January UK Update (Yes, I know it's February 1st)

It’s been a while! 

• My second term started up and I am staying VERY busy with lots of projects.
  
• Because I am not in classes as much as I had anticipated, I’m looking at my time here as like a (very expensive) writer’s retreat.  It’s given me time to work on projects I’ve always wanted to tackle as well as try new things – because my professors told me to.
  
• One thing I’m working on is a one-woman-show.  Specifically, it’s for a class taught by the director of the Colchester Fringe Festival (Cam is so cool!) We’re going to learn how to market, budget, and develop shows, and while this knowledge can be applied to other types of shows and different theatre needs, for the class we have to develop a show that could potentially be produced at a fringe festival.  Because I’ve never written a one-woman (or person) - show before, I thought that would be a fun challenge.  I don’t know if I will actually take it to a fringe festival, but I’m looking forward to dipping my toes into this area of storytelling.  
  
• While discussing what fringe theatre is in the class, I saw a lot of similarities between fringe theatre and fan fiction: smaller scale, topics that usually aren’t (or can’t be) discussed in the more mainstream platforms, sometimes looked down on as being “less than” because it isn’t “professional” enough, etc.  From that retaliation, I decided (almost immediately) to write a show about fan fiction.  I had no idea what that looked like or what exactly I was going to do.  I did know that my own personal story surrounding how I got into writing fan fiction wasn’t enough to sustain a 60(ish) minute play so I created a couple surveys on Google Forms and shared it on Tumblr.  I reached out to the fan fic readers and writers there, asking them to share their stories and insights on why they started reading and/or writing fan fiction, what they like about the community, what they don’t like about the community, what is the biggest misconception about fan fiction and those who love it, and more.  Like I said, I have NO idea if this idea will work (Cam said it “had legs”), but the past week has been a rollercoaster ride of learning about The Organization for Transformative Works, copyright laws, the original Spock and Kirk slash fics, the Omegaverse court case, and more.  I’m having fun!  We’ll see what happens! 
  
• In addition to writing, I am also in a play! I am acting in a play!  I have not acted in a play in three years (Tessa’s Tip-Tapping Toes back in 2022 was the last thing I did).  What’s more, the show is called A Two-Woman Hamlet.  Yes, Hamlet!  If you know me, you know that Hamlet is my favorite Shakespeare play. (Gestures at MY script Dancing With Hamlet.)  If you would ask me, “Deanna, what is your dream role?” I would hem and haw and be embarrassed to admit it, but I would say, “Anything in Hamlet.”  And now I’M GOING TO DO IT!  A production went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival a few years ago, and now Dr. Nora (so lovely), a former lecturer at the University of Essex, wanted to produce it – hopefully take it to a couple of fringe festivals in the area.  For the time being, we only have a staged rehearsal coming up in March at the Lakeside Theatre.  BUT I wasn’t even going to audition because, while I love Shakespeare (and LOVE Hamlet), acting Shakespeare is not my strongest suit.  However, I had spent a lot of time alone last term (writing can be a very solitary profession); thus, I wanted to push myself, get out, and go meet some people.  I went to the audition to socialize.  And while in the auditions, I did kinda feel like a fish out of water.  The way I described it to people is that I felt like a Will Ferrell in a room full of Sir Patrick Stewarts.  I told myself, “I’m not good at this classical acting stuff, so I’m just going to have fun and be ridiculous.  They’re telling me it’s a comedy so let’s make it a comedy.”  And to my great shock, I was cast! I had my first rehearsal on Sunday, and I’m so excited to scratch this acting itch again.  We basically just sat around for four hours, doing script analysis, discussing character relationships, laughing more than was probably appropriate for a Shakespearean tragedy, and reiterating that Hamlet desperately needs to see a therapist.  As the title suggests, it’s a two-person show and my costar is the lovely Sharmila.  Unlike something like Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield rendition (The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged), this script is not a paraphrased comedy but features the actual text.  As stated, classical acting is not something I have a lot of experience with, but so far I am enjoying the challenge.
  
• On top of all of that, I am directing a staged reading (or “staged rehearsal” as it’s often called in the UK) at the Lakeside Theatre.  My cast is delightful and so talented.  I couldn't have in-person auditions so I just held virtual ones: fill out this Google form (so many Google forms) and send in a 1-2 minute monologue.  I know now that if I’m ever in this situation again, I need to specifically ask for comedic monologues because I was very lucky with the amount of people who sent me material, but the vast majority of the work I received was heart-wrenching dramatic pieces.  I kind of had to take a leap of faith when casting some of the actors and hoped that they could pull off the comedic elements of the script, and – luckily – I banked on the right actors.  I also made buttons!  (Visit my RedBubble page!) 
  
• I also got a new tattoo.  It’s a nightingale holding a love letter, and it has several meanings to me.  One of my favorite playwrights is Oscar Wilde and he has a truly beautiful short story entitled The Nightingale and the Rose.  It’s largely about superficial love versus true love, but I also see elements of the artist’s struggle in it – how you can give everything to create a beautiful thing and still someone may never be able to see its value.  A year and half ago, I got back into the world of fan fiction and have really (really) loved being a part of this community.  It’s been a great outlet for me to channel my hyper-fixation energy and has helped me remember why I liked writing in the first place: because it’s fun.  I love a good love story so my little nightingale delivering a love note is a nod to that part of my love as well.  (And, of course, I’d be lying if I said the tattoo is also paying homage to Good Omens, which is a show that has had a profound effect on me.)  I stumbled upon this artist (Caleb Bauer) on Tumblr back in September and fell in love with his work.  He mentioned that he enjoyed designing tattoos so – unsure what I wanted – I sent him a message, wondering if he’d be interested in designing something for me.  After some back-and-forth, he came up with my nightingale dude, and then I let it sit for a few months just to make sure that I actually wanted it.  And I did.  I got the actual tattoo at Inkwell in Colchester; Harry was my tattoo artist and he is amazing.  (He’s currently in Australia with his partner and is low-key terrified of spiders so keep him in your thoughts and prayers.) 
  
• I turned 35 a few weeks ago, and that seems so strange to me because – in many ways – I still feel like a twenty-something college graduate who is just floundering and trying to figure things out.  The day itself, though, was pretty magnificent and involved heading out to a local coffee shop (that has a ton of board games) and playing for several hours.  After that, Melody and I sat around the cinema room at my apartment complex, ate too much pizza, and watched Mystery Science Theatre 3000.  All in all, a perfect birthday. 
  
• Looking back, Christmas break was rough for me, and that was mainly because I had so much free time and spent a lot of it alone.  I tend to get caught up in my projects and can easily spend days buried in my work.  I say that this is all fine, but I’m not kidding when I say that several days would go by and I never talked face-to-face with another human being.  I am also still struggling to find a job but am trying to remain hopeful. As I said, I’m working on putting myself out there more.  Back in the States, I had several extroverted friends as well as Starbucks – both forced me to get out of my apartment and go talk to people.  Now that I don’t have those, it’s up to me to form relationships.  The various projects I have coming up are helping and I have a standing twice-a-month “date” with some of my classmates to meet up at the same coffee shop we went to on my birthday and play games.  But this all happens because I make the choice to go out and talk to people.  It’s something I’ve battled for the better part of my life: I am an introvert, and being alone can be very comfortable but it can also drive a person crazy.  
  
• I recently got into a new podcast called What Went Wrong.  It’s all about the film industry and, while on the surface, it seems like its sole purpose is to make fun of terrible movies, it’s actually more about the politics that go into making films and the drama that can take a great idea into a box-office flop.  (I highly recommend this podcast!) While discussing several of the Star Wars films, hosts Lizzie and Chris examine George Lucas, and their main conclusion on him is that he is a brilliant and extremely creative movie master…but he’s also an introverted workaholic who was given free reign on many of his projects when he really should have collaborated or – at least – had someone to tell him no.  (Thank you, Marcia Lucas (née Griffin) for all you did!)  He worked so hard to bring Star Wars into existence, often at the expense of his personal relationships and health.  I live every day, endeavoring to not be a George Lucas.  Get out of the house, Deanna, and go make some friends. ​
  

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