Mom. Playwright.

If you’ve been following this blog for a little while, you know I’ve been participating in a playwriting workshop over this past month. In the midst of what turned out to be unexpected and extreme circumstances with my husband being called to NY (we’ll be reunited this Saturday–yea!), I managed to learn much about myself as a mom and a writer through the creation of my 10-minute play, Emancipation Evacuation, that had a public reading this past Sunday evening. I’m still flying high over the positive reception it received, and I’m forever grateful to fab actors Jo Howarth, Megan Hayes and Theroun Patterson (find them on Facebook!) for giving voice to my words. What a gut-wrenching, educational process!

Having just come through this workshop experience, I was more than interested in the From the Desk of … column from Gary Garrison in the Sept/Oct 2008 education issue of The Dramatist. As mom playwrights, we don’t often have the luxury of time to take writing classes or participate in workshops. So if and when we make the decision to do so, it’s important that we choose wisely among the myriad of offerings out there for maximum return. I would invite you to get a copy of the journal to read completely the checklist advice Mr. Garrison offers, but here are the fundamental questions he suggests you get the answers to as the basis of your litmus test:

What is the real “what/why” of your studying?

Who is teaching?

How many students are in each class?

What is the tone of the workshop and how is it taught?

And, once you’re enrolled, is the class working for you?

Seemingly simple questions, but the depth comes in the subquestions they birth, and what you decide to do with the subsequent answers.

I’m now post-evaluating the workshop I just completed with Mr. Garrison’s questions. The answers are giving me valuable feedback to share with the facilitators. I believe it will be appreciated. I just love the serendipity of full circle moments.

Thanks, Gary!  And “Happy Getting Educated” to you, mom playwright!

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Amy Wilson. Photo Credit: Sue Barr

“The response has been remarkable. I thought I was the only one who ran myself ragged and still had a house that looked like the town dump. I thought I was the only one with a voice in my head saying ‘Don’t be happy! Worry!’ But the audiences who have seen this show — women and men, parents, and not, perfectionists all — said they were a lot like me: racked with guilt over all the things we won’t, in a million years, have time to do anything about, except feel bad.” –Amy Wilson

I’ve been a little under the gun lately at home. My husband has been in New York since… what seems like a long time now. So I’ve been consumed with double-duty parenting (my hat’s off to single moms), trying to find a gas station that still has gas to keep my car running and oh, did I mention the show I have to go review tonight, my 10-minute play reading this weekend and my daughter likely coming down with something as she now lies drowsily draped over my shoulder?

Talking with Hubby yesterday, he asked, “Hey, are you blogging? I haven’t seen any entries from you lately…” All I could do was laugh.

So here you are, Love. Enter this brief post mentioning actress and mom playwright Amy Wilson’s play, Mother Load, about the so-crazy-it’s-comedic realm of competitive parenting.

Thank you for the blogging nudge. As a result of my day’s research, I see a road trip to North Carolina in our future. Mother Load will be running in Charlotte September 30-October 26. For the rest of you, details, additional cities and dates can be found here, and you can share with the group and unload your “Mother Load” story here.

“I can’t wait to meet audiences all over this country and spread the message: lose the Mother Load, and remember how to enjoy your kids.”

I can’t wait either, Amy. Thanks for the reminder, and see you soon.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I just caught snot that flew out of my daughter’s nose mid-sneeze. I think I should go tend to that.  It was a good catch, though,  if I do say so myself. Her pitiful smile indicates that she too was impressed.

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Busy, busy, busy. Running, running, running. Writing, writing, writing.

This past weekend, en route to the Alliance Theatre to see and review Gem of the Ocean, I talked with my friend Theresa about how quickly it seems 2008 has flown by. We agreed how much we’d love to find the time for a brief Mommy respite–a chance to inhale and exhale before being steamrolled into the it’ll-be-here-before-we-know-it holiday season.

I’m still in that mode of thinking, which may be why I was led to discover this online piece written by Sue Frause for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer blog about Hedgebrook.

Hedgebrook is a 48-acre writers’ retreat for women nestled on Whidbey Island, found thirty-five miles northwest of Seattle, Washington, facing Puget Sound. For the last 20 years, women writers the world over of diverse ages, ethnicities, levels of experience and genre interests have spent time at Hedgebrook to relax, relate and release their writing out into the world–or at the very least onto the page.

I devoured the information on their website, and learned that among other activities and programs, they’ve held an annual Women Playwrights Festival. Hmm…

See the details for yourself. If you dream of even just 2 weeks away from your life as you know it, why not complete an application to be competitively considered for a residency at Hedgebrook in 2009. Mark your calendar–the postmark deadline is September 25, 2008.

And even if travel to Hedgebrook isn’t in the cards for you right now, you can see about sampling where their custom Yakima Valley red wine, Hedgebrook Cedar Deep, can take you. Produced by Whidbey Island Vineyards and Winery, a glass of this vino and a bubble bath may be all that’s needed to induce, “Ahhh….”. Sue says the label on the bottle reads it’s a place “where a writer can go to be still, draw from the creative force of nature and let her thoughts loosen and take flight.”

Cheers, Hedgebrook!

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