a that's a great question so I'm assuming that you know you're familiar with his music right yes yes okay and he's like a friend or a colleague or you okay okay great so and there you said there's 16 to 18 year olds is that what you said yes 16 18 children no so there that's their age that's their age sorry yeah there's going to be about 70 of them it's a choir about 17 them great a lot I mean what crosses my mind first is that the what you what you write is going to have to be singable especially with 70 people that's interesting okay so I would you know um get your body into it Emanuel you know what I mean get you got to get your body into it and don't you know I say sure you know the the theme comes later character comes first but character you've got the characters the characters are a whole bunch of 70 16 to 18 year old people who have concerns who if they're anything like the kids I know and hang out with here they're they're in their bodies you know I mean which doesn't just count the fact that they're very smart but they're in their bodies okay they're alive all right so get in your body and start talking about these things I don't know your friends music at all but I think there's a lot of fun ways to talk about climate change and and justice and you know doing the right thing and I mean humor and rhyme and rhyme can make it captivating and rhyme can make it stick humor can make it fun and fun can draw more people in you know I think you can certainly have a lot of fun with it he's sending you text or those the words that he wants in what you're writing or just no no they're just basically he that's what he wants to say you mean it's quite heavy that's what that's the gist of yes like climate change is fucked up like yeah yeah okay okay people are bad people are bad yeah I mean you know okay well destroyed the planet right has he has he written any of the music yet um I know his music very well so and and he's very open and he's given me a kind of a through line and they're going to be different styles so there's going to be like an aria there's going to be like a slam piece there's going to be like a groove piece it's going to go through all different styles great so if he if he can give you can he give you any of the music yet um I mean just yeah he um I know not not definite music I don't think but I um I know his style so I think okay okay I can maybe pick a piece out and yeah yeah previous stuff yeah yeah pick a piece out of some of his previous stuff in the style of whatever he's talking about an aria I'm an opera aria right um a slam piece you know pick a piece out and start just throwing down words have fun you have fun with it if you're going to have fun with it then the the the singers the performers are going to have fun with it and the audience is going to have fun with it um don't worry about the subject just think of these are people talking I mean get I mean really I keep thinking getting your body once you start sitting like this okay I'm going to talk about capitalism and capitalism is bad and that's not a song that's a that's a you know right yes put on some of his music start dancing around does it have a beat I hope so right oh please please right have some fun I mean already we're having fun and we're not even talking about anything you know what I'm saying do you know what I'm saying yeah get into your body turn on some of his music get a good beat going and if it what's one word that he has given you in his text just one word give me one word any word capitalism right that's seven times it's interesting yes right and then there's a jesia quote you don't hate Monday you hate capitalism oh think about it yes yes tell the truth just look I don't know you know I don't know anything about your project but I do know that you can have a good time with anything all right turn on the music get in the groove get out of your chair get in your body and start moving around okay that's great yes I'm having fun with the fun first that's great fun first yeah yeah I should just say that yeah fun first done but then you never would have written the capitalism song and what would be stuck in my head for the rest of the day I don't know all right we're gonna call on somebody else uh hi hi everybody hi hi um hi everyone I I uh gotten slowly back into the writing bandwagon um so that's good uh but I'm having some issues with I know you always say character comes first but I'm I'm writing a first draft of a novel but I feel like my character everything that's happening I find everything that's happening very interesting but I feel like it's just happening to her and there's she's not taking part in the action and so I'm like I wrote down exercises to like talk about character and like I don't know write down I don't know her biggest secret when she was 13 things like that and and I just can't seem to get her moving I don't know and so I'm just having trouble with that I didn't know I don't know what to do if there's anything yeah in the last chapter I wrote she does a little something but I just felt like it's not enough yeah yeah yeah I think it's a great question Carla I mean let's let me be clear for me character comes first unless it's like a dumb joke about I'm going to write a rip on the scarlet letter and call it fucking a yeah that was just a dumb joke I was telling myself right so but usually I think about what what's the character that's what I latch on to um but if you're latching on to plot pieces that's okay too they're all rivers bleed to the sea you know what I'm saying so whatever works for you that's number one but you it sounds like your character you're concerned because your character isn't doing things she doesn't have agency she's not so there might be something she wants very much but she's not doing anything to get it so she's just kind of sitting so how do you activate her yeah yeah right okay so so I mean for example she's sitting in her house she wants to buy some almond milk or something I don't know so she's gonna go to the corner store so she's so then you have a scene where she's going to the corner you know what I mean so think of it very in very small segments what does my character want what is she trying to get what is she trying to do how is that plot uh that plot beat that I really love how does that dovetail with her story her journey does that help does that help at all I think so I think for me I guess maybe breaking it by chapter because it's more of like in my story she arrives into this new place and she's having an adventure in this new place she's never been to and all this crazy thing starts happening and she kind of gets swept away with it but then she slowly starts to realize oh this this thing that's going through it's helping me become who I want to be so maybe it's about identity I don't know I guess I have to ask myself those questions yeah well do you see you jump from your character to what's happening to her to what the story is about so those were the huge jumps so I would just say maybe dial it back your character think of little red writing hood what does she want you know I mean what is she doing what is she going through you know think of simple stories tell yourself the character beats of very simple stories okay you don't have to know what it's about you know you don't have to write the blurb that goes on the back of the novel okay just tell me the story okay think of story like like if you think of the story Zachary's novel Vanity Fair and I haven't read it in like 80 years so I probably won't get it wrong but there's Becky Sharp and she's she she wants to have a wonderful life you know so she gets a job doing this and then she gets a job doing that and then she's friends with so-and-so and then she's you know she's doing things she's doing things because she wants to have an incredible life you see what I mean so she's actively making choices and doing things and grasping onto things and letting other things go okay so think about what your character wants you know yeah okay yeah yeah I think also were you having a little bit of trouble working like a week ago am I remembering you correctly or yeah I I'm having surgery on Monday so I've been dealing with a lot of that and unemployment and just a lot of issues and so I dial it back completely I stopped writing for a bit and then slowly I kind of been inching myself back like I would write like maybe 30 minutes of like 10 minutes a day like 10 minutes three times around the day like slowly and so now I'm coming back to it slowly but I feel like that's an issue that I've had since the beginning in terms of the writing and so yeah I just been very that's why earlier last week I felt like I felt like I fell off the bandwagon because I just couldn't figure out what I was writing or what I was doing and so I've been slowly ishing back and so I've noticed that issue with the character and so that's why I was like maybe I can figure it out but yeah it's been it's been a very crazy time in general for everybody but like in this past week it's just been too many too many things at once calling my attention yeah I'm thinking that I'm gonna I'm thinking you've got a lot going on to my mind you've got a lot going on you have surgery on Monday I mean we're all going to be thinking of you and sending you really really good energy you know you have a lot going on take a breath you will get your writing done if you keep putting the time in you're going you will get your work done it's guaranteed okay you're going to put the time in you're going to get your writing done we'll be here to encourage you or nag you remind you okay we'll be here we're your squad we'll be here to make sure you get your work done and you've got a lot you've got a lot on your plate so not to worry about figuring everything out about your character right now you know she they will be waiting for you when you get done with your surgery and then you you'll have time to go okay now let me take another look at that character you know maybe just talk to her maybe in the next couple of days it's uh it's Wednesday now you have surgery on Monday maybe just have some conversations with her just just just like she's a friend you know you're just talking to her yeah some of the exercises I did I didn't buy hand because I journal so maybe doing more of that might be helpful yeah okay lower the bar lower the bar keep it simple keep it easy take it easy you know yeah and we'll ramp it up we'll ramp help you ramp it up when you're clear of your surgery you know you know yeah we'll be here yeah okay should be all right it's a simple one so hopefully it should all be okay but thank you so much so much we love you we love you thank you okay thank you all right up next you've got Charles hi Susan Charles was doing a dance hey man yeah I don't know why I didn't find this class before so this is my second day oh wow oh wow oh my goodness yeah yeah I wish I uh I can hang out with you guys more so anyway I'm I've been here in the US for 14 years I'm from Lebanon so I lived three wars civil wars in Lebanon and I'm an actor I did study writing but I never wrote and I you know scripts or anything now during the pandemic I start writing more and I was taking exercises with my friend Marlena Nichols she takes actually your class and she told me about you and then when I was in Lebanon every movie I see Lebanese filmmaker they would do something about the war and I would judge it we're like another movie about the war oh come on well guess what now I'm in that phase where everything I'm writing is freaking coming out about the war and although I have a lot of ideas and a lot of things characters I want to write and comedy and stuff like like that but I don't know I'm in that dilemma where should I continue writing all these stuff so it goes out of my head my system as like peeling an onion to go to the core do something more or should I I don't know I'm very like I'm enjoying what I'm writing but at the same time it's about the war and I don't want to be like war war war so yeah that makes sense I love your question and it's it's a beautiful question and it's a complicated question because I mean I I mean I I really feel for you and I'm glad you're here and I'm glad you're here here here with us you know it's like it's like shit you know you can write about anything you want and yet you're writing about the war you know I mean I say to myself shit I can write about anything I want I'm writing about like justice for people of color shit man why don't I just write about like you know like just stop me anything like right you know anything yeah you know there I am just like shit right you know what I'm talking about um so brother maybe it is your lot in life right now to write about what it is that you're writing about and that's okay you join folks like me and like others who are writing about difficult heartbreaking things and we need I feel like I gotta help move this thing along you know and not everybody can do it not even people like you or like me what it doesn't it's not about color or whatever it's about heart and if you are the in the group and you have the heart and you are called you answer the call and so here we are and you're not alone you know what I mean and not every and what's the thing is you're gonna write like three awesome things about the war and then you're gonna write like a romantic comment people going what the fuck you know you better write about the war you're like no I'm writing about you know so you gotta you gotta answer the call if the call is saying write about the war write about the war if the call is saying here's something else that you might enjoy you know then you really have to answer the call that is that is your lot in life that is your fate that's your duty that's your calling it is a beautiful and difficult life but you will know you will know you won't want to trade it for anything else really true really true yeah and I can't wait to see your work yes yeah and I'm so glad you're here I won't dance yeah yeah you're really we can because that's the thing and people will go people I mean look Charles how can you be writing about the war and be so cheerful right yeah the bird it is a burden but it is light it is because you're not alone because the spirit has taken you by the hand and it said come Charles join me you must sing this song Charles well I need you I need you to sing the song but we all have a version of that whoever we are whatever we look like and all that doesn't matter we all have a version of that and to turn away from that is is is okay we can't always answer the call but that you were answering it I'm very proud of you thank you so much thank you yeah thank you thanks thanks thank you Charles can't wait to read your work yeah yeah I know do that you got the right spirit man that's right this is like Melania's dances yeah all right we've got it all we got it all we got it all this is a great song it's horrible please can you write it please write it okay please um we have about eight minutes left we're gonna go to Kim hi I'm inside can you hear me out this question kind of piggybacks on everybody else's question which I didn't have a question I'm listening to everyone and I was also doing something pretty heavy in this piece that I'm working on and I was wondering about when characters all kind of want the same thing so for example if everybody is in an AA meeting or if everybody is in a safe house they all want to be better they all want to how do you have individual characteristics I mean I know we all do but when you're in that space and you want kind of the same thing how how do you kind of show the individuality of everybody and what their needs and what their wants are mm-hmm well that's a great question Kim and you got to listen a little bit more closely right so you listened enough to say okay for example they're all in an AA meeting or in a safe house okay this is an AA meeting they're all okay so one can guess they all want you know sobriety but or and what does sobriety look like to that character right what does sobriety look like to that person that person over there might have a might have this person might be an old timer you know I don't know many years this person might be a newcomer right what is your journey up to that point right so we listen a little bit more closely does that make sense you're fucking amazing just the way that you zero in on shit I just you're like a preacher and a writer and my sister and my mentor I'm in the same age and then I feel bad because we're the same age and you've got accomplishments and I'm sitting on my head in my couch but I just I love you the way you're just fucking amazing thank you so much I'm here I'm here to show you know I'm here we it's a circle we know that right I'm so grateful that you're here it's a loop we're here to support each other let's remember that that this you're reminding me of what I need to know every question that you ask everybody reminds me of something that I need to say out loud and we know God spirit works for people and here we are we're just we're just doing the circle you are my favorite human thank you thank you thank you back at you sister I love you um I got about five minutes left and we're going to Karima Karima hi can you hear me yeah yeah hi Susan Laurie how are you well thank you Karima good to see you very very quick you just did something wonderful for me when you said answer the call I'm you confirmed I'm you confirmed something that I needed to hear and that I needed you just confirmed because I find that I always write about certain the certain subject and you be saying well and I can write other things but it doesn't pull me the same way and I was saying well why do you keep and like he was just saying when you said answer the call it was like she just said it I mean I'm a Christian I know you're you don't practice in that way it was like preach to me you're like it's like hallelujah you just set me free to just say okay hey this is just what you do you know so thank you that's I just want to say thank you thank you hear that a lot right it's some great and just you know I I'm I'm all of it you know like Christian I have my yoga practice because God is God is great and great to me means big and big to me means like huge and like yeah right so he she them the many faces the axis boldest love jimmy hindricks album you know all those faces of God you know it's all it's all yes I'm saying yes to it all thank you thank you sister Miss Karima all right well we've got about three minutes left and we don't have any questions and so I'm wondering should I read from Helen Keller yeah Helen Keller Helen Keller Helen Keller is a badass that's not what this book says but she's sister's a badass so here so let's see I'll read these little things um she's talking about optimism how she is full of optimism Helen Keller who was born in the 18th something or others and who when she was about a year and a half old was stricken with an illness and left without her sight and without her hearing many of you know her story really cool badass woman she says how many how many good people prosperous and contented have looked around and saw nothing but good while nations of their fellow people were bartered and sold like cattle she's talking about the 1800s she's talking about slavery when people looked around and they saw nothing but good meanwhile people were being sold the slaves no doubt those people were comfortable optimists who thought that the abolitionists who were working hard to free the slaves were only meddlesome fanatics I distrust the rash optimism of this country that cries hurrah we're all great this is the greatest nation on earth when there are grievances that are calling loudly for redress this is what I would call false optimism optimism that does not count the cost is like a house built on sand I read that I'm like sister's a badass right she was thinking about those things way back in this book was published in in 1900 or so 1903 I think it was she was thinking of those things um and how it talks about how she struggles and I was thinking like if she struggles with with doubt and and and pain and difficulty and can be an optimist and feel joy and love in her heart um she can be one of the people that we call on when we are feeling doubt and confusion um people like her so I was just reading her today and feeling like she also talks about work and how doing work working helps her be an optimist helps her feel optimistic there's something very beautiful about doing your work even if it's modest and she considered her work modest work I don't but she did and how just she says my work helps me feel my optimism so there's something about when we do our work whether it's writing or anything or whatever our work is if you're an accountant whatever it is and it actually it's it's the spirit moving through you it's allowing the spirit to move through you and how that can help us feel feel that joy that beauty that is out there in the world um and I'm not saying that difficult things aren't out there I'm just saying the more we can feel the joy and the beauty you know the better is Moe sinning us a sign she's doing it I can't but I can't it's like because it's like backwards forward say it Moe just say what you're thinking no she can't because she's not she's muted can you unmute can you unmute her Audrey oh this is oh I have little rainbows dancing all around my room from a string of crystals in the window and I was just trying to send one yeah thank you thank you Moe I mean we need that energy right we might in our cooler moments think it's corny and dumb and all this shit but it is it is beautiful stuff that we can come together and share with each other yep you know it's six oh one oh one SLP you're the best thank you special guest Helen Keller thank you special guest Helen Keller we'll email her a thank you afterwards thank you all so much as a reminder you can sign up by 3 p.m eastern every single day on the HowlRound's website or the Public Theater's website and I will send you a link between 3 and 4 30 p.m eastern and we will see you tomorrow thank you everybody