 I don't think Texas is blue. You know, my town is blue. Yeah. Yeah, that was before it was blue. I guess because my aunt lives there in this town. That's, she's the head of the team. Yeah? Yeah. She is. Whatever she was last year, whatever. Yeah, but she's, she's like one of the people down there who's along with your mom, I guess. Yeah, my dad. They probably know each other. They hang out. Probably. Like we get up here. Okay, so this is, this is that. Enough of that. Hi. Hi. Oh my God, you're a high-ranking guy. So you got new glasses. I did. Oh, you look so smart. It's good to see you. Hey. So this is Watch Me Work. Does anybody, hey, do you, does anybody not know what we're doing here? I don't know. Anybody not care? Okay. This is what we're doing. This is called Watch Me Work. And we're at the lobby of the public theater where we are also live streaming. And what we do is we, this is about your work and your creative process, you know, because you're here. Remind me of your name? Nancy. Nancy, Nancy. So Nancy was here last time, right? Last week. And what we do is we work together for 20 minutes. And Anika's going to have to be time it. And they're going to talk about your work and your creative process. So if you have questions about my work, I'm going to pretend you're talking about yourself. And I'm going to turn into a question about your work. So that's kind of what we're about. Because we want to help you take the next step forward. And Matt and Angie are running the camera and sound respectively. So Anika, if people are out there in Tweetsville, what do you call it? What do you call it? That's what I'm going to call it from now on. Tweetsville. Is it Tweetsville? I'm pretty sure it's Tweetsville from now on. You heard it here. Tweeter Village. Tweeter Village. All right, people of the Tweeter Village. Hello. If you guys are at home watching, you guys can tweet your question to us at the end of the 20 minutes. If you go to Twitter and find our handle, which is at Watch Me Work, SLP, and you can tweet us there with please use the hashtag HowlRound so we can track you. H-O-W-L-R-O-U-N-D. Exactly. So we're going to turn on our timers now. I made the mistake of bringing my phone today because I ran out of the house quickly. And we're going to work for 20 minutes. Are you good? Okay. Okay, so we're going to do the... that was the... we did the action together. I know. And this is the dialogue part. So does anybody have any questions? Questions about your work, your creative process, which you're going through? We could maybe help you with. Oh, yes. Okay, I'll talk. Hi. Could you talk a little bit about revision and revising? The process of revising? Yeah. I know it's a big step. No, it's a great step. Thanks for asking. Let's see. Yes, I can. Are you working with... notes from somebody other than yourself? Yes. Okay. Because sometimes we work on revising. We have to start our own notes to go on, right? And other times we're lucky we have maybe someone or a group of people they've given us notes after a reading or a stage reading or a... okay, so you've had a stage reading and they've given you notes. And now you're like... so the sooner you recorded these notes in some fashion, written them down maybe in a book, something like that, so you have a record of them. And you've kind of cleared which notes are theirs and which notes are kind of your thoughts as they were... not even talking. Yes, and I've actually sort of gone through and highlighted the notes that I want to pay special attention to. Oh, great. And highlighted my own next to those that seem to go together. Oh, fantastic. Okay, so that's great. That's great. So it's not all of a mosh pit or a mosh mash. Like, ahh! Sometimes after we get there I feel that way too much. I'm like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. She's got some clarity on it. And now... What? When is it ready to show them again? Oh, so you've gone through and you've done the notes? Probably more than I should. I may have actually overwritten to the notes in some cases. Knowing when that draft is now ready for it to be noted again and how to keep focused on that revision instead of, you know, getting distracted by new things. By new things being new projects? Yes. So there are a couple of things that are tricky because how to keep focused on this project to work on instead of new things because sometimes we can lose excitement through the process, right? Or write something new about that. Other times we should be concerned about how to keep sight of the work we're actually looking on instead of how to keep sight of the notes that are being used. Because you want to make sure that you're writing your work and not the work that they want, which maybe doesn't have anything to do with you. Unless, of course, it's like a work for hire and a job is to write what they want. Okay? So let's pretend you're writing your work, whether or not it's a work for hire. You're doing the things that you really want to do. When is it ready to show them again? Well, when did they want it? They were like, oh, didn't it last some time? Get back with us in two weeks. There's not a hard deadline. I mean, I've imposed one. How do you feel about it? It's a rolling deadline. Yeah, that's okay. How do you feel about what your work as it is right now? How do you feel about it? I love it and I'm tired of it. I love it and I'm wondering if I've reached the saturation point of ideas with this thing. Whether I just need to let it be accepted as what it is and decide to, you know, as they say, leave it or, you know, keep grinding away. Right, right. Why are you tired of it? I've been working on it for a long time. For three? And sometimes between those seven, right? Yeah, I hear you. I hear you. Yeah, you love it, which is great. You love it. You work on it really much about it. And now you're like, oh, I mean, when's it time to turn it back in? I think it's time. If you feel like, you know, I've done the notes. I still love it. I'm excited about it. They're also like tired. Tired of working on it. It's time to turn it back in. If you felt like, hey, you know, I haven't done the notes yet. I don't know what notes to do, those kinds of feelings. Then I say just for working on it. But it sounds like you've reached the point of you're concerned. I just hope it's ready. I'm at that point, you know. Everything has such, you know, just starting out. So everything means so much. Uh huh. Everything that leaves my possession feels like life or death. I understand. I understand. So how many people, other than those people are ready? Um, Total? Well, yeah. We've done a recent track. Probably about ten. Including the actors. Okay. She had the reading. They gave her the notes. And since doing the notes, how many people have done that? Might you get a third person? Just to kind of, you know what I mean? If they could read it to you, read it for you, and then can you their feedback within a week? Would that be good? How frustrating do you think? Yeah, just, just so much. Somebody who doesn't know it? Yeah. That sounds really helpful. Yeah, and then they'd be like, yeah, yeah, that sounds good. And then maybe they could talk to you about it a little bit. And give you the thumbs up. Sure. Send it off, kind of thing. Fresh ears and eyes. They always always been. I know. Okay. I'm just going to go over here for that. No, no, no. It's not you. It's not you. Does anybody else have a question? You just focus. Go ahead. You mentioned the, idea of overriding to the notes. Right. Which I feel kind of implies. Like, because usually when I give someone something for note, someone that I know and trust and all that kind of thing. So I understand the temptation to kind of do everything that they say. Right. So how do I kind of separate, how do I distinguish which notes are like, okay, yes. And which notes. The notes are like, oh, that is a playing note. But then a week later, I'll be like, ah, they might have given it in a less than helpful way. But actually, I kind of see what they were talking about. So you kind of look at a few different ones. So, you know, and sometimes maybe not for draft number two, they're not very good for draft number four. They might be. They say, so is that, does that make sense? Yes. Okay. But I would not suggest stuffing notes into your play that you don't like and don't make sense to you. Right. So you want to, you never want to do that. Even if they're like good notes, or even if they're notes from somebody who's amazing and smart and all that kind of good stuff. That means, well, you know, you don't want to shove notes in your play or your work that you'll resonate with you. Okay. Mr. Maddox. You want to draw? You got to draw. No, no, no, no, no. We did it. Look at this later. What is a water? I was like, don't. These are for me. Oh, are you crying? No. It's not my last day. So does that make sense? I know. Anybody else? It was like, I'm not going to ask for anything. Yes. Hi. All right. I haven't seen you here before. That was my first time. Welcome. What's your name? Cherie. Cherie. Thanks. Oh, yeah. Hey, what's your name? Bronwyn. Bronwyn? Oh, pretty name. So it's her name. Thank you. I'm assuming you chose it. Yeah. It's a Welsh name. Yes. It's very beautiful. We hear about it in, like, books. You know, like, beautiful books, because I never want to say Bronwyn. Okay, Cherie. So what's your question? Okay, about process. Right. What I tend to do if I'm coming up with a new idea to play. Right. I come up with ideas and then a poetic language and scenarios that happen. But the last thing I do is a plot. Uh-huh. And I always get stuck there. Uh-huh. And I think I should have it probably in a different order. Uh-huh. Like the plot first, and then I just... Right. What do you think? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we're talking about coming up with great characters. Yeah, characters, dialogue, dialogue, idea. Idea. But then the plot... Idea. What is that? Whatever. But not the plot. Just the idea. It's interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's interesting. She comes up with an idea about what the play is about, but not the plot. But could you... Could we imagine a world in which the plot and the idea, the play, i.e. what it's about are the same thing? Yes. Yeah. Okay. We could say that. Yeah. We could say, like, like, King Lear. Like King Lear. You know the story of King Lear? Yeah. Kind of sort of. Yeah. Okay. So the idea, like what it's about, you know, this older man, he's a king, he divides his kingdom, he gives it to his daughter, number one, number two, Cordelia, she doesn't like love him enough. We know the story. Blah, blah, blah, blah, the end. That's what the play is about, correct? And that's also a plot. What is that different? Are there still a continued distinction? For example, I think there's, like, a bus a lot. Right. So I start noticing things on the bus. Right. And I start accumulating stories from the bus. Right. And then I think, okay, the play might take place on the bus. Right. And interacting characters, but then I don't have a plot. Uh-huh. Us stories. Right. Right. Well, that's, okay, okay. So we're going to play this game. A couple of weeks ago, with two points to make a line. Game. There's geometry. Right. And this is all about geometry that you never have to know. So, uh, in geometry, there's a theorem or a truth or something. It says, two points make a line. That's a truth in geometry. Right. Can you do geometry? I mean, recently, in, okay, you've said problems. Okay. So we're going to play with, uh, building a story for characters. Where the character is, let's see, she's here. Right. And where she wants to go, here, two points. So where she's started out, she wants, like you have a character who wants to go to and San Francisco. And she's in New York. Two points make a line, meaning make a line of dialogue. Are going to give you clues about what she's going to be saying and what she's going to be doing. Because basically, you're going to show us the journey of your character as she tries to get from where she is to where she wants to go. Understand? So, two points make a line, where she is and where she wants to go, help you create lines of dialogue. Okay. And that's a whole lot. Thank you. Is it a lot? I mean, does that sound like a lot? You see, I know, Terry knows, you guys went to a big house with a girl, a big school, yeah, is that the big house? Sounds like a lot, right? Okay. Sometimes we just get excited about, like, oh, this great character, this great character, right? But, if we think about King Lear, where he is, he's king and he's ripping up his map and dividing his kingdom. Where does he want to go and he wants to find a place where he can just chill with all his knights and friends and stuff, and so he has to go on this journey. Kind of simplifying it, of course. We're taking a character of a journey. That's exactly right. Well said. Yes. Excellent. Yes. Okay. Yes. Oh, okay. Well, she's saying, I'm, I am reading the characters out, just not sure about the order for them. What? How do I know I have to write rhythm for the play? Because there is one in my head and one everyone can relate to. Hold on. I'm reading, I'm going, what's in the character? I am reading the characters out. Reading the characters out? No, I'm reading them out loud. Oh, okay. I'm reading, I'm reading the characters out loud. She doesn't know how to, it's the one woman, the one woman, the one woman, the one woman, the one woman, the one woman, the one woman. What's she doing? She's got the one woman show and she wasn't sure about, right, there you go. She told her to reach the ending last week. Right. I'm not sure how to go on those ups and downs with her characters. Look at Angie. I know, very good Angie. Oh, oh, Sarah and her Chino over there with the one woman show too. She had one, so she's like, no, no, this is, oh, this is Chino. Oh, right. Okay. She says this part, but you know her, you're talking about your work, are you? So she's saying that she's reading her character out, but she's not sure about how to read her. Ah, I see. And Angie. Thank you. Thank you. Now that's so helpful, yeah. And the other thing is, how do I know I have the right rhythm for the play, because she has the rhythm in her head, but she's not sure that this rhythm everyone can play too. No, no, no. Oh, my goodness. Okay, Chino. Hi, Chino. Welcome back. She was here too, she was here last week, and she was sitting over there and she is writing a one woman show and we suggested that she read it out loud, exactly. And so I would say, D, it's like, just pretend you know the order. So you don't know which order to read, you have several characters. You don't know how to order them. I would suggest just pretend you know the order. A lot of times we just have to do that. We have to, if you ever, it's a sports metaphor, I don't know if anybody here watches sports at all or football, American football. But I've said this before, the punt, you know, when they, when they try to make the touchdown and they have their, they're running down the field, they're not going to make it because they have four, four downs or whatever they've lost, whatever. So you have to, so they bring on the kicker and what does the kicker do? He, she, kicks the f**king ball, just f**king kick it. And sometimes you have to do that, you know, and this is one of those times. So just put your characters in any kind of order that, that you think might be good. And you might, long before you do that, you might want to say a little prayer going, okay, please, big spirit in the sky, everyone who helps me write, do the cooking, please help me in an order that's good. That's number one. So you need to have an order because the big spirit of this guy has helped you. And the rhythm in your head, don't worry about the rhythm, just read it and listen to what you're hearing and don't worry about what those other people can relate to. Remember, a billion people are going to watch your beautiful play. So you can't check in with all a million of them to make sure they all get it. You write it so you can get it. And I bet it's going to be really cool. One more question. I was told to listen to my characters. Oh, no. So I did. And it's gone to an interesting place and I wrote a scene that may or may not tie everything together. So I'm just trying to, listening to just kick it. So I'm trying to make a decision now and I'm looking at the chronological section of it. I am very hesitant with flashback because I kind of, you know, it's like an easy go-to so I'm trying to avoid the flashback. But there are certain places where it makes sense so I'm just trying to not have it be, I'm trying to hear what my characters are saying and I'm feeling like I'm not listening. You're trying to hear what your characters are saying and not listening. And I'm not listening. They want to, so I'm trying to look at places for them to be. I think that's where I'm at. You almost finished your sentence. You said, I'm trying to listen to my characters. I'm trying to hear my characters. I'm not listening because they want to be and then you stop talking. Yeah, they want to be whatever it is they want to be and I'm trying to hear them and have them be who they are. I don't know. I like hit a wall with it in a way. So are you talking to them or are you talking, I'm trying to, no, it's me trying to hear them and not wanting to hear them. I think it's more that I just don't want to, I'm back at, I don't want to process through this because it's painful. Right. You know, and they're too bad. So I don't want to hear too bad. Too bad. Too bad, you have to hear this. Too bad, you have to hear this and hear this. Yes. Write it down. Right. You can't hear your characters if you're not willing to listen. Yeah. And you've already, what's great is that you can recognize the fact that you don't want to listen. Which means you're ready to listen. Just write down what they say. Yeah. Yeah. If it's flashback, don't, no need to send to yourself. Just write down what they say or write down what you're hearing them say. This is. I'm to give me things. You know, she's like, I know your process. I know, now hearing you say, you need to put it in order. You need to write the difficult scene that this is very, you're out with it. I'm at the difficult scene. Put on your timer, give yourself 20 minutes and write as fast as you can. You ever, you write on the computer? Usually. Okay. Put on your timer, 20 minutes, write as fast as you can and just remind yourself, it's okay if it's shitty. I don't care. You know what I mean? Because you're going to have that voice. The other voice in your head is going to say, it's nothing. You didn't get the punctuation right. The spelling isn't very good. Because they're trying to stop you. It's okay. If it's shitty, I don't care. I don't care. I'll make it better later. Yeah. I write. I mean, I think maybe a hundred and ninety-seven percent of everything I've ever written has been to that drum beat of a mantra. It's okay. If it's shitty, I don't care. I don't care. I'll make it better later. Okay? Okay. Adopt it. Take it home. Raise it into adulthood. And then consume it. No. Take it home, consume it, and then raise it into adulthood. Don't throw it up. Like, I didn't know what to do. No. Okay? Oh, I'm fine. Cool. Good? So next week we won't be here. Anika's going to tell us, because this is Anika's last day with us, with her reference intentions where the DNC is doing a God's work, I'll say. It's trying so hard. So we're not here next week? No. We are not here next week. I'm away. Yes. I saw her being lovely out in Zaptown. Anika has a birthday. Yeah. Me and my birthday. We're taking the day off because of my birthday, not because she's out of town. No, it's okay. Well, you're going to be back for the twenty-third. So May twenty-third, we'll be back here at five p.m. And you guys can tune in on HowlRound. And for those of you that are on our email list, we'll be sending out updates and everything. So yeah, thank you guys. Thank you. Great question.