Highs and Lows of the creative life...

Cause you can't have one without the other! ;-) The good news is that I got a two-minute play--actually a monologue--accepted into a short (i.e., one and two minute play) festival that will take place on April 30th and May 1st, both in Providence, R.I. and Boston, MA (so I can go to the latter). It's a monologue I wrote called COMPUTER GUY, and it was originally in my one-woman show. I took it out b/c it's from the man's point of view, and so it seemed a bit odd to put it in when nearly every other scene took place from the woman's p.o.v. However, it isn't a bad piece, and I got it down to about two minutes and decided to send it. D.'s play got in, too, so we can both see the festival together, and I'll finally have something to put on my resume! It really does feel a helluva lot better to get accepted than rejected. ;-) To temper this, I was not chosen to be in the play I really hoped to be a part of in June. The group is well-known and very funny, and they chose a much more accomplished actor instead of me. What was disappointing and disturbing was that there was a third woman at the audition who did better than either M. or me, and yet she wasn't chosen. Clearly, they went with the brand name over the lesser known model, and I think they made a mistake (but what do I know?). It was disappointing b/c this is a troupe I'd love to be affiliated with, but I guess it ain't gonna happen. It was a three hour audition that was actually fun, and the thing I can be happy about it that I had a strong audition and felt I did as well as I could (that's always a good feeling). I still have MM's troupe next week and then...well, I continue the acting drought, most likely, unless he should happen to choose me (possible but doutbtful).

I also attended my first "Write-On" playwriting meeting last night and enjoyed it. It was interesting to hear the play read and fun to get to perform in D.'s 10-minute play (which got a pretty favorable response, making me v. happy for D). She does need to do some tweaking, but she was given recommendations which she'll hopefully make, and if she does I think she has a good chance of getting the piece accepted by a short play festival in the near future. I met some cool people and am looking forward to future meetings. Wow, there are 30 and 40 somethings out there who aren't sitting at home at night, recovering from a day of child rearing! Whoulda thunked it?! I also learned that D.'s friend K. met her husband through an online dating service (though it was a Catholic one, so not for me), and I suppose that was a bit encouraging. There are all sorts of ways to meet people, and you have to be open to all possibilities.

This is a really, really boring entry today; I'm sorry! I guess I'm feeling sort of blah today. I didn't get to do the elliptical, b/c my knee is sore and I didn't want to risk working it two days in a row, so I did the treadmill with 3 lb weights, which I find very boring (and not very cathartic, but better than nothing). I also got the phone call TODAY about not being cast, so that stung a bit, and no news from any other play festivals. I guess I'm also thinking about my birthday this Sunday and how NOT excited I am about turning 42, and I have another three hours of work (advising) left before I get to go home. On the plus side, I found out today that I do get to teach Year One Seminar (an intro to the college) next Fall, which means $500 a semester for five weeks of work and I can stop doing Writing Center, which I enjoy but I find tiring as hell and sometimes a bit stressful. Booyah there. Oh, and it's snow-showering out, which irt really should not be doing (How can you go from 65 to 35 in a day? Insane.).

So, there you go. I feel like BEGGING someone to take a longer play and particularly to cast me, but I know it really doesn't work that way. I told D. that we ought to rent a space ourselves and put on plays. Who knows, maybe we just will this summer...if you can't beat them, go around them. :) And it's only three weeks til I head out to Florida to visit my sister, niece, and nephew, which fills me with absolute happiness. So today rates a 5, and I just hope the rest of the evening goes pretty quickly, cause I'm beat AND hungry!