Stage Fright?

Adrianna paused, frozen in the moment; 'what is the line' panic started to set in, 'what is it?'. She looked out toward the audience not sure what to expect; she glanced toward the off stage curtain looking for a clue; she looked around her, nothing , this was her monologue, she was alone and no one could help her. 'Where is everyone?' Stage Manager, the rest of the cast, the Assistant Director, no one. Stepping to the right, she took a breathe, a deeper one, pause, stepping to the right, 'make it fit the scene, go with it, something will come to you' the voice in her head wasn't helping the situation. This was her monologue and her worst nightmare was coming true. Stage fright didn't happen here, this theater was her second home, 'what is going on?'

"Patience and Love...." a soft voice from backstage fed the begining of the next line to her. Adrianna took a deep breathe and stepped forward with the confidence she had begun the scene with only a short time before and continued the lines through end.

"What the heck was that?!" a quiet but harsh voice caught her from behind on the way off stage. Jessica looked at Adrianna with a furious confusion.

"I DON"T KNOW." Adrianna continued on through the corridor to the dressing room to prepare for the next scene. ' is this what it is like, Stage Fright?'

One Minute writer: Influences

Influences

Addie sat quietly at her desk, daydreaming if you will , wondering how she had gotten here. So many people had been a part of this journey, wonderful people and not so wonderful people, some a little crazier than others, some a little too controlling , and some gentle caring people that knew when to push and when to back off. As her mind wandered farther and farther away, images of Thom kept coming back. He knew how to guide her creative process, ' Backstage in a confusion of darkness' her mind wandered through the images. 'I can feel your arms wrapped around me, comforting me, guiding me'. Thom was so near , boosting her confidence, constantly pushing her that little more, not taking excuses, and reminding her of her passion for the art.

written at the pub..

(I use to hang out at a couple local pubs to write, since the kids I don't get to do that anymore... Well the other night I met my husband and the in-laws for dinner at one of those local pubs... since I had to wait for them to arrive I decided to write some.... This is what I came up with...)


The soft sound of the jazz bass surrounded Addie as she waited at the bar. His arrival hung heavy on her heart; seeing him closing night stung her soul as an old wound quickly torn open. Life in the theater healed her wounds, renewed her passion for life again after the long dark nights of her separation. As cliche' as it sounded, Addie felt the pain return just seeing him.
"Did I keep you waiting long?" his voice burned straight to her heart, awakening a desire in her more powerful than the hurt.
He touched her should guiding her to the table in the center of the room. The room was lit with a faux stain glass mural glowing, adding an ambiance tot he room, a casualness that somehow comforted Addie making this a safe environment.

JACKPOT, well kind of...

I was cleaning my office tonight and found 3 old journals, 2 spirals full of writing (misc stuff from the 90's), as well as my old college binder full of charts, lists, forms, idea starting bits, etc... I'm sorting through the piles now and clearing out the trash and saving the notes and useful stuff...

Here's hoping this will help keep me focused and writing more...

We now return to the normal ramblings of this writer...

One Minute Writer: First: Thursday's Word

Another great word for my novel writing page from One Minute Writer

***Note this is a process so nothing is really in order, this is mostly a place for me to 'scribble' my thoughts****

First Day on the Job: (Epilogue)
Addie cautiously opened the stain glass door at 312 North Ave E., this was it, her first day of the job. She was finally working in the real world. She had dreamed of this day for so long now. After all the hours writing and acting, dancing and playing, blocking and choreography high school and college theater this was the real thing. Her first real world job. Her own.

Ramblings and thoughts

I'll warn my readers now, this is simply a ramblings page as I gather some thoughts that have been crowding my head tonight.

****Addie's surprise guest still needs a name.... without revealing too many details about him yet; I'm thinking Aaron, Thom, or something along those lines... I can put myself in the scene for a moment and see him but can't name him yet... ugh!! (where is my old baby name book full of post it notes and thoughts...)

The theatre's (yes I will be spelling it that way tonight) architectural style is key... Man I wish I could spend a few hours writing in the old auditorium to get the feelings back, to relive moments of those years that this is loosely (yes loosely) based on.

Expressing the music and the sounds in words is harder than I thought...I found a great website that plays classical music at a nice slow tempo... I'm finding the calming effect of the music in my writing or at least the desire to write more. Thank goodness for mulit-tab browsers...

What does the color of burgundy feel like? Warm, comforting, dramatic.... ugh where is my thesaurus...

I wish my editor was here..... if you happen to stop by let me know...

One Minute Writer:Listen: Wednesday's word

Obviously I was meant to write this week as today's word sparked another idea.
****

"Does anyone here listen to me?" Addie's face shown a deep red shade as her temper began to flare. Tonight was the last curtain call of her show. "I still don't have the props set for scene 4 yet, and where is Julia, she was suppose to be here to double check the blocking change with the lights. Do you people not care, this isn't just about me. We have all worked too long and too hard for this not to work."

"Addie, I'm here... " Julia's petite stature and timid voice seemed to bring a calm to the backstage.

"Jerrid, can you bring up just the onstage lights while we run this blocking change for Julia's monologue?, Jerrid, are you listening??" Addie's headset was working she was sure, but as usual the tech crew was off in their own little world. "I'll be right back, Julie, go ahead and work on the blocking changes." Addie started toward the stairs leading to the auditorium...

One Minute Writer: Weekend: Monday's word

Monday's word was "weekend", so I decided to return to the novel works with the word..

Closing Weekend:
In a surreal moment of sorts Addie realized this was the last weekend, the closing of Her Show. For the past year every ounce of energy she had went toward writing, rewriting, casting, staging, producing, and promoting this, this piece of her. A sadness came over her, accompanied by a sense of accomplishment. Strange how in just a few short hours everything she had worked for would be put away. Tied up in a nice little package of memories, her final project was complete.
"Addie?" his voice caught her, she turned in surprise. He had come home just in time.


****this is a bit of the end of the novel. I never write in order*****

Today's Prompt from One Minute Writer:

Technology: What modern technology would you have trouble living without

My computer I suppose is the one thing I don't think I could live without although I'm sure I would return to good old fashion pen and paper (that I have been known to do even recently). I have had a computer for so long now I almost can't recall what life was before these silly machines. I received my first box (a Vic20) in 1985 and have been a wannabe computer geek ever since. The list of crazy machines gets worse but now I'm happy with my hand me down homemade machine full of misc. bits and pieces and running on Ubuntu8.0 (Linux), of course my trusty laptop ( a vintage 1999 HP Pavillon N series) is a treasure I won't easily let go of (until I can afford a newer one of course) I love taking my ideas with me and will be using it to teach two classes in our homeschool co-op Winter Term 2009.

Trying something new...

So since I've been away from this blog for a while I decided I needed to get back into the writing, whatever that may be... I found a blog today OneMinuteWriter and decided that made sense. I will try and write a little each day on this blog even if it is just ramblings (for those that know me, it may be a lot of ramblings)...

another poem

***I can't remember exactly when I wrote this, 1996 or 1997 comes to mind.... it was one of several on a missing disk I found this evening..***

Time stands still

The moment is ours

To share and remember

To carry forward if we choose.

A whisper, a kiss,

Shared silence.

Passing in the dark

To spirits dancing in the clouds.

Stand for a moment

Wait for that moment

Our moment will come

If fate and time are paired as one

A moment will be ours

That moment shall come.

Poem from January 8,2008

Hearts racing

Only time will tell

What this moment means



Fingers intertwined

A single thought

A kiss

That changes everything

Pausing

Stop the breathing

What next

Which way

Questions

Thoughts

Answers

More questions

This moment

Another moment

What does it all mean?

Confusion

No

LOVE

A Poem from my archive

Tonight my love and I have found ourselves

Fate hath smiled once again on the hearts of the young.

With sweet tenderness, he will lead my heart on a journey

Beyond time and understanding to a place far beyond the reaches of humanity.

Tonight and every night I shall fall asleep and journey

To our place among the angels.

The reflections of bliss shine as out light,

Guiding our footsteps toward the one spot

Somewhere between heaven and earth where angel's tear of joy flow

Like a stream past our feet.

Together we are guided on a journey of the heart.

To venture forth and seek true love and happiness.

Here there is not time, no reality, nothing to forsake our lover

The passion our souls have come to share.

With every tender touch, every solemn breath,

Every lasting moment the unconquered passion will dwell.

Tonight and forever, I have seen our place.

Above the clouds and below the heavens,

That one last place untouched by human hands,

Pure and unscathed.

Nothing shall keep my heart away,

My soul is yours and I give myself

Freely and openly for your guidance

Keep every moment pure and sweet.

Never allow our place to be touched by the terror of human hands.

In mind and in spirit I will join you there.

To love and be loved.

In purity and honor of unforsaken love.



****This was written in 1997 and is one of my favorites****
Doesn't have anything to do with the novel per say, but I'm moving my MySpace Blogs so thought this is where it should be.

A Director a home.

Addie walked calmly into the theatre office with only the slightest sign of nerves. This was her chance to shine. Theatre was a new undertaking for her, almost by accident. Not sure what to expect she waited.
After what seemed like hours, Sheila's office door opened and Addie realized she was home. Sheila appeared grouf on the outside but something told Addie it was safe her and she was taking on a wonderful adventure.
"You think you are up to this? I ask alot of my assistant directors and I don't like excuses later on. I'm telling you now, this isn't for softies." Sheila's voice rose over the sounds of students changing classes.
"I'm up to it, I want a challenge, something new." Addie stiffened. 'don't slouch, be strong for crying out loud'. This was it. Everything was falling into place.
"Here is the script, read it, know it. I want you to know every line backwards and forwards, feel the emotions of the characters, and understand the tone of the show. Your first job will be to pick out the backgrounds, I've never really liked doing that so here are the sketches from the Art Department. Let me know before class in the morning so they can get started. The cast auditions are Thursday so you'd better get reading. Oh and use this reading as your write up for class. Being Assistant Director does have some benefits."
Addie sighed a little relief, "Thank you"
"Don't thank me yet child.."
Sheila returned to her office leaving Addie in the office on her own.
BUZZZZZZZ
There was the bell, Addie turned and rushed for her next class already late but not caring. She was home.

Lights....

(this might seem a little random, but this is my place to doodle and think out loud)

White, no salmon, perhaps a hint of blue to cool it off. Don't cross them, avoid the hot spots.
Watch your shadows, stay inside the curtain. The curtain!

Adrianna???

I'm still not sure of the Heroine's name... Adrianna seems like such a big name, I'm still thinking of her a small image among the vastness of her stage.
Since this is a work in progress bear with me as it might change as some point.

First Curtain

Adrianna awoke excited and anxious. This was it, her first piano recital, the song wasn't important nor was the location... As a young student she prepared herself for this moment, her moment to shine.

(the photo is me at age 5 at my first recital, it is actually one of the photos that gave me the idea for this writing exercise)

Casting Call

The cast of characters is so imese, I expect the inital Casting Call will take a while. If you think you might know a character well enough, feel free to introduce yourself. Keep in mind names are not necessarily real and this is a fictional work although based on my own experiences.

Our Herorine: She is a student, although throughout the story she will be shown as various ages. She is fair skinned, long medium brown hair and deep green eyes... Approximately 5' 6" and medium build... OK so that is lame generic crap... so who is she? She is a little of everyone and a lot of me. Adrianna is the middle of 4 children and is a dreamer. We will get to know her through her stories and see the world through her eyes.

The Hero: That character is actually many characters. There have been many Heroes in my life as well as Adrianna's. Our Heroes must be strong willed and experienced in their area. Actors, Directors, Teachers, and the like will be great influences in the story as well as bring underlying sub plots into play.

Supporting Characters:

Friends: Both guys and girls although her closest friends always seem to be guys (that will be a sub plot along the way I'm sure)

Family: Three siblings; a younger sister, an older sister and an older brother. When we meet our Heroine her parents are living as well as a Grandmother who's eccentricities will weave a layer into the life of Adrianna and her understanding on various aspects of the curtains. Various other family members may be introduced when the story calls them in.

Introduction to this Journey

This page is basically for a novel in the works. I needed a place to write that I could access from various places...
So the basis for the novel.... A look at live on either side of the stage curtain. For those that stop by here and know me, you know that I have been on all sides of the stage curtain... On stage as an actor/ dancer/ singer; backstage as a writer, techie, director, producer; and in the audience as a lover of the arts and an observer of life.
I am using places I've been , things I experienced, and the life I've lived. I hope those involved will comment along the way. Keep in mind this is mostly autobiographical , but will still be a novel ... that in mind, I will change what I need to in order to keep little secrets and personal lives safe...
I hope you enjoy the journey with me... (oh and if you have photos that might help along this joureny, feel free to contact me and share... I will give create for any photo I use.)