This year has been great in the way that seeds have been planted for me to have more of an artistic community.
Years ago I was working in Hollywood in a job that I felt stifled me. I felt trapped. I had pursued this writing career from the perspective from the perspective of someone who wanted to become rich and famous and therefore validated and important. As I realize now, that was an empty pursuit. I was trying to gain control of something that I have no control over. I have no control over whether or not something that I write will hit the zeitgeist and cause the impossible to happen. The best thing I can do is enjoy the work that I do and continue to do it. Thankfully, I haven't run out of ideas and I've had the time to execute them.
But all of those years ago, I just wanted a community. So I was invited to join the Playwrights Union where I got to hang out with other writers. I got to have conversations about writing and not just geek out about theatre twice a year when I went to these theatre festivals with my boss. And I started writing plays that I got to hear in readings. I met up with these people for writing dates and we talked about our careers and we encouraged each other.
Then I wanted to get more involved in LA Theatre. So my friend Jennie brought me into Rogue Machine to do some work there. And that was great. I was greatly encouraged by them. But last year was the year that the intention to work more in LA theatre was realized. I did a reading at the Celebration. I had my play developed with Moving Arts. I got the word that I'd be doing some thing with the Blank. And I joined the Chalk Rep writers group. My material got out to The Road Theatre and I worked with someone who's a member at Anteaus. I feel like my entry into LA theatre got off to a great start this year.
I want that community to continue to grow and nourish me. I'm hoping to do more work with these theaters in 2016. Production, perhaps? I feel that's the next step with these places. Get these plays done already! I feel like I am meeting more people and we're finding some creative common ground. It means a lot that these theaters are into the stuff that I'm doing. It's really necessary to do that, I believe.
I wrote a play this year which seems to be getting attention from people who have seen a reading or read it. I'm hoping that that seed grows into me getting recognized on the national level. I want to continue to work and grow within my community here. I also want to start working nationally on the regional level and beyond because that's how things happen. I want to continue to be challenged and pushed. I'm not seeking validation from that outside community. But in order for my name to mean something, which means my work is being pushed forward, I have to be familiar to people. My work has to be familiar to people.
I'm already working on a new play in which I'm really putting myself out there. It's the next progression from the topical play I wrote this year which I exposed some of my political beliefs. I ran the risk of not being smart enough to talk about what I wrote about in this play. But I had to trust myself and my passion for what I was writing. Now I have to trust that what I have to say about a very dark time in my time and a very rough time will be entertaining to anyone else but me. I'm about to get deeply personal in 2016. And I guess that's okay.
I want to have more collaborators and more people who I get to know and get to work with. I met a lot of great actors this year through my readings. I met a lot of great people who inspire me and who brought my work to life in a great way. And I want to write more and write a lot of different characters so I can meet more actors and bring them into my squad, as it were. Here's to working with really talented people in the new year!
I am grateful for the time I have to reflect.
I am grateful for my new Adidas sweatpants.
I am grateful for my artistic community.
I am grateful for the people who support me.
I am grateful to be home at Midnight on New Years.
I am grateful for every experience I had this year.
Happy 2016!
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