Dear friends,
I am gearing up for two weeks of a DIY, stay-at-home writing retreat, and in preparation I am watching every great time travel movie I can find. There may or may not be actual time travel in my next play, but I am definitely writing a piece with multiple timelines and sci-fi elements. Last night was a double feature of the 2007 Dr. Who episode, “Blink”— terrifying, highly recommend, stars brilliant young Carey Mulligan and you’ll never look at a statue the same way again— and the 2009 romantic melodrama, “The Time Traveller’s Wife.” I spent the first half of that movie making fun of it and poking holes in its logic, and the second half sobbing.
This experience reminded me of how art is often most useful in an indirect way, through distraction that brings down your guard. Feels like the world is being held together with scotch tape these days. I’m sure my grieving was about more than the untimely death of a time traveller and his perfect, loving, wealthy family. The movie tricked me into letting myself feel deeply.
On the production front, this happened in Bushwick:
“This” being one of my absolute favorite productions of THUNDERBODIES, which was directed in a small room in a warehouse district for three nights only by Jack Terrill. It was heartfelt, inventive, and incisive, made with obvious depth of connection and ferocious commitment from the ensemble.
It was so alive. Great productions aren’t always the most expensive ones.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
DRAFT ZERO: A GET-IT-DONE PLAYWRITING SPRINT
Tuesdays, January 23 - February 27, 2024
Meets via Zoom from 8 - 10pm (ET)
Online class / community / writer’s salon, six sessions. This is for you if you’re feeling an irrepressible urge to birth a messy first draft of a brand new thing and would love some real accountability, buddies, and prompts for the ride. (I’ve also had second drafters in the mix who’ve gotten a lot out of it.)
As of today there are four spots left. Join me or send me your friends:
I’ve also added GIFT CARDS to the website, in case you’ve got a writer in your life you’d like to support.
WRITING EXERCISE
As I look toward the new year and new month, these are the questions I’m asking myself in my journal:
How do you really want to spend your days?
How can you make sure that’s prioritized daily?
Will this support your long-term goals?
Wishing you a Happy New Year, and see you in 2024,
Kate