compass, divining rod, sextant, map

So, lately I've been in a bit of a rut. About a month ago, I wrote ten pages, as an assigned exercise, along the lines of "don't think, just write." After a little editing, I liked what I wrote--it's a good start for some kind of inner voice for this piece. After that, however, I've been stuck. The more I go back to Margery's book, the more I feel confused--what am I doing? Am I telling her story, my story, no story? The idea of little "vignettes" from her life, acted out by puppets, just seems irritating to me. But 50 more pages of "inner voice" can't be it, either. I've believed (since reading "the silent woman" in the pages of the New Yorker many moons ago,) that biographers tell their own stories while telling those of another, that they often reveal as much about themselves as about their subject, even if they attempt to be objective, analytical, etc., one sees the writer through the cracks. And I am not really attempting to be objective--this is not a scholarly work. Part of the conceit of the show is the acknowledgement that I grew up in a very different time and place from Margery, and it's possible that all I will be able to do in presenting any part of her life to a contemporary audience is to project my own experience onto her. (And so, possibly, will the viewers.) There's something in the whole "we cannot see ourselves," aspect to this that's important, but I can't figure out what it is, exactly, or how to use it . . .

blustery day

Exhibits A and B

LIES:

AND MORE LIES:

yip yip yip yip

Welp, its been almost a year since my last confession. I am in a similar place as I was the last time I visited these pages and spoke, essentially, to myself: I am about 6 weeks away from going into rehearsals for a show. Well, for a workshop of a show. This one is a kind of weaving together of The Book of Margery Kempe and aspects of my own life. It's tentatively called Margery and Me. Christ Almighty, evidently once you go into italics there's just no way out. Now the rest of this post will appear to be an overly long book title, or in a foreign language, or be supposed to represent my inner voice, or be understood as stage directions. Ah, who gives a hoot. Oh, here we go. For any of you other newbies: the handy little keyboard shortcuts at the bottom of this text box? LIES! LIES, I tell you. Just use the tabs at the top, or your own common sense: the shortcuts (at least for bold, italic, etc.) are EXACTLY the SAME as they are in (ohh--wait for it . . .) Word or Pages or whatever the hey the kids are using to write papers in these days. Man, that was some virtuosic font tilting in that last sentence, no?

why

This blog is essentially dedicated to the process of creating a show. The work for this particular show began almost exactly a year ago. But now the time is drawing nigh--6 weeks until rehearsals officially start. I thought this might be a good way to share with the cast and collaborators how the piece is coming together, both before and during the rehearsal period.

The play is based on my research into bee biology, and uses the book "The Life of the Bee" as a structural and textual starting point. The Life of the Bee was written in 1901 by Maurice Maeterlinck, a Belgian playwright and essayist. Georgette Leblanc, an opera singer, stage actress (and eventual film actress and author,) was Maeterlinck's close companion for 20 years. She was the Queen Bee of his life, and literally embodies this role in the world of the play. Right now, I am reading "Souvenirs," by Leblanc, a memoir of her time with Maeterlinck. I highly recommend checking it out from the library as soon as I finish it! It sheds a different light on Maeterlinck's character and private life, his struggles with "neurasthenia" (essentially depression), his terror of public speaking and large social events, and his incredible love for solitude and nature. Leblanc played the role of "Light" in a production of Maeterlinck's Bluebird, and his future wife and new love Renee Dahon, (then 18 to Maeterlinck's 55) portrayed the young leading boy, Tyltyl.

As I continue to develop the script, I will post photos, anecdotes, and excerpts from these texts, and I invite you all to comment and add your own observations, questions, etc.