List o' recent stuff
Writing: In the wake of my weekend on the coast, I have determined to parcel out my day such that writing--in one form or another--always happens. At this point, I'm getting up a little earlier and giving myself an hour for writing. I then go to work, come home, have dinner, and work on the freelance stuff. I've done this two days straight now, which ain't much, but it's a start. Good habits must begin somewhere. Having re-outlined the novel completely, for the last two mornings I have been reviewing and revising what's been written already, pulling out the text that is no longer relevant, and planting the seeds of the new direction to come. Actual writing, rather than mere revision, should start tomorrow morning.
Book signing: Tuesday evening was J.A. Pitts' (bravado111) reading and signing at University Bookstore. Mark Teppo read and signed as well--and many of the folks in the crowd knew him--but the evening was John's and he did wonderfully well. He gave a good reading from his fine, fun first novel Black Blade Blues, and answered questions with thought and care. I was so happy to be there. I felt a little bad for Mark, who's a strong writer and whose books Lightbreaker and Heartland have been beautifully produced by Night Shade and generally well reviewed, but who was presented with almost no copies to sign at all. Still, his disappointment was at least mitigated, I think, by going out with a group of us after the reading for dessert at the Continental, a Greek place on the Ave. Lovely evening.
Hamlet: By sheer luck, I logged on to LJ last night to discover twilight2000's post about the David Tennant Hamlet airing on Great Performances that evening. With perfect timing, I turned on PBS to discover the production just beginning. No freelance work got done last night, but I did watch an astonishing production. I love Hamlet; always have. And Tennant was amazing. If I hadn't been a fan before (which, of course, I was), I'd be a fan now. His conception of the melancholy angry, sarcastic, perceptive, and vengeful Danish prince was a wonder to watch. Patrick Stewart's performance was excellent, I thought...right up until the last moment, when he indulged in a gesture that I thought weirdly out of character. Everyone else in the cast was uniformly good. I must see this again for the things I missed, riveted as I was by Tennant's performance.
Theater: Did I mention that last week I fell into a ticket to see a production of "On the Town" at the 5th Ave Theater? Well, I did. This is the show that was adapted for the screen to star Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller, and Betty Garrett; music by Leonard Bernstein, book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolf Green. The Seattle production's star was really Seattle's Spectrum Dance Theater, which coopted Jerome Robbins' choreography and made the production just shine--especially since I've rarely seen leads who--despite hard work--so completely lack charisma. The dance took center stage here. The only cast member who had any stage presence that mattered was Sarah Rudinoff, who played Hildy the cab driver with gusto, and who stole every scene she was in. But the music was excellent--I'd never really appreciated, until I saw this production, how thoroughly difficult some of this music is to sing--but it's Bernstein; having sung some of his music, I now Get It. The dancing was flawless and marvelous to watch. The staging was quite well done. Most of the leads were professional but not terribly special. But it was a pleasant evening out and I was grateful for the opportunity.
Work: The release cycle at the day job has started again, so I'm back to commuting to the Eastside on a daily basis. It's hours and pay that I need, so I go forth. It turns out that I'm the only member of my little group that survived into this release. On the one hand, this is flattering and affirming. On the other hand, I saw it coming. I suspect there are more shake-ups on the horizon. I met my new coworkers yesterday. They seem like decent fellows. We'll see what happens now.
Book signing: Tuesday evening was J.A. Pitts' (bravado111) reading and signing at University Bookstore. Mark Teppo read and signed as well--and many of the folks in the crowd knew him--but the evening was John's and he did wonderfully well. He gave a good reading from his fine, fun first novel Black Blade Blues, and answered questions with thought and care. I was so happy to be there. I felt a little bad for Mark, who's a strong writer and whose books Lightbreaker and Heartland have been beautifully produced by Night Shade and generally well reviewed, but who was presented with almost no copies to sign at all. Still, his disappointment was at least mitigated, I think, by going out with a group of us after the reading for dessert at the Continental, a Greek place on the Ave. Lovely evening.
Hamlet: By sheer luck, I logged on to LJ last night to discover twilight2000's post about the David Tennant Hamlet airing on Great Performances that evening. With perfect timing, I turned on PBS to discover the production just beginning. No freelance work got done last night, but I did watch an astonishing production. I love Hamlet; always have. And Tennant was amazing. If I hadn't been a fan before (which, of course, I was), I'd be a fan now. His conception of the melancholy angry, sarcastic, perceptive, and vengeful Danish prince was a wonder to watch. Patrick Stewart's performance was excellent, I thought...right up until the last moment, when he indulged in a gesture that I thought weirdly out of character. Everyone else in the cast was uniformly good. I must see this again for the things I missed, riveted as I was by Tennant's performance.
Theater: Did I mention that last week I fell into a ticket to see a production of "On the Town" at the 5th Ave Theater? Well, I did. This is the show that was adapted for the screen to star Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller, and Betty Garrett; music by Leonard Bernstein, book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolf Green. The Seattle production's star was really Seattle's Spectrum Dance Theater, which coopted Jerome Robbins' choreography and made the production just shine--especially since I've rarely seen leads who--despite hard work--so completely lack charisma. The dance took center stage here. The only cast member who had any stage presence that mattered was Sarah Rudinoff, who played Hildy the cab driver with gusto, and who stole every scene she was in. But the music was excellent--I'd never really appreciated, until I saw this production, how thoroughly difficult some of this music is to sing--but it's Bernstein; having sung some of his music, I now Get It. The dancing was flawless and marvelous to watch. The staging was quite well done. Most of the leads were professional but not terribly special. But it was a pleasant evening out and I was grateful for the opportunity.
Work: The release cycle at the day job has started again, so I'm back to commuting to the Eastside on a daily basis. It's hours and pay that I need, so I go forth. It turns out that I'm the only member of my little group that survived into this release. On the one hand, this is flattering and affirming. On the other hand, I saw it coming. I suspect there are more shake-ups on the horizon. I met my new coworkers yesterday. They seem like decent fellows. We'll see what happens now.