 Hold on folks just give me a few seconds to take care of something. Welcome everyone we're going to get started in just a sec. SLP had to run to take care of something but should be back in a couple of minutes welcome happy Monday. I know you can't unmute yourselves but feel free to chat in the chat or tell us how your Mondays going. We're back. Okay. Are we are we are here lonely. Great. Okay. Only took two minutes. All right. Welcome to watch me work for the me and the title is you we're back today we've been away doing some stuff and we had Juneteenth and then tomorrow next week we have fourth of July. So. Okay. No, no you have to go into another room. The joys of cohabitating with the child. But we know how to do watch me work do we not we know how to do watch me work we are going to work together for 20 minutes and then we're going to talk with you about your creative process and your work. And while we don't have time to actually read or hear you, you know, read from your work. We do have time to talk specifics about process. Okay, so if you have a question after our 20 minute work time and lolly is going to tell you how to get started so we'll hit it. Hi yeah if you're in zoom with us, you can ask questions by clicking on the raise your hand button which should be in the participants tab likely on the bottom of your screen. If you have trouble finding it you can send me a private message in the chat, and I will help you. If you are watching with us on how around feel free to send us your questions via the public theaters Twitter or Instagram accounts, or via watch me work Twitter account, which is at watch me work SLP with the hashtag how around that hashtag h o w l r o u n d. And that's how you ask questions. Okay, so here we go I'm gonna set my time where we want to first of course thank the public theater, thank how around for helping us put this together, especially now that we've been doing on zoom we've been doing on zoom for, for years now so this is very great, but we're just very grateful. We're going to set our timers I got my little timer here while you're ready and good. Okay, okay. There's 20 minutes, how are we doing. Alrighty, lolly was that 20 minutes. Yeah, great. Okay, okay if anybody has any questions I'm here. Looks like we got a question. So my question is the feedback I'm getting on the play that I'm working on right now consistently is that it's like not clear what my protagonist wants. But that's like kind of what I'm going for, but not in a way that makes people like not like the play like I don't I don't want to be receiving that as like negative feedback. Right. And I've heard playwrights I admire talk about like being able to create characters who don't have objectives. So I feel like that is possible but also I don't hear that talked about a lot, like it feels like for many people like what defines a good place, like something about someone having like clear wants and pursuing those things. So I was wondering if you had any advice about like how to make a play work with a character or a protagonist who doesn't like know what they want. So you're player to admire who talk about plays where characters don't have objectives or don't have clear wants. What are the names of those plays. Well, I'm thinking of. I don't know what plays they were talking about but I was watching an interview with Claire Baron, and she was saying like, I don't know what I want in any given situation, like there's like probably 10% of my life I could identify like, this is what I wanted and this is why this is what I was trying to do when I said this thing to that person. He felt very true to me and so I wanted to. I think it is very true. So I don't know Claire, you know, as a person, you know as a person so I'm not speaking for her for them. But just as me as a person. It is true. Claire is completely right yeah there's there's you know there's many to most of the times in our lives we say things and we don't know what we want. And while all the world's the stage, the process of making art is selecting choosing and, you know, Picasso's Guernica isn't what it looked like if you were to take a picture. You know what I'm saying. Yeah, Hamlet. If if those real events happen, probably didn't happen like that. Right. So we're not creating real life. Because to put on stage because that's what we're doing in real life. So my just my just, you know, kind of push back against comments like, you know, I have people I know are students or whatever like they write something in their play or their novel or whatever and if the comment if the overwhelming comments are, it's not really working, you know, they're going well it happened just like that real life. It's like, so what, so what, this isn't real life. It's a play. It's a novel. It's a song it's a, it's a documentary even even reality shows. Right. So, I mean and this isn't did I am I remembering correctly did you say more than one note that you're getting was suggesting was leaning in that direction. Okay, okay, so, so, yes, I very much agree sometimes we do say that we don't know why we do. Yes. And that's life. And even though life imitates art, life is not art. Yeah, and so when we construct a narrative it's constructed. Right. So it, it, I think it behooves us to like go well let us consider, you know, thinking about some of those rules for construction. Does that, does that make sense. Yeah, this isn't to discount what happens in real life. Okay, so I think I think what makes stories strong is, and again because when you're in your real life you're in your real life right we're in, you're in your real life right now. You're not standing outside of your real life constructing something rewriting the end more than once figuring out what the, what you know what the exciting incident might be figuring out if she's going to wear a green dress she didn't wear a green dress in real life cares. Yeah, I'm saying. So we have to embrace the, the, the, the kind of rules of the road, and to some extent, I think, I think so, because it actually doesn't make. In my opinion, it doesn't make the narrative weaker, it makes it stronger more interesting. Yeah. So, she your character might not know what she wants but you might know what she wants. Yeah, you see, so you can do it so you can have it that way she can be confused, but you can know what she's going for. Yeah. You know, she can act in opposite ways to what you even you know what she wants, but you have an idea about what's going on. And again if this were one note you got from an isolated person everybody else was like oh it's fantastic you know, I would say then forget it but at least consider an alternative. Or and or when you can find those five or three or eight or 27 awesome plays that fit into that paradigm, then go for it, then you've got your answer right there that they are. Right, you know what I mean if you have like yes yes look you know here's a play called lovely Blee and none of the characters know what they want and it's great and I love it great there there's your answer then go for it. Follow, follow, follow that. Right. So, yeah, it's a. And what is your character want. Are you asking me that. Yeah, what's their name and what do they want. So, maybe this is what is giving me a hard time is I'm like, I'm writing it about about a real life thing and I don't totally understand for myself like where the play ends in real life begins but it's about my friend Leah, who at the beginning of the play wants to be a doctor and she goes to medical school. And then like at the very beginning of the play, she gets assaulted, and then has all these questions about like what does care look like, and how do we like heal trauma within a medical system. I'm trying to like a play about ideas and so I think that's getting me like, like, I'm trying to like illustrate ideas more than I'm. No, but I mean, just because your character. I mean I'm just talking about your character not your friend. Right. Just because your character gets derailed doesn't mean you don't know what she wants it you know I mean she wants to be a doctor. There you go. Right. Yeah, traveling. So she's going, you know, she's going to be doctor and then she gets assaulted. And then she has to question what is care look like. So she wants to know what care looks like. Yeah, okay. It's not like, you know, it's just a simple she wants to know what care looks like. Yeah, she will, she will do her best to find the answers to that. And it might not look like what she thought it looked like in the beginning of the play. Maybe it looks like something else. Yeah. That makes sense to me. You know what I mean, even I mean even you know you would come on here to watch me work. Who knows what we want what we want a variety of things we want community. We want just maybe a sense of like, I'm not the only one with that question. You know what I mean we want we want just to have 20 minutes to write that are unencumbered. You know, the want doesn't have to be like a big thing. Right, you know, you know, you want it. And I would I wonder if the person who said they don't know what they want. I want to have a little bit and actually most times people do know what they want. I just don't want to talk about it. I want to have a good day. I want to have a good day. I want to be peaceful. I want to have a nice time. I want to walk down the street without someone yelling at me. Right. Simple shit like that, you know I want to feel it equally. I want to you know the things like that there's a variety of wants. So, so I would just explore all the avenues explore being okay with having your character want something and going for it. And also finding specific works of literature in which the character doesn't know what they want and are just and it's really compelling and exciting to you. Right. So you can explore all the all the avenues, you know. Thank you. Thank you. Good question. Thanks so much, Emma. Matthew, you're up next. Hey, Matthew. Hey, how are you. Happy to see you. Happy to see you too. Thank you so much. Happy to be back. Have a question I had written a poetry collection now have a video artwork that was inspired by the poetry collection. It's basically shooting, ultimately around 100 people who are in the future, who from time to time will be wandering into the room getting a chance to look at through a window at us in the past. And you answered so much of my question and talking about want that was wonderful. Each of those people comes in and they have something that they they they have a reason to walk in and want to look at people in the past and maybe communicate something. That's really, really helpful. The other part of it is, given that there may be 100 people, some might be in very briefly. How do I keep it? What kind of things can I do to keep it organic and to keep it fresh so that each of these people who's coming in to make connections with people in the past. And it's not starting to feel very repetitive or or uninteresting or or inorganic to who these people seem like they might be. That's a big question sounds like a very beautiful project. I wonder if you if you if it starts feeling repetitive. Maybe you could cut cut what's repetitive. It starts feeling repetitive like what I put that note or that idea or that theme, you know, a couple of times already do I need to hit it again. You know, you can. You could trim it down. You know, there's that. Well I'll be able to work with the actors to. Oh that's great okay that so you're gonna like workshop it is that is that a. Is part of the subtext there there are different lines that will be visible to to us the viewers that will be rolled out single lines every six seconds roughly six or seven seconds and they'll be showing something happening in our present. And the future is there and ultimately it's for the the viewer to be able to juxtapose what they're seeing there versus what's happening in the future. So that that will keep some momentum there it also will create some arcs in terms of what is happening in the future is it war. And they don't need to be directly connected where you see something that you read a line just if an actor is coming in. And it's an effect creating 100 different scenes that each each will feel potentially connected to other people in the room potentially building on something that that came from somebody before, but also somebody who's coming in with their And going in whatever direction they might they might organically to want to go. Well so so I just want to know where you are in the in the process of creating it so you're you're going to have a workshop of it you're going to involve the involvement actors. Yeah, well there's a lot on the technical side I'm almost halfway through writing those every six or seven second lines, the sense of that. And then it's just a matter of putting the word out and seeing if I can invite enough actors who are interested in showing up. A lot of this is going to be put together in post production everybody will be layered individually so there might be two or three people who can be playing against each other. It could be portrayed as a family. There could be relationships that are established between some people. There will be a number of individuals. Again just a question. If this were 20 I would think it would be fairly straightforward process but given that it's 100 it could even be more people. Well I think I think we're really going to have to just write it and see what you got then write it see what you got and you know what they say about film and TV and video it's you know it's created and post so in the editing room you're going to really. It's going to be created in the editing process, and you'll see if something like I said again if something's repetitive you can cut it do you like cutting or are you a. I'm pretty merciless if it's going to help the work yeah great and there you go so you can cut trim add you know, ADR you know add you know voices after the fact or whatever. But I think it's going to be probably made in post. In effect an organic process and on the post side. It'll be fun. It'll be fun. It sounds like a great project man. Thanks I really appreciate it. Thanks for the advice. Thank you. Thank you Matthew. We have Lynn next. Hey Lynn. Hey Lynn. I think I there you go. Hey girl. How are you. I'm okay how are you good good. So I was writing a play. And then somebody in our group here, a couple, some months ago said. You made the suggestion or somebody had asked a question you said why don't you write the story of this play, and then go back to the play. And it just struck me I thought oh that's a really good idea. So, I started just writing, literally, this story, kind of the back story of these, these characters and stuff like that. And, and then I saw a play. I saw this play a friend of mine was in called the orchid, which was a thing and one of the actors who's who I did a play with. John McKinney is a deaf actor. And I found that he spoke to me more than any of the words did. You know, so, and I just keep on thinking about those that silence which spoke so much, you know, and I wondered where the balance is, I don't mean the balance of silence and words to tell the story but how, how not to write the silences in and write the silences in the words. Is that a crazy question. Who was it Miles Davis, it's not about the notes it's about the silence. Yes, maybe remember I wrote that down a long time ago. I think you said that yes. Right. So, I mean, what I don't understand why that you want to write in silences. You mean, right, actually in the script, going back to writing a play, rather than, you know, the, the story of the play. Either. Either. I mean, that's a double question. So, whatever you're writing, whether it's the story of the play, which is, which means it's a story, I suppose. Yes, novel or a short story or just to expand my understanding of all of the characters. Right. And then so as you're writing this the story of the play or a short story that you would then adapt into the play. You really become aware of silence and the power of silence. Yes. Yes. And so why don't you write in silence. Just silence. Composers write rests. Okay. Composers. You write rest, right? Rest, rest, coordinate rest, half note rest, whole rest, long rest. An orchestra, you know, my son now plays an orchestra. It's like a page goes by. They're just counting in silence. You know, it's great. So can you just write in silence? Is that weird? No, no, no. That, that helps, you know, part of the answer. Yeah. What about the other part? The, I've been writing the story of these people and their stories, you know, the underbelly. We call it the subtext, you know, whatever. But I've been writing that for so long to get, how do I get back into the play of these people? Stop writing the underbelly. Start writing. Okay. Just stop. Go back to the play and just start writing the play. Okay. You know, unless you want it to be a short story, which is fine. It's probably a long short story then. Oh, then it's a novel. I don't know. But, you know, let me just stop. How do you get back into it? Well, you get back into it, you know, like, it's like if you had to, you know, I don't know what anything. I mean, I sometimes when I'm, you know, I don't know what to do, I just, I just pretend that I'm somebody else trying to do something else. You know, like, like, how do I, you know, what do I do? I don't know, but how, if I were a person who really, really needed to get in shape, what would I do? You know, it's like that. And I go, well, I just put on my tennis shoes and go out for a walk. You know, sometimes it's that simple. Just, just go ahead and begin. You know, just begin or you know, it sounds, it sounds like, oh, it's too easy and there must be, it must be more complicated than this. Yeah. It's really not, it's not. And I can't remember the quote, but the thinking makes it so. That's a quote from somewhere. Well, it, it's so interesting because I saw a play of yours with a bowling alley. I thought it sort of blew my mind, you can be anywhere and anything on the stage. And it was such a wonderful thing. That, that possibility which I guess we, we censor ourselves because of whatever. And when I saw that I thought it can be anywhere, just anywhere, anything, you know. And it can, but you have to sit down and write it. Yes. Because it can't, it can, it can be, it can't be anywhere or anything if, if one does not you or me or anybody has not actually put in the, the, you know, time at the, yeah, at the typewriter or the notebook or the laptop or whatever. Then it can be nothing. Yeah, it has to have a context. I mean I write every day, but it, if it doesn't have a context, then there's no form to it. Well, if you're not telling some kind of a. Yeah, the intent, what the intent to make us a thing. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, if you don't have the intent to make a thing then you have, then, yeah. I mean intent is, is very important. It's not everything, but it's almost everything. Yeah. Thank you. It's always great talking with you. Yeah. What did you say. It's great. It's always great talking with you. It's always great seeing and talking with you. I think Kat raised their hand but then maybe unraised it. Are you interested in asking a question Kat. Yes, please. I've unraised it. Thank you for the opportunity. My question is, I'm writing, I'm writing in verse at the moment some sections of the work in verse, and at the moment I'm sort of following my nose on it. So I've actually articulated in words, why, or the function. And so I've started asking people sort of survey, survey style like what do you think the function or value or place positionality that verse have in contemporary plays and performances. I've asked quite a few people and I'd love to hear what you think. poetry. Yeah, so metered. Through musicals are they not. Still, people are still writing sung through musicals, right, which is a form of metered verse it's just set to music. So your question. Yeah, there's a lot of thinking going on these days. Are you enjoying it. Are you enjoying writing a verse is it fun. You have to meet yourself Kat. Is it enjoyable. Yes, I mean, difficult. Yes, sure, sure. It's difficult, like everything. Right. It's difficult. Some days it's joyful some days it sucks. Some days it's it's it's trial a law some days it's OMG, you know who knows right it's all of those things, but if it's enjoyable to you, then it's worth it. You know, sure, we can see like, Oh gee, are people writing plays and verse these days well sure. People are writing still writing musicals I think as long as people write, you know poetry is very much alive these days slam poets and, and all those things. Yeah, if it's enjoyable to you that I think you should continue. Even if five people said don't because verse plays aren't in these days who the fuck are they know I'm saying. Yeah, if you're in for your enjoyment. Is that your question I'm not sure of your question. I'm like was like the rhetorical and structural placement of verse like as openers and interludes and sort of, you know, like in a musical my understanding is is that the song comes when simply words are not enough. It becomes in into a new realm where the song, but I don't know if that if that is true of spoken verse every time. I'm pondering that. It's like, like, why are they like if you could imagine the question like why are they speaking in verse here. Do you want to give yourself permission to write in verse. I was like, right in verse. It's okay. I mean, you know, musicals they sing when they when they when they can't speak or they sing when we're playing words aren't enough or they sing when they feel like it. Or they sing when they have a song in their heart or they sing when, when, oh it's a fun moment, because if you think of like Shakespeare. I mean, gee, there's so many great. It's in verse though. So, yeah. Now is the winner of our discontent I mean he could have said they could have said it in prose but they said it in verse, you know, I would, you said you're following your nose. What does your nose not know. Why have you stopped following your nose. I just, it's a it's a vignette style work so I'm like where does it go and what brings to it and what makes shifts and where to sit within the work. It sounds like you're writing something very beautiful and I would just keep telling yourself the story of it. You know the story is the is the is the yarn, literally that will help you navigate the maze in which the minotaur sits, like with Ariadne, you know, and the minotaur and the yarn is the thing that's going to help you navigate the maze. Yeah, I can't name any, any like contemporary verse plays off the top of my head but I can think of a lot of great musicals they're totally sung through to me or like first place, even if you saw recently, I think it was all sung through the hang Taylor Mack was all sung through. I didn't buy the book and open it and see if it was in fact in verse I don't know but it was sung through so it. I imagine that it had, I mean it had very great meter and rhythm and time and all that. And so. Yeah, and I didn't stop to think once, gee, why are they singing right here. Because it was just that beautiful. So. Thanks for a question. Thank you. Thank you cat we have time for one more questions I'm going to meet you. Crystal. It's crystal. Hi, great to see you. Great to see you to always great to see you. Okay, so I'm in working on two things. Well, okay. I have a short film that I'm like right now, like trying to raise money for to try to shoot this year and and and and I'm working on writing the therapist, the one I told you about the the one with the crazy stuff. With the short film. I, I want to, I want to write it a feature version of it. But I don't have experience in writing a feature from a short film, because when I wrote it, the initial idea was that it would stay. It would stay a short film because it was calm. It was enough story or enough of like the imagination could only go so far that it could 15 minutes and be satisfactory and still be passionate about it. And now it's like, okay, like how do I, I guess elongate it because I can usually chop down or trim the fat off of stories. Not well, not not willingly, but I do it when I have to, but to elongate that's that seems like a brand new challenge that I haven't had to deal with, with any of my stories. I guess my question is like, how do I even like start when I was already satisfied with 15 minutes because I kind of felt like that's all I had in me, but I, I need, I do need to make it a feature length or full length. Can you use another topic or you have to, I mean, you satisfy your pleas with what you have and yet you have to make it a feature length. I don't understand why you can't just choose another topic. Another topic like another story. Yeah. Because this the the goal in mind with this was okay. That this would be what I forget what it's called as not a spectacle. I can't remember the term but basically something to introduce me into the world of filming as like right after. It would be something that would be something that I could say okay well, if you want to see more. You know, I wanted to kind of have something. I really like to work with those characters and that situation and that. Yeah. Okay, okay. So usually with a 15 or 20 minute film or just dealing with the core thing that happens right. Right. Okay, if you think of let's say you know like, Hamlet right thing that happens you know he realizes he comes home realizes his dad the short version like take Hamlet. Right. Okay, take something you know, like Hamlet. Sorry, but it's on my mind. So the short version would be he comes home. He realizes his uncle killed his dad. He gets really mad. He kills his uncle. Right. Oh, that's 15 minute film right right now realize now let's look at it in its five act version. Right. Okay, he comes home. They've seen it goes. He doesn't believe them then he goes oh my gosh it's his dad swear swear. You don't see you know so we add late so we blew it up. So what you can do actually as an exercise I'm just making this up so I don't know if it's gonna work out but it could work. Take some some some movies, right because you can just sit there and like watch a movie right. Okay, a couple of take three movies that you love. Okay, watch them. Okay three movies you got to love them they got to be and maybe they're kind of like the same kind of genre each thing or maybe not know maybe one's a rom-com one's a thriller and one's I don't know action adventure. Okay, okay, and take them watch them enjoy them and write off the short version of the plot. Like the 15 minute version if I could do this in 15 minutes what would it be and then write out the long version and watch how it they're like expanded on. I'm just making it up right now. I don't know sounds like it worked. Okay, that could be really fun and plus you get to watch movies added bonus you make some popcorn get the kids involved, the hubby, you know y'all chilling watching Netflix, what could be better while you're working secretly. Okay, you know what I'm saying. Okay, yeah, and then you see, oh, look, you know, with Hamlet just short they introduced a girlfriend. And the girlfriend brother has a brother. And the brother and the girlfriend, they have a dad who talks a lot. Right. So suddenly you have layer T's Ophelia and Polonius and that's a whole shit storm itself. And then you know Horatio he's got his shit and then you know, Fortenbrass is like looming, you know these people. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay, sounds like so much fun I might do it tonight myself just for the fun. Okay, look at 601. Oh, it is. Thank you. You guys are great. The next week is the fourth of July but we'll be back the following week. Yeah. Okay. Thank you as independent as you can.