UK Update 11/25

Wow.  Okay.  So much to touch on.  Let’s begin!

• We are getting to the end of the semester here so that means a lot of writing projects are due.  Because of this, I may be less and less available so if I take a long time to get back to you (longer than usual), it’s just because I’m friggin writing! 
• I’ve got a short film screenplay in the works for Screenwriting, a short story (about cannibalism!) for Creative Writing Workshop, and a short play about hiraeth (which has no direct English translation from Welsh but essentially means a deep, longing, or sadness especially in regards to the impossibility of life. It’s my new favorite word.)
• Back in September/October, I was listening to the amazing podcast Noble Blood by Dana Schwartz, and she told this gripping story about a woman named Lady Arbella Stuart.  As Ms. Schwartz spun the tale, I kept thinking to myself, “This is a play!  Someone should write a play about this woman!”  I told myself that it couldn’t be me because my style of writing is so contemporary and informal.  I wouldn’t even know how to begin writing something that was supposed to take place in the “ye olde times” (late 16th Century and early 17th Century).  Simultaneously, I found myself feeling rather bored in my Dramatic Structure class – given that this particular class is definitely geared more towards people who have never written a play before.  Because it’s a required class, I couldn’t drop it.  I just had to find a new way to challenge myself. So…why not write that Arbella Stuart play, Deanna?  
• Very long story short, I am working on said play and it is set to be my Dissertation piece.
• As part of my research (and because I’d never been) I visited the Tower of London during my last trip to London (because – spoiler alert! – Arbella eventually dies there). 
• The way that the Tower is often portrayed is a place of torture and death…which, it was at times.  But it’s so much more interesting and nuanced than that.  And visiting it today is less like visiting a museum and more like getting to run around a castle for a whole day.  Here are some cool facts I learned (for the first time or just learned more about…)
  • There’s a legend that says if the ravens ever leave the grounds, then the crown will fall and Britian with it.  Because of this, the Tower houses at least six ravens on the grounds.  There is actually a position called Ravenmaster.  But they don’t let just anyone be the Ravenmaster. 
  • To get that gig, you’ve first got to be a member of Yeoman Warders (AKA the Beefeaters) who are the guards of the Tower.  I listened to a delightful chap who called himself Beefeater Barney (follow him on Instagram).  He explained that one has to have served at least twenty years in the British military and reach a certain rank before they can even apply to be a Yeoman.  It is an extremely elite group of individuals (there have been more people in space than have been a Tower guard)! 
  • While walking around the grounds, I saw a father (or father figure, at least) reading to a small child on a bench.  The book was on the history of The Tower, and the scene delighted me to no end.
  • Of course I saw the crown jewels.  You are not allowed to take pictures.  Honestly, the whole thing just felt like a lot of pomp.  When you reach the main room, there’s this little conveyer belt that you can ride.  It takes you past six or so glass boxes that house various crowns, scepters, etc.  The conveyor belt itself made me laugh because…I don’t know!  It seemed so gratuitous.  Maybe the crowds are usually bigger than they were when I went, but it all just screamed, “Move along, peasants!  You’re only allowed fifteen seconds to gaze upon these diamonds that we stole!”
  • I found the historical pieces of clothing far more interesting than the jewels or crowns.  (How tall was Charles I?  Going by his armor, he looks tiny!  I know that the armor isn’t meant to actually represent his height because it would have been worn over his clothes, but compared to other sets of full armor, his looked quite petite.) 
  • Also, there was this massive and gorgeous stole that was worn by Queen Elizabeth II on her coronation.  It had this beautiful embroidery on it and immediately I noticed a thistle within the pattern.  “Alright!” I said to myself, “The thistle represents Scotland and that rose represents England and that clover is for Ireland.  But where is Wales?  Why isn’t Wales represented here?  Where’s the daffodil?  Where’s the dragon?  Where’s the hunk of lamb?!”  (I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s because Wales is just generally considered to be part of England and not its own thing…which is bullshit.  But I digress.) 
  • The Tower once held a zoo and there are a variety of animal statues situated around the grounds.  The polar bear, though, is chained around the foot and that made me very sad.  (Yes, I felt sad for the polar bear statue.  Aren’t they dealing with enough in this day and age?!)
  • I purchased a book in one of the gift shops…solely because it contained about six pages on Arbella.  (The book as a whole seemed interesting, and actual facts on this woman are few and far between so I’ll take what I can get.)  Outside of this book, there really wasn’t any mention of Arbella in any of the displays; the Tower focuses more on Anne Bolyne, Lady Jane Gray, Mary Queen of Scots, etc. 
  • HOWEVER…after spending the day at the Tower (if you go, give yourself plenty of time!  I was there for about six hours and I still didn’t see everything) I wrote an email to the education department at the Historic Royal Palace site, asking a few questions about Arbella and what her time in the Tower would have been like.  Perhaps I’m just a pessimist when it comes to human interaction, but I assumed the email would go ignored.  To my great surprise, they got back to me within a day with answers to all my questions and a list of other resources I could look into.  
• The main reason I was in London was for a theatre gig.  Very long story short (because even now I don’t have the energy to talk about it – wow, Deanna! Dramatic much?) a local theatre has these monthly showcases of new works.  It can be a company that wants to show off what they’re working on or a writer who wants to get something up on its feet and hopefully get some feedback.  I sent in a few pages of a new play I’m working on (not the Arbella piece) and it was chosen.  (Excellent!)  However, I was extremely disappointed by the performance of my piece.  Essentially, the director added action that was not included in the script and said action was extremely distracting to the actual important dialogue.  No one, myself included, was able to pay attention to the words I had written because they were too focused on this character (who was not in the scene) running around the stage playing the drums, making shadow puppets, slamming doors, etc.  This is very basic theatre stuff: don’t pull focus from the main action.  I ended up emailing both the director and the artistic director to express my dissatisfaction and to offer a suggestion: if your goal is aid playwrights in the development of their work, you need to focus on the actual work.  I walked away from the reading knowing basically nothing about what my show looks like when it’s (more or less) up on its feet.  I don’t know what works, what didn’t, what audiences enjoyed, etc. A staged reading is essentially a focus group, but audience members didn’t get an accurate representation of my work.
• Ultimately, this all fell on deaf ears because they replied to the email with, “This is part of the development process: you hand your script off to someone else and they get to interpret it,” and (my personal favorite) “You say you didn’t get anything out of the reading, but you did!  You saw how you DIDN’T want your show to be directed.”  
• (Deep breath) You are correct, artistic director.  I saw how I don’t want my show to be directed: by your company…ever again.  (I didn’t say that, but I thought it.)
• THERE IS NO CHESTNUT PRALINE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM!  The Starbucks here doesn’t carry it!  First Ranch dressing and now this?!?  (Sips my Gingerbread latte and pouts.) 
• In the realm of good news, I sat down for an interview with someone from The University of Essex’s Communications Department.  First off, I had to learn that the “Communications Department” is not a course of study as it is back in the States but rather the University’s team of journalists and social media correspondents.  I met with a gentleman named George who wanted to talk about my work as a writer and why I came to the UK.  We had a delightful time (and both ordered Americanos at the Greenhouse Cafe on campus).  I was particularly struck by something George offered when I asked what it’s like to study English history, simply because it’s so massive – especially compared to the US’s history.  George said that their history is much more intertwined with their everyday life.  One of his first schools was in the country and that very building once housed King Charles I for a time so it was easy to connect with history on a very personal level and see it every day.  I genuinely enjoyed my chat with George and can’t wait to share his story with you when it gets released.  
• Also…Melody is going to be in a production at The Globe Theatre this coming March so y’all should come out and see her. 
• Also…Melody and I are spending Christmas in Edinburgh. 
• Also…I bought this Highland Cooooo plant holder at Tesco.  Her name is Honey. (If you know, you know…) I also have a cordyline named Miranda. 

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