it’s been so long since my last confession.
what an amazing three months i’ve had in new york! when i left for LA, i thought i might never feel drawn to this city again, and boy was i wrong. i’ve thrown myself back into the theatre culture here, seeing plays and musicals as much as possible, working at the drama book shop and updating my understanding of theatrical literature, and diving headlong into the heart-gnawing and delicious process of developing a new show.
VOLLEGIRLS the musical has been and is a work of passion- and each day has been an opportunity to inch it in the right direction. my new friends, playwright rob ackerman and his wife writer/novelist carol weston have welcomed me into their lives like some sort of obsessive nephew, enduring prolonged sessions of me staying in their guest room, and engaging in all-hours discussions of all things volleygirls (rob is the equally-obsessed writer of the piece).
we know we’re setting ourselves up for either a huge fall or a home run, which infuses the creative process with an exhilarating sense of danger, and only seems to intensify our joy. we give each other high fives like little boys with each tiny triumph, and we yammer on for hours about the girls of the st. agnes ladyhawks, their private lives, the things they say and the songs they sing.
in may, we have a couple of staged readings, which will be presented for a crowd of theatre industry professionals. monica has thrown herself head-over-heels into the pit after me (which to me is swooningly romantic) and is producing these readings, and playing one of the volleygirls, at considerable expense to her. she is increasingly a shrewd businesswoman, however, and what she lacks in experience she makes up in spades with conviction, research, and a hunger to learn.
today she flies in from LA to begin rehearsals for a new play at the cherry lane theatre downtown. i’m excited to have six weeks in new york with her.
it’s a fun time!!
