Writer’s Block and Heading into Hedda

Writer’s Block is what happens when a writer can’t think of what to say.

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Unfortunately, I have had a little battle with the Block this past week.

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You see, as part of the course we all have to complete an individual project. Research, comparison, an experiment of some sort. This is what you might call our thesis. Imagine that, a master’s student having to complete a thesis. Well, I decided that my project and thus my degree, should hang in the balance of my own creative temperament. I decided that I would write a play and perform it with some of my fellow classmates. This is, after all, a course in text work and I wish to compare and experiment with the processes of developing and executing texts as we are experiencing them in this program. Brilliant! Now crazy lady, deliver the goods!

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(tumble weed rolls past)

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Okay, well maybe I need to get out of my room. Get some inspiration. Go see a movie (Or five! Yes, five movies this week people! No first draft of the script; but by golly I’m caught up on my movie watching and ready for Oscar night!!)

Sunday night. The pressure is on. The new module of the course starts in the morning. There won’t be a whole lot of time to devote to the writing process once we get into full swing with our new scene work. Must write something. Must get started. Push! Squeeze! Idea out!

What’s this! Something is happening! I’m typing! Words are finding their way on to the screen! It’s dialogue! There are characters! It’s happening!! The drought is over! The rain is falling!!! Hooray!!! Okay so it was only nine pages but it’s a start! A very exciting start! And might I add, this is the second attempt. I finished a draft before the Holiday break but that one wasn’t going to work with the resources available to us for this production. I needed something smaller. And so today, finally, I started again at square one. And the ball is rolling. Yea!

So what is happening tomorrow? The morning begins with a voice class. Speaking, not singing but it’s all related anyway. And in the afternoon, we begin work on Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen is considered one of the greats of theatre. He was a Norwegian fellow writing at about the same time as the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov; around the turn of the last century (not the millennium, that’s Tony Kushner). So there you have it, we’ll be whipping out the old corsets again and diving into Hedda’s head. We still don’t know exactly what’s going on with the next Shakespeare project but that’s okay by me; I have my hands full!!

I’ll let you know how it all goes!
Be well!
-m