Hang Yourself The above is not intended as advice that should be taken by anybody. It is meant to be a pun on RROAPS, which this post is about.

So once again I submitted a play to this year's Raider Red One-Act Play Spectacular (RROAPS). I thought it was much better than my submission last year and actually thought I had a chance to get in. I found out today that I was wrong.

I don't know what these people want. I think that is part of the problem.

My writing style is rather off the cuff. I write two pages of dialog a day. That's it. I don't typically set out with a plot in mind, I just see what happens. This leads to my plays being rather heavy on dialog rather than action, but that's where I find humor.

There is a response session that I can sign up for to learn why my play wasn't selected. I went to this last year and it was a rather painful experience. Having all of the flaws pointed out in your writing certainly isn't something people sign up for regularly. But I want to know why. Why they didn't select mine, what they didn't like. This is the closest thing I can get to figuring out what they do want. So I will be going through the torture again. I'll probably write about the experience later but if it's anything like last year, I'll walk into a room with a bunch of chairs fanned out in front of one single chair. This will be where I sit while each member of the RROAPS committee explains just exactly why my play was a steaming pile of bullshit.

Which reminds me: I'm pretty sure one of the reasons will be the title. It is called Two and a Half Hours of Pretentious Bull$#!+. Yes I actually spelled it with the punctuation like that. I thought it might help with the expected complaints. Yes I know the title could be offensive, it was meant to be. The play is a humorous look at performance art and one aspect of that is that some performance art is offensive just for the sake of it. Also, no it was not actually two and a half hours long, closer to 15 minutes.

I shouldn't get too down about it though because my submission last year was later picked up by my home theatre in Grapevine and produced as part of their Vignettes for Valentine's performance. Just because I was rejected here it doesn't mean it's a bad script or that I'm a bad writer, even if it feels that way.

On the bright side, he didn't get picked either, so Thumbs up for Slurpees.

Also, If you're here from facebook (I recently reposted this address) please check out the column to your right, there is some info for all intrepid readers who may know me.

It's a long lost cause I can never win

Labels: playwriting, rejection, RROAPS

  ¶ 11/13/2007 11:32:00 PM (2) comments

  Some Recent Thoughts These are in little to no order.

I thought for a period of time that, it if wasn't for the sex with men thing, I could handle being gay. But the I realized that I don't understand men any more than I do women.

While I understand the concept of "dating Jesus" I don't think it's a very effective system. The world is not like a romantic comedy (as much as we might like it to be) and the perfect person will not stumble into your life in a whirlwind of coincidence and perfect mistakes. God doesn't work that way, it's too lame.

Apparently I have poor taste in women. Well that may not be exactly a shocker, but I have gained some new information in the past twenty-four hours that have reinforced the theory.

Sometimes I wish I was as dark, brooding and mysterious as I appear upon first sighting. Although I don't know if I actually appear dark, brooding or mysterious, but I'd like to think I do.

I feel bad for you two. You are still being dragged along behind her. I'm glad I got out. I want to feel bad for her too, but I just can't bring myself to feel those emotions.

I have seriously considered doing something stupid in the past few weeks. Well actually I did something stupid a few weeks ago, but I did it anonymously. This second thing might possibly make it not anonymous. And if my intrepid readers are smart they might be able to figure out what it was simply because I am writing about it here. That is the chance I take.

My writer's bock has broken a little it seems. The ideas are still few and far between, but at least I'm writing again.

I got paid fifty dollars for acting at LCT. I then went out and bought How I Met Your Mother season two. I love this show. It is very re-watchable.

I have to start looking for grad schools soon. Which means I have to start trying to decide what I wan to do in grad school. I thought I wanted to go into playwriting, and I do, but Dr. Chansky recently told me that she thinks I would do well in research. Despite all the warnings I have heard, I think Dr. Chansky actually likes me.

I submitted a script to RROAPS, and I am really afraid that I am being too hopeful about it. I really don't think I should expect to get picked, because the odds aren't in my favor, but I find myself thinking about the production and talking about it as if it had already been selected.

I'm also afraid about my trip to Canada. I really have very little planned and that's how I want it. However, I'm not sure it will turn out well.

I'm going to bed now.

I got so much to say
And all of it's cliché

Labels: anonymous, brooding, Canada, DVD, gay, grad school, Jesus, mysterious, paycheck, playwriting, poor boys, random, research, RROAPS, script, stupid, thoughts, women, Writer's block, writing

  ¶ 10/29/2007 10:54:00 PM (0) comments

  Topic Free Blog I know what you're thinking. "this blog is rarely topical anyway" True, but this time I've started this post with no idea whatsoever of what to blog about. Let's see what happens.

I still have a cold, but I've run out of tissues. I'm currently using paper towels until I can convince myself to go to wal-mart.

I have get my application for my passport turned in so I can go to Canada this summer.

I'm going to perform a scene from Ancient History by David Ives for my Acting class. This is very exciting because it is probably my favorite play by Ives and I wasn't sure I could find someone to perform it with me. We start rehearsing next week.

I've started using my New York accent for the play I'm in. I'm not sure how good it is, but I haven't had any complaints yet.

Callahan and his girlfriend are coming up to see the play on opening weekend. I offered to let them stay in my room, and it's probably going to be a tight fit.

Every woman I find myself attracted to is already in a steady relationship. Many moons ago I swore to myself that I would not be "That Guy," but I can now see where "That Guy" comes from.

Little Boxes on the hillside. Weeds is a fun show, but I'm not sure I like the direction this season has taken. I'm just now catching up on 30 Rock.

I watch too much TV.

This post is going to have a lot of tags.

I really think the Nelsons' story would make a great play. I'm just not sure what it would be about. (their blog can be found here.)

I can't frakking believe that Clark is 7 and a half years old. Where does the time go?

I have managed to stay on my two pages for the entirety of the semester so far. I had one bad day where I forgot about it until after I had eaten, but I wrote three pages that day to make up for it.

I submitted my script to RROAPS already this year and so did some other people I know. I just really hope his script doesn't get picked. I don't even know what it is about, and I don't really care, but if his previous scripts are any indication I don't have much to worry about.

I want my bands back. You can't have them anymore. I'll give back Wicked, Millie, The Cars, and even Cabaret, but I want exclusive rights to Ookla the Mok, the Streets and Moxy Früvous. I think that's why I've been listening to so much JoCo. He's all mine.

I never really liked "Unworthy of Your Love."

I need to take a shower.

Rock on Diego.

Damn you Booth!

Aristophanes' play The Knights is going to be the topic for my research paper. He makes fun of the leader of his country and discusses free speech.

You're fighting the outfit and the outfit's winning.

Edit: Apparently I was wrong about the Tags. there's a limit on the number of characters.

Labels: accent, Aristopphanes, Booth, Callahan, Canada, David Ives, Diego, free speech, music, passport, performance, random, relationships, RROAPS, shower, sickness, That Guy, The Nelsons, TV, writing

  ¶ 9/28/2007 02:54:00 PM (0) comments