LA Colemantary #4

My 30th highschool reunion is this year.  I went to an all girls boarding school in upstate New York.  The teacher/student bond was intense and familial.  One of my teachers died this week and I want to sing his praises in this week’s entry.

Jack Betterly was the kind of cool I had never been exposed to  - 16/17 yr.old Coleman from SC.  I had never met a man who had a pierced ear or wore cowboy boots or swaggered down a hallway quite like Jack.  I only ever had one class with him my senior year – GLOBAL HISTORY.  I became a writer the day he digressed (his digressions were his genius) and announced, “the art of letter writing is dying.”  I took that as a challenge and my letters home became short performance pieces for my mother to bring to life for my father.

I owe everything to Jack for planting that early seed – the one that grew and spread roots and flowered.  Jack turned me on to the concept of a larger world – connecting to it – serving it - becoming relevant.   I will miss knowing he is an email away.

2 WRITING WORKOUTs:  Who are/were your teachers? (a list)  did they wake you up or put you to sleep. (fragments of memory)

-    write a letter to someone you imagine reading aloud – who hasn’t seen you in a while – paint the picture of your life – think of the ART of letter writing and heighten it.  A letter is a documentation – a poem – an inciting incident.

Oh dear readers,  won’t you please sign in under the comment section at the very bottom of the page.  I want to know who visits – are you writing a screenplay – tell me more.

BACK TO WORK

A little plugging this week…

Saturday night at the Bootleg Theatre (Beverly past Alvarado – used to be the EVIDENCE ROOM) Theatre of NOTE is having a benefit for their next production.  To kick the party off will be solo artists performing short pieces (I am on the list).  The night begins at 7:30.  Come on by if you can.  I am singing the internet blues.  Unfortunately I have lost my voice.  I hope to find it by Saturday.  The show must go on.

Here’s an exercise I did in all my classes this week.  It was given to me by Guy Zimmerman, artistic director of Padua Playwrights.

Write a long note to your inept imaginary assistant.  Demand things – be as cruel as you can – then about ten minutes in, soften your commands – then five minutes of softer commands – change your tone into almost an apology.

This explores the master/slave relationship and how quickly characters can shift positions of power in the course of a single encounter.

Here’s an excerpt from my letter:

PART ONE
Arrive exactly at 10:00 – not 10:20, not 9:45.  Wait in your car if you must.  NEVER arrive on days I might be here an if you do then there will be no eye contact.

Do NOT drink my gin

Take a lesson fro your mother on how to make a bed.

PART TWO
Do you mind waiting before you leave for the dryer to stop?  Do you hate me?  I thought you might like this book I found at a yard sale.  If you read it, maybe we can discuss it.  I’ll be here on Wednesday and Thursday.

PART THREE
Look. I want you in my life.  I really do.  I don’t know how to make a bed.  You do. Sort of.

USC: SPRING BREAK

And of course this week is flying by.  I did some eavesdropping today:

The WOMAN is drinking a smoothie and the MAN has tea.  His voice is hard to hear. She can be heard across the universe.

WOMAN
So your first wife – was she healthy?

MAN
We lalalalalalalalalaa a major incident lalalalalalalalal hospital lalalalal smoke.

WOMAN
Did she enjoy herself?

He nods.

WOMAN
Your oldest is 12?

He nods again.

WOMAN
My concern is that you are having coffee with me as a reaction to being abandoned and betrayed – that you have no intention of pursuing this further after today.

He tips his chair back and crosses his arms.

WOMAN
It says here that your 2nd wife was trouble.  Can you elaborate?

MAN
She collected rocks.  She sucked her thumb.

WOMAN
What did she do for a living?

MAN
She didn’t work.  We had a house full of babies and hunting dogs.

So, take a walk – sit in a café or somewhere you can put your  pen to paper and write what you hear.   Fill your notebooks.