250 stories from Variations On A Theme
To Do ListSubmit Heart Shaped Nebula to GAPSubmit Heart Shaped Nebula to Yale Drama SeriesWork on New Dramatist applicationGet Wolf at the Door ready for a table reading.Hammer down said tab…
Loving These CoversI remember the first time I heard Radiohead's Creep. I was in college. It was like they wrote a song destined to resonate in the hearts and minds of my generation. Flash f…
My Latest TheatreFace.com Blog PostOriginally I was going to write mainly about my aversion to outlines. But then the blog post evolved more into focusing on articulating my own metaphor for…
Alcira: What It's All AboutI've been mentioning the new play I've begun working on. I've been talking about it, but not really explaining what it's all about. That's because it's still in th…
Knee Deep in GrassThe blissful smileof a teenage girlin love.A kisson the temple.The smellof her hair.Knee deep in grassno footprintsjust the imprintof bodies.A kisson the temple.The smellof…
A Game of Chess, A Potential Metaphor and Getting To Know My Character Better The game of chess reminds me a lot of my childhood. My father taught me how to play and I used to play him. My …
Returning to Writing Mode: It's Good To Be BackI spent Sunday morning sitting at my desk working on the prologue for Alcira. I was reminded what a great feeling it is to write. Writing somet…
Loving This SongSometimes I forget the power of music. How it can lift a mood.I know I'm a bit late to the party on knowing who Reggie Watts is and his music. But better late than never.This…
Alcira Breakthroughs Alcira is the third play in my grimm Latino fairy tale cycle. I've been thinking about it for some time, trying to figure out the narrative--not an outline, but rather …
House of CardsAmazing what a slight breeze can do. How an unexpected addition makes you feel like the third wheel. How you can go from feeling focused and having a handle on things to feelin…
AlterLab: This is Not the End "There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story."-- Frank HerbertLast night was AlterLab's official final meeting. I and the three other…
Tonight: Final AlterLab WorkshopTonight I'll leave work just a little before 5pm in order to catch the express Golden Gate Transit bus to San Rafael (I only learned about the express buses a…
Transit of VenusWhile not something easily observed on one's own, the transit of Venus yesterday was still thrilling when you think that it won't occur again for another hundred years or so.…
Heart Shaped Eureka MomentSometimes I think our thoughts swim in our heads with their own currents and tides. And that when a realization or revelation rises to the surface or arrives on our…
Nobody Ever Said It Was Going To Be EasyThat thought came to me while I was lying on my futon letting the heating pad warm up to 11 (wink wink). I was taking a break. I had just spent an hou…
An End To The Radio SilenceFor all sorts of reasons I haven't blogged in almost a week. Life has been extra hectic and busy, and here's why:9 to 5 job work is crazy I had to write 3 sep…
La Muerte de Carlos FuentesI.Half a lifetime agoI met you.A briefelegant encounterwith a manwho could have been my grandfather.II.The news settles into my skinmy bones.I find it a challenge …
Conference Prep: Theatre Bay Area's Annual ConferenceI'm am psyched. Psyched about this Monday. First, I got the day off from work. Second, I'll be attending the day-long Theatre Bay Area co…
Luminous Orb Photo by Hugo Carbajal. Taken last night on his rooftop where it was oh so cold.That's the thought that would come to my mind every time I took a moment to gaze up at the super…
The River Bride's First Dramaturgical Meeting Photo by Toni Frissell. Was actually taken in a dolphin tank.Last night I met with my dramaturg for our first conversation (first, because thei…
A Play Opening, A Play ClosingThis weekend I saw two plays. Saturday I managed to get to San Rafael despite the public transit snafu I ran into when trying to get to the Golden Gate Bridge. …
A Bit of AlterLab: A Writing Exercise for Character DevelopmentAt last week's AlterLab Salon playwright Ann Brebner mentioned a writing exercise that helped her tap into the emotional vein i…
Hello, Dolly!More than a month ago I got an email from local playwright Robert Henry Johnson. I met Robert briefly after seeing a reading of his play The Othello Papers at the 2009 Bay Area …
AlterLab RecapLast night was AlterTheater's AlterLab salon featuring me and three other playwrights who for the past nine months have been each working on a new play while in residency. Desp…
Tonight A Bit of Magic, Tomorrow an Evening of ImprovChristian Cagigal. Photo by Julie MichelleTonight I'm going to see the closing of The Collection an evening billed as a daring new experi…
