I’m getting ready to be ready.
I believe I learned that phrase from Esther Hicks.
(Any Abraham/Hicks fans out there? It’s huge to me.)
Me on the terrace at La Napoule
23 days from today I start my month-long artist’s residency at le Chateau de la Napoule in the south of France. I plan to write about Marie and Henry Clews, the couple who lived there, to bring their story and their home to dramatic life.
Marie and Henry Clews
I’m conflicted.
I really want to start writing. NOW.
But.
I don't.
I want to wait until I get there, to let the magic of the chateau itself inspire me. I want to channel the spirits.
Problem is - I’ve never had much luck channelling.
I’m a nose to the grindstone, researching, left-brain kind of writer. Outlines and character arcs and vocabulary lists (oh, my). Addicted to hard work, such a Puritan am I.
I say I want EASY.
Law of Attraction. Letting the Universe step up.
But I don’t trust EASY.
Do you?
So while I wrestle with this existentially writer's conflict, I can gently get ready: turn over the fields, fertilize, stock up on seed.
That’s where you come in. With seeds and fertilizer.
In other words, I’d love to be inspired by what you love.
1. What one-person shows wowed you? I’ve seen/read a bunch, but can always use more models. (On my list: Anna Deveare Smith, Ruth Draper, John Leguizamo, Eric Bogosian
2. If you’re into immersive, interactive theatre – who are your icons? (Mine include Natasha and Pierre, the visite dramatique at the Musée Camondo in Paris,
THANK YOU for sharing what you love. It takes a digital village!
Hi Beth. Jodie Comer in Prima Facie was simply superlative. Ran for a while in London, then in Broadway in 2023. Catch a filmed version if you can. The power of the piece came exactly from it being a one-woman show (where Comer played all the characters). Good luck with your Clews and Clues
Hi Beth, this sounds great! Here is something that inspires me (and might resonate as you approach this opportunity). Not theatre, but a verse from the Tao te Ching:
Act without doing; work without effort.
Think of the small as large and the few as many.
Confront the difficult while it is still easy;
Accomplish the great task by a series of small acts." (Verse 63, S. Mitchell translation)
Enjoy your small acts, your work without effort, your easy approach - you ARE ready!
I really enjoyed Sarah Jones's Bridge and Tunnel and Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag -- I only saw the latter on video (it was taped at the Edinburgh Fringe)
Immersive theatre experiences that I really enjoyed: Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre in London; Sweeney Todd at Barrow Street Theatre; The Encounter, Simon McBurney's sound-immersive piece from about 7-8 years ago, on Broadway.
Technically there were 3 actors, but Alan Cummins’s almost one man Scottish play was fantastic (and I’ve seen the Scottish play a zillion times)
I was going to say I don’t like interactive theater but then you said Natasha Pierre and I was like - YES! Also loved the start of Once.