Sunday, September 13, 2009

New Horizons

This is an auspicious week (not to mention, an incredibly busy one as well.) On Friday, Resonance Story Theatre’s Tom Sawyer opens. We were asked last spring to create a traveling production of Tom Sawyer to coincide with the Orem Public Library’s Big Read. The Big Read Kicks off on Monday, September 14th and you can read more details about the whole thing at: http://www.orembigread.org/. Resonance Story Theatre partnered with the new Noorda Theatre at Utah Valley University (http://www.uvu.edu/theatre/facilities/noorda.html) and Tom Sawyer has become the Noorda’s first touring show. I wrote an original adaptation to accommodate a small cast. There are five actors who play multiple roles. This has been a wonderful project and we have a great cast. Besides performing at the Orem Library and the Noorda Experimental Box, the show will travel to 18 schools throughout Utah and to the Egyptian Theatre in Park City. You can get all the details at: http://www.resonancestorytheatre.com.

This week has been full of firsts for me. I workshopped my very first scene of a new play I am writing in a class at school. I learned I have a lot to learn, but the process of getting feedback is invaluable and I am determined to seek it out no matter how uncomfortable. I’ve been helping out with the props and costumes for Tom Sawyer, so another first is I’ve been making things with power tools! I’ve built a prison window and worked on the picket fence. It’s been fun. Another great first is I was hired for my first freelance analysis job. A producer is paying me to look over a children’s theatre script and write up an analysis. Thank you Katie Farmer, my script and text analysis professor, whose incredible 30 years research on analysis has given me marketable skills. I really loved working on this project and ended up with a 7 page type written analysis, using Katie’s model and my own experience to give, what I think, is valuable and usable thoughts and ideas on how to strengthen the script. I would love to do more of this type of work.

I can’t tell you how much I love my life. It’s a little crazy right now with school and opening the show, but every week brings me new and varied experiences and I feel as if my head is just exploding with new thoughts and possibilities.

No comments:

Post a Comment