Taking Your Play for a Test Spin: The Un/Staged Reading

Stories High 12 Reading Cast of Thicker Than Wine (l:r-Patrick Silvestre, Rob Trinidad, Alan Quismorio, Aaron Niles, Gemma Calderon, and Aura San Miguel)

Ooooos Ahssss And Hahahas are what hooked me into the Theater game in the first place, but those audience reactions were always a by-product of seeing a story brought to life on stage. One of my favorite audience moments was during the reversal scene from my play, BORDERS. In it, a woman discovers that a flirtatious guy sitting at the next table in a cafè isn't whom she (or the audience) thinks he is. "Oh my God," was caught from an audible whisper of the person next to me as I watch the scene unfold from my back row seat at the old (current Boxcar) Bindlestiff Studio Blackbox Theater.

Sometimes I get so caught up in being solo in writing a story that I tend to over intellectualize it. From dissecting the level of conflict, flow of dialogue, to character names, especially in during the incubation of a play can be a very personal and sometimes lonely journey. But the light at the end of the tunnel appears when I finally get that story in front of a real AUDIENCE during an un/staged reading. I'll define audience as consisting of a sample size of more than 10 strangers "off the street" type.

What I love about writing for the stage is, duh, the ALIVE audience! If they're asleep, you fail. Bored, looking around, reading the program, talking on a mobile - all the same. Fail. That's why the value of these pre-produced readings is Gold!

I recently had one of these readings produced by Bindlestiff Studios for my newest play, THICKER THAN WINE. I've already heard my play hundreds of times in my head, so I know it's good, but that judgment isn't worth spit if the people I'm writing for aren't engaged in the story I created.

There is a caveat to this though: don't let the audience change the core of the story. Their reaction can cause you to re-write the entire play, but the core/theme/message chose you to write. I've been down that road with THE GIFT. After a reading, I re-wrote the whole script with new characters and setting! Lesson learned: Don't do that again. But I did learn from that audience reaction from this staged reading.

Look for these opportunities to get your play seen in these types of readings cuz you'll def learn so much from them. I did!

Launching a career as a Playwright

One of the things I learned from the Anthem Salgado's workshop on Blogging was to have a "search-friendly" Blog Post title. Hopefully this will be the first of many posts that will bring more insight on what's the goings on as I really do launch into this career that I've always felt was my calling and have honestly took for granted.

I've been writing plays since 1995 and I believe the exact moment that set me on this path was hearing an audience laugh at a line during the PCN (Pilipino Culture Night) Play I wrote for Samamhang Pilipino at CSU, Sacramento in 1995. I remember when everyone was off to the Union at the reception after the final bows, I was left cleaning up the Music Recital Hall where the production was performed. I sat down in one of the seats of the auditorium, and soaked in every moment of that night. People actually cared about the story I remember handwriting in the bed of my old pickup after having the different characters' stories intertwine during the life of a marketplace (palengke) in the Philippines. Back then, I didn't know what drama, conflict, structure, or a dénouement was. I just had a story that needed to be told. And by golly, I did it and an audience reacted to it. It also taught me how much working in a production can't be done on it's own. I "directed" it, but I knew how much each individual person would bring to the role. I felt bad because I had to re-cast one of the roles, well, the actor missed A LOT of rehearsals without explanation, but other than that, I've been hooked on storytelling for a live audience ever since.

It's 16 years, and quite a few plays later, and I'm now ready to make that leap into trying to turn this into a career. A career? Like actually trying to make a living at this? I'd love to, but it's also a comfort to know that I have a really good day-job to fall back on as a Web Developer. But it's still nice to dream. BIG!

Standing... Blind writing

What I mean about blind writing is that I began writing this script, Standing Above Pajaro, about two years ago and while I have my notes a out the play on my home computer, which I'm currently away from, I'm rewriting what I have of the script from memory. It's going pretty well but now I'm near the climax of the story and it feels like it's kinda falling apart because I don't have my notes on what's going to happen next.

But overall, I'm happy with the pacing of the dialogue, which is more my style. Which is to say that, I'm incorporating the LaBute quickfire overlapping (using his same script shorthand / at the point of overlappage) while paying close attention to how much to reveal and Jeanie's rules of what every line needs to do: 1) push the story along, 2) describe the charter and 3) show/infer action. If the line does neither of these three, kill it!

So hopefully, I can present this at a Wordy Word to hear this skeleton script: how it fits together before adding flesh/soul/meat to the play.

My goal on this vacation is to finish this one as well as a re-write of Boys Don't Bake Cake.

Ciao for now!

Trickier Than Wine

I finished the latest draft of Thicker Than Wine in October and I'm going to revisit it since there's finally another deadline of Dec. 14. I'm a little apprehensive about revising it again for fear of overediting. then again all playwrights have the right to edit their plays when they wish. just don't want to over think it. you know what it is? it just might be that I think that I had a pretty good last reading of it and I don't want to do anything else to wreck it! but it doesn't hurt to look at it from a fresh perspective.

onto the topic of adaptations. the lesson was GREAT! but at the same time very constricting in the fact that I'm afraid to share this in fear of getting a cease and desist order. I love what I've come up in spite of the play time duration. maybe I should just contact the author to get her blessing. I mean, I should have in the first place, but then again I didn't even know that it would work out so well, cuz I was hecka strugglin'! should ask Allan first.

I need to write.

Working working working

so my new project is to adapt a short story or poem written by a filipin@-american author into a 20-minute play. i've selected the short story "A Portrait of an Aristocrat" from the novel WHEN THE ELEPHANTS DANCE by Tess Uriza Holthe. i've been drawn to this story ever since reading this 3 years ago. for some reason, it's really taken a hold of me. i think it's just seeing a scene where the protagonist, Fredrico Jacinto-Basa is mixing it up with the contagonist, Divina Zamora. The scene is where Divina first confronts Fredrico in his painting studio after he runs over her mothers vegetables in the market place with his Kalesa. she splashes wine all over his painting and i see him totally enraptured by her passion... something that none of his other portraits have.

at any rate, my task is to take this story of about 21 scenes and compress it into 15-20 minutes. it's gonna be hard, but it eases my mind to know that i've taken the steps to get to that point:

- re-write the story in my words point-by-point
- break this point-by-point re-write into scenes
- identify all of the characters
- identify the main theme
- create a "This story is about..." sentence. Learned this from Philip Kan Gotanda.
- this actually changed from my initial thought of what i thought the story was and this was only accomplished by having the point-by-point re-write.

This story is about how an aristocratic painter changes his beliefs on social equality after meeting his muse and her family during the late 1800's of a Spanish-colonized Philippines.

what i still need to accomplish:
- edit out the scenes which will help me tell the story into 20 minutes
- figure out what's the best method to do this
- cut out as many characters as i can and maybe combine characters

i'm on my way and the more times i go over what i've already done, the story will come more clearly into focus :)

Looks

Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined

This is a name of a book that I just saw on this book service I'm with. It's an interesting topic for a play... maybe.

unrequited love/friendship

I just had to get this out in terms of exploring unrequited love/friendship as a theme for a new play. Most likely this will be thought of into a 10-minute as it's an artform that I've not only fallen in love with, but really understand the structure and elements of a play. Of course, writing for this won't keep me from wanting to write a full-length, but I'm pretty sure that if I can nail this format, I'll be able to nail the full-length as well.

Back to this theme. I'm just really feeling strongly towards this theme because I'm going through this right now. I know that it's probably all in my head, but... sometimes I wonder. Regardless if this is in my noggin', it's still a pretty real "emotion" - the feeling of loving someone more than they love you. There's just so many varying degrees of this feeling that I'm going to explore from my point of view. It's really interesting. If I was younger, I'd be going through... let's be honest, I have gone through this again. Probably to the point where this relationship I have with this other person is irreparable, well to the point where it was at one point in time, but I am much older and wiser now to not get too caught up in the sadness, jealousy, spitefulness, and otherwise NEGATIVE, yet human, energy. I mean, sure it's there, I am human, but honestly, not to the degree as it was in another phase of my life. I know I'm rambling, but that's what blogs are for.

Okay, now prefacing all that I have, loving someone more than they love you is a universal thing. Sometimes, if a person's not careful, if the other person senses this, they can, and probably should, take advantage of that person's affections. But I think the tragedy is that sometimes the person giving the affection will probably try harder the more the other person doesn't reciprocate. Sad. This is good, but I have to be aware not to make the hero a sad sack of poo instead of a sympathetic character.

At any rate, this has been weighing on my mind. Something I need to write about.

Another crossroad

I'm thinking that I should be writing this on my other blog site, but it applies here as well. I'm at another crossroad it seems. I can either audition to act in a play which will take place later this summer or continue writing by seeking out lessons and looking for other theater work. I guess I'm at this juncture because I can finally take stock of where I truly am in this time and space that some call life. I've spent so much, if not all, of my life trying to fit in by doing a lot of things, more recently within the last 5 years, by doing the theater thing. I love the theater. And this weekend, I solidified my love for writing for the stage. And to my surprise, possibly writing for film/video/DV.

I'm 36. I don't feel like I have anything yet to show my existence in doing something I love. In order to do this, my goal in playwriting terminology, I know that I have to focus on WRITING. I got close to so many people with Bindlestiff, but is that what my ultimate goal is? Or should it be to hopefully one day, write something that these amazing performers can take and run and make fly.

You're the first to read these thoughts are pouring out of my fingertips and spilling onto this keyboard, but I'm have to step away from the stage. I have to do this in order for the amazing artists to grace the stage and take my words to transport an audience into my world. A world that can only be seen through my journey through life. This journey that I've been so lucky to have been on as to where I can finally see the top of my Hierarchy of Needs - self-identity. Knowing what my role in life ultimately is - a playwright.

BOA in SF

I know. I know. It's been a while. Tonight I went into the city to watch a friend's play as it is featured in Bay One Acts Festival by Three Monkeys at the Eureka Theater. Not saying this because he's my friend, but his was the best play. It's called "Toss of the Hat" by Mike Ricca. It's kinda funny watching it because it totally sounds like him! And what's funnier is that when people hear my stuff, they say that they could totally hear me. I just never thought of it that way, I guess. But his play is about a guy who throws caution to the wind and steps up and asks a girl that he likes, and whom he know she likes him, to be together... despite the fact that she already has a boyfriend of two years. He used the device of breaking the fourth wall, something I love, and can't wait to be able to write that into a play ala Zoot Suit.

Luckily they were selling the play as compiled in a book in the lobby. It must be a sign when all the crumpled bills that emerged from my left front pocket was exactly the amount of the book. Hopefully I'll get him to sign it when I see him at the next random meeting.

Anyways, his play closed program two of the festival. the programs consisted of short 30 - 40 minute plays. on this night, there were 4 plays. The first rocked cuz it involved cutting off a person's finger and tongue... which eventually led to his death on stage. Creepy and disturbing... right up my alley! The third play was amazing because of the heart that the playwright displayed. I was about 20 minutes long and I wished it was longer because I loved the characters.

The one that I surprisingly didn't like was the second play. It was about a man and a woman who are at a theater in NYC to watch an Edward Albee play, but they get there 24 minutes early, so they just sit there talking about there relationship which try to answer the question of why don't they have a baby yet. I didn't like them and I was always trying to figure out where were they going with this. I understood why the playwright was trying to paint their differences, but in the end, I just didn't like and care for either of them. The only really going for it was the very witty banter between them. Snappy. Back and forth. Like a tennis match of heavy hitters - fast. And I realized that at one point, I really really liked this style of conversation. Smart. Quick. But, for some reason, that style started to feel that the lines were just there to make the characters seem witty and smart... instead of just being real. I wrote a whole paragraph on this play because I really learned a lot from it... and about what I like and don't like. Something I hope I can use and know what not to use in my plays.

the mightiest force known to exist

I've been thinking a lot lately about what being an artist means to me. This sprang up from watching AOTS (America is on the Stage) and watching the potential there. I say potential not in a belittling or condescending way, I admire them for what they are DOING, but potential in terms of being able to continue to pursue the creation of art/song/dance/jokes/graphic design/etcetera long after college is done.

For me and the people that I'm on the same spiritual vibration level on (spiritual speak), we're still and will always continue to be Artists. The ones who seek pleasure of getting away from the world of worry, pain, bills, politics, hollywood, by going into a place of rehearsal, being on stage or even putting a scrapbook together - the place where the hands of seconds, minutes, and hours fall in your presence because you are on a higher level that allows you the freedom to be what God/Vishnu/Bathala/Whomever you consider the Mighty Supreme Being to be, and has always intended for you to be - YOU.

If you consider yourself an artist, then you know it is so engrained into your soul that you couldn't erase it if you, or anyone or anything else, even tried. It's that something that won't allow itself to be killed. It's the one thing that even if your physical presence is no longer with us, that creative soul lives on through what you created for us to carry us through. (Shout out to our boy, BJ Alisago!) Something that powerful because at it's core is the mightiest force known to exist on ANY level - love.

Back in the Saddle

The last couple of days of writing has been amazing! I actually forgot what it feels like to get lost in writing the words that come out of my characters mouths. It's actually getting to the point where it feels like I have to "kill some of my babies" because of length. I have this one scene that was so thin before, but now that i've added so much meat to develop and push the story forward, I know that I have to cut some of it. Hopefully, I can find somewhere to put it back into.

But yeah. Just nice to lose total track of time and to see the action just appear in the consciousness.

Green Light

Ya-ta! I got a green light to produce my play "Garden of Dreams" for April 25-27 at Sacramento City College. Unfortunately, there might be some things that might block this dream from happening but I look at this as just another obstacle and a challenge. One of the other challenges happen to be that the play is to happen in Sacramento which is about 150 miles away. I've turned down this opportunity before because taking the advice by one of my mentors, and by a couple of books I've read and playwriting podcasts I've heard, was not to direct my own play. Another obstacle. But you know what, it needs to be done. I'm not even sure if I'll have my original reading cast. Another obstacle.

Given these, I honestly feel like the deck is stacked against me but for the first time in a long time, I am determined more than ever to get this done. Even if it's in a park with puppets... wait, maybe not that far, but close. The other thing working for me is that I have a lot of friends who can help me... i hope.

The other thing that is going to get me through is the example that the artists of Bindlestiff Studio have led. They are about my age, but ever since I started watching their productions, they have done it themselves. They had a support system that I marvel at and more importantly, inspired by.

As time goes on, taking Robert Rodriguez's book, Rebel Without a Crew, as an example, I'll create a journal, maybe a blog on its own, on the process of the production.

Character Dosier

Sister Mary Clarence:...If when you wake up in morning and you couldn't think about anything, but writing, then you're a writer.

After my 9-to-6, I head on over to borders to do some writing. I'm feeling good about this story idea I've had for quite some time. Before I get started, I even do a little writing exercise: A wants something from B, but B wants something from A first. A little tip: when starting this exercise on a laptop, write down the two character names, which is better than A and B, one line on top of the other, copy those two lines, and copy and paste, etc., down the page. And bada bing, before you even have any lines written, you're committed to this little drama because you have outlined two characters that go back and forth WAITING for you to insert the story. I'm a visual person, and when I saw this, I got inspired.

So, I'm writing this little scene and half way through, I realize that in a short play like this, I still don't know what this is about. Not good. And I started to think that in my last couple of short plays, it takes me a while for me to get into not only what is this story about, but what are these characters like?

I stopped in my tracks and, with this question in mind, I started to write my play... but in a very different way that I've written everything else. There are two different philosophies of writing. 1) sit down and start writing. The characters will eventually start talking to each other and to your own wonderment, a story happens and in a very schizophrenic kind of way, these characters start to write their own story while you're just there as a stenographer. 2) start out with writing down what each of these characters are like. write down everything they went through; what their history is; what is their needs; what makes them... them. In doing so, in theory, the characters will start to write your play, but with motivation and forethought.

I believe in both philosophies, especially the first one, because of that artistic sensation of really creating something from nothing. Very organic since you're just letting it happen. But last night, I started writing out the Character Dosier for each of my characters, but in the organic kind of way, I've discovered more themes to the play itself. I was as excited to write this as I was when I just free wrote.

Needless to say, I came out of this writing session with more that I thought I was going into it: stronger individual characters. I'll still be working on this for other characters, but the goal is still the same in the anticipation of seeing what each of them has to say to each other.

Notes from Stories High

Just wanted to post these notes from the latest Bindlestiff Studio's Stories High Reading series for my 10-minute, Leaving My <3 In SF. Even though I don't know who wrote these, I'm very thankful for the time that they put in to write anything down! Thanks! Now, to get the final done soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to have some time to do another reading with the final:

Leaving My Heart in San Francisco

• Ending sorta muddled – don't think Mrs. Ayala is well-developed with son – how did he die? Too serious as a comedy!


• In the story, they talked about the mother having a bag with "something." In discussion, we couldn't figure out if it was a heart or a conclusion.


• Very dark, ha ha. You are a great writer but could be better developed as far as the context/background. I like how you keep us "wondering" though.


• The mother character is very creepy! What do you want the tone of your piece to be?


• Nice and unique payoff with the postcards.


• Script is very funny, touching and original. Pacing of reading is good and should be kept.


• Funny stuff. Didn't think lion heart and chicken shit part was too effective. Can't wait to see it in action.


• I thought this play was very deep. You could feel Cora's pain. Also had humor.


• Funny! Especially the hearts lamb part.


• Strong energy, good performance by mother Ayala, cryptic- she emotes well.


• Unique script, great acting.


• The lady in the pink did really well! I like her accent. AWWWW!! I like this one too!

back to reality...

so i workshopped BLANK CANVAS/LEAVING MY <3 IN SF and it didn't go over very well. and to be truthful, the play wasn't my best, WHICH SUCKS!!! cuz I know that i write better than this. I know it and I'm really disappointed in myself more than any ribbing I can take from anyone else. I really can't make excuses, well I can, but that excuse will be remedied very soon... like in 2 weeks :)

but yeah, play sucked, but you know what, it just made me stronger. and it was a real reality check for me cuz after going from a high with the reading I had in Sac in front of an audience to what happened today... it just makes me want to write more than I ever did before. just a little setback. but one thing's for sure, i'm gonna burn this play and start another one... and another one... and just keep trying to get better and better. i've ALWAYS been a slow starter.

Still focused on death

My subconscious is still focused on death and I don't know why! I thought I got over this by first writing GARDEN OF DREAMS and ROOM 812, and the newest short play I finished last night BLANK CANVAS circles around death once again. I've discovered that my writing style is to just write, much like PGK, after trying the outline view. However, I DO have in the back of my mind a structure, I still free flow and have the characters speak through my pen... and I keep coming back to someone crying because of someones death. I need therapy. It's been two years since the passing of my dad and one of my best friends and this still keeps coming back, like some really deeply rooted theme that needs to come out, which it does in my writings.

OKAY. Now that I've gotten this out of my way, hopefully, I'll consciously move on to something more lighthearted. Meaning that I have to read some Durang to get me in that mode of thinking!

Things I LOVE in stories

I was flipping through the channels this morning and saw david duchovny in a movie. i was admiring how natural, in his "look at me. i don't look like i'm acting, doesn't it?" kinda way. and wished that's what i like to see, the acting part - very human that doesn't look like they even care to be in a movie/stage cuz they're just THERE. i guess that's why i love watching one of my best friends on stage acting. i first noticed it when he auditioned for a role with a theater company in sacramento, and when he read, this was cold reading, it just came out naturally for him. like a character, who's a real person, stumbled onto that stage and became, not became, but is that person/character. i'm doing such a lousy job of explaining this... but that's what i look for in actors, can this actor transcend the stage into being a person i can relate to. and i think that this can only be seen in the minute details, especially on screen. the details of an actors action is what makes a character human. and that's what i look for in a writing a good character which in turn translates to a story i'd love to watch, and write, and hopefully an audience will love as well.

so after this long introduction on david duchovny's acting style, this is my list of things I love in Drama (and that's the general term for anything that's on stage or screen since i've stopped discrimating against that medium - i've grown.) this is an ongoing list, but hopefully when i'm stuck on saying, "this scene just doesn't float my boat," I can refer to this list and say, cool. this is what i love to see and this is the stories I want to write. WRITE!

- i LOVE characters that are 3-dimensional, in other words, human. if they are evil, what about them not only makes them evil, but about them reveals that there is some humanity left? compassion... or humor... but of course they are evil because of the dramatic action that drives them to their evil doing ways. and of course, this includes "good" characters too. if they were too cutesy-tootsey then they would make me throw up. their flaws greatly interest me, and maybe these said flaws would best be done with action instead of words!

- family and home. i love stories having to do with families. maybe it's because, not in spite of, i'm filipino. and i'm speaking of the family in the, i wouldn't say in the broad sense, but in the close sense of what a family is. in my case, i have a really small family - me, mom, and sister. but in a bigger role, i TRULY consider my best friends my brothers and sisters - not by birth, but meaning, i would do ANYTHING for any of them. it's that sense of belonging. that "i'm not alone, nor will i ever be again" family feeling that i want to bring out in my plays.

- sharp and quick hitting humorous wit. durang and sorkin are currently my favorites. a nod would go to simon, but i'd need to read more recent stuff of his work. but with durang, i'm absolutely ROFL! another great comedian that comes to mind is Craig Furgeson. Recently on a blog by BAMBOO NATION, Prince wrote a post about this guy, and there's a clip on it as well. i remember hearing about it on ET when Britney shaved her head and all the hosts of late night tv were bagging on her, but Craig said he wouldn't do that. i can't put into words, as well as Prince does, but this monologue had me uncontrollably cracking up one second and at the next beat, made me care about this person. i admire him for not this monologue... but for this wonderful work of art in weaving his personal demons, suicide attempt, urine (not sure if it's indeed his), and Britney Spears. genius for the construction of this piece, and also human because of the content.

Writer's Block

I'm standing on the corner of lazy and another episode of Heroes which intersects with Dancing with the Stars and I'm wondering why can't I write!? Sucks to be feeling like I'm in a catatonic state of mind on the Writer's Block. Just means that's it's time for me to head out to my special place where it's crowded, yet not within a 4 foot distance - the Marketplace in Emeryville. It's a "food court" if you will, without the mall. It's attached to a HUGE Borders Books, but there are hecka tables, and the last time I was there I think I re-wrote part of GARDEN OF DREAMS. Nonetheless, it was productive. But yeah, it hecka sucks to be stranded out here!

Luckily another cure for this incipid writing disease I have is called a DEADLINE. Either the 20th or November 3rd is it. After I have my outline done today, I'll make a decision on when it'll be done. Okey-dokes, off to my day job!

GARDEN OF DREAMS - A Play Reading

In a few weeks, the Sinag-tala Program of SFTPAA will be hosting a script reading of my first full-length play GARDEN OF DREAMS. No lie, I'm nervous as hell. In fact, I don't really know how to feel, since it kinda changes every day. Now, I'm really glad that we're having a quick rehearsal a day earlier. Also, luckily, at least I had the first read in February where hopefully I've addressed some issues, as well as take the feedback from PKG's workshop.

What I hope to gain from this is to see what works and what doesn't. I'll tape it cuz of my on and off memory for details.

I'm NERVOUS!

My goal

My goal is to have a play produced in a state outside of California by the age of 40. Can I do it? Sana... But that's why I started this site. Hope you take this ride with me... like all good drama - will i succeed or fail?