This has been an amazing week for us and theater. Monday we saw this incredible play by Simon Stephens called "Port," which, next to "Wicked" is my most favorite play I've seen here. Or ever, actually. It was just incredible. It took place over a 14 year period, and it was about this girl's life. Her mother left her, her grandpa- who was her second home- died, and she had to live with her father who she didn't get along with and take care of her brother.
Anyway, I won't say anymore, because if you ever get the chance to see it, you have to. It's funny in some spots but it's really sad. I was tearing up a lot in the Second Act. Although there were these obnoxious people behind us that kept laughing at the saddest parts, like when the main character was being pushed around and getting stuff thrown at her by her husband. I think it was nervous laughter. That's the downside to live performances, I guess.
So, this play was great. The sets would come up from the ground or the ceiling, and the main actress, who was basically the play and was in every scene (and was so so so amazing!), would walk from one to the other and change her clothes and hair while she walked. It's too much to describe. But it was amazing. And Simon Stephens will be coming in to talk to us this semester! So I'm super excited!
Over the past weekend, we read "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches," which is probably the best play I've ever read. I had read it in my undergrad, so I was super excited to read it again. And my friends and I did a reading as we always do, and it was fantastic. So we spent like two hours in class on Monday discussing that play, which I really, really enjoyed. Read that play. It's incredible. Absolutely and incredibly incredible.
Tuesday was another great day. Our professor for our Film Analysis class is a pretty well-known playwright here. Her name is Rebecca Lenkiewicz, and we saw one of her plays, a scary adaptation of "The Turn of the Screw." She already gave us each a published script book of that. And then yesterday, she pulls out an analogy of four of her play scripts that was just published. She signed one for each of us, and it's ours to keep, which is incredible! And for our assignment, we have to adapt a scene from one of her plays into a screenplay. She's going to give us her own feedback on it, so that we can actually get practical advice, not hypothetical. So I'm super excited for that! And for my new book of scripts.
Today, our screenwriting professor and head of the department here, Mark, brought in this playwright/screenwriter named James Phillips. He's pretty young, and is sort of this up-and-comer, but actually gets a ton of work, as it seems. He started out as an actor, but directed his first play here when he was 23. Which is unbelievable.
One day he randomly decided to write a script, and it ended up being produced and winning a few awards. And now he gets comissioned to write plays, and he's written TV and short films, and has written a feature he's hoping to get made. In the course of our talk, he mentioned at least three plays he'd just been commissioned to write. He was really interesting, and he was so great to listen to, because he actually likes writing.
He told us some really good advice. One thing he said was to enjoy writing. He said it's so easy not to enjoy writing scripts when it's your living, and the process can make you pretty stressed out. But don't be stressed out. Enjoy it. And if people make you angry or stressed out, walk away. Even if there's money involved. Just leave. He also said don't be afraid. Creative people make mistakes all the time because they're afraid. So don't be.
At one point when he was talking, he mentioned how he can't write without thinking, and he spends months thinking about what he's going to write, years sometimes, before actually starting. Brandon looked at me, and he said that I'm the opposite way. And Mark said, "Stacy can't think without writing." Which I think has to be the most accurate statement anyone has ever said about me.
Seriously. It's so much easier for me to express myself when I'm writing, rather than talking. And I just thought it was great he said that. Because I realized that it's so incredibly true.
This week has made me realize that I really would love to be a playwright if the opportunity came up. Obviously I love movies and TV, but plays are great, too. And it reminded me that when I first applied to this program, I applied because it was writing for the stage and screen. And I guess I had forgotten about the whole stage part until recently. So, I'm really grateful to be taking these classes and writing a play and seeing amazing shows and meeting all these incredible playwrights.
Because you never know. Maybe some day I'll be a big, famous playwright living in London.
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