Random, But Focused
There is so much going on...where to begin?
4 days, 1 hour and 43 minutes from now, I will take the stage as Ms. Lena May Baker. After memorizing 16 and a half pages, searching for music, obtaining/creating props and having a mini panic attack, I can now focus on further developing the character; her strengths, her fears, her nuances, her posture, her insecurities......you know, making her a whole, three-dimensional woman, who is fully present in each moment. This may be the hardest work I've done (except for studying for the CPA exam). But my girl, the Coolest Coolstein, my favorite Chosen Person, has been a lifesaver! She is freaking awesome! And Lord knows I am not easy to please - most obsessive, compulsive, control freaks aren't. So, a million thank yous, C. Coolstein - you're the best - I can't quit you. And I will be sure to update you after Saturday's performance.
This Memorial Day weekend, I took a much needed break from doing stuff. There was cooking, eating, sleeping, TV, movies, sleeping. I even did my nails & feet. As exciting as all of these activities may seem, I did something even more fulfilling. For the bazillionth time, I re-read Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon". This is my hands down, all time favorite book, by my favorite author (she shares this #1 position with Stephen King) and there was a time when I read it once year (along with "Beloved" and "The Bluest Eye"). I have owned, loaned out and lost at least 3 copies of it and I hadn't read it in over 5 years. It was just as delicious as I remembered it to be, and like a decadent desert, I devoured it. When I read this book for the first time I was around 12 and I distinctly remember feeling full and satisfied after I finished it. I needed a weekend where I didn't have a million places to go and things to do and I needed to know that Milkman Dead could fly. Not only because he came from that tribe of flying Africans, but because he believed he could. Take wings......
4 days, 1 hour and 43 minutes from now, I will take the stage as Ms. Lena May Baker. After memorizing 16 and a half pages, searching for music, obtaining/creating props and having a mini panic attack, I can now focus on further developing the character; her strengths, her fears, her nuances, her posture, her insecurities......you know, making her a whole, three-dimensional woman, who is fully present in each moment. This may be the hardest work I've done (except for studying for the CPA exam). But my girl, the Coolest Coolstein, my favorite Chosen Person, has been a lifesaver! She is freaking awesome! And Lord knows I am not easy to please - most obsessive, compulsive, control freaks aren't. So, a million thank yous, C. Coolstein - you're the best - I can't quit you. And I will be sure to update you after Saturday's performance.
This Memorial Day weekend, I took a much needed break from doing stuff. There was cooking, eating, sleeping, TV, movies, sleeping. I even did my nails & feet. As exciting as all of these activities may seem, I did something even more fulfilling. For the bazillionth time, I re-read Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon". This is my hands down, all time favorite book, by my favorite author (she shares this #1 position with Stephen King) and there was a time when I read it once year (along with "Beloved" and "The Bluest Eye"). I have owned, loaned out and lost at least 3 copies of it and I hadn't read it in over 5 years. It was just as delicious as I remembered it to be, and like a decadent desert, I devoured it. When I read this book for the first time I was around 12 and I distinctly remember feeling full and satisfied after I finished it. I needed a weekend where I didn't have a million places to go and things to do and I needed to know that Milkman Dead could fly. Not only because he came from that tribe of flying Africans, but because he believed he could. Take wings......
posted by Piscean Princess at 3:06 PM
6 Comments:
i'd never heard of Ms. Lena May Baker. what a powerful performance that will be. break a leg!
Song of Solomon is also one of my favorites, though I am more partial to The Bluest Eye. that's one of the great things about Toni Morrison and other writers of her caliber, you can read their work again and again and still find pleasure in the work.
Well thanks to you, I will have to go read Song of Solomon again!:-) The last time I read it, I was a teenager. I guess it's time to take my intellectual life to another dimension! I hope that your spirit takes flight in the character of Lena. You are a dynamic writer so I'm sure your acting skills are of the same caliber. I'm sure that you won't portray her, you will actually BE her. Go get em!!!
Just listen for the things Lena has been trying to tell you as you prepare to do this. I don't mean the things Lena would have told you back before she was so brutally murdered. I mean, what she has to say about it all now when she whispers in your ear...
Not only is there a story to tell here about the past, but there's a whooole lot to it all that still relates even in the present. Lena knows. And so do you.
Break both them legs, dammit!
I so need to re-read that book as well. I'm gonna go put it on my Amazon list right now. I have not read it as an adult and you now have me aching to...thank you.
And Ms. Lena May Baker's story is beyond tragic. I would wish you good luck on your performance but i'm sure you don't need it. From what i've read of you, there's a treasure trove inside of you that will shine thru and bring that character to life. So i'll just say "you go, girl".
How wonderful. Let us know how it went!
(girl - you are a veritable cornucopia of talent -- just go on an do the dayum thang!)
Best of luck on your stage performance!
Thank you for your beautiful comment on my blog.
:)
Post a Comment
<< Home