Wow...I have a Dramatic Writing Blog

It's been a long time since I've given this thing a second thought. My attention has been diverted into writing, though, so it's all OK.

So, state of the project as the year comes to an end:

I've written four full pieces, two five-minute screenplays and two ten-minute plays. The two screenplays have been up here, the one about the zombie apocalypse and the one about the New Year's Elevator. Since then, I've had great fun writing two ten minute plays, one about two villains that invade a superheroine's secret base, and another about a suburban family dinner...with a secret.

I'm producing those pieces on April 28th in the high school, at 7 PM. It should be great!

New Scenes and New Freedom

With my USC Scenes now in the polishing stages, I am heading for a new era in writing my own fiction. I'll be posting more often, no doubt, especially once the show is over.

Right now, I'm starting to write Super-Stitchin', that scene I wrote about back at the beginning of October. More about that later.

Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before...

Last year, during phys ed, I realized that Flo Rida's "In the Ayer" could be parodied to be about RMHS phys ed teacher Mr. Zaya. I thought up some rough parody lyrics during part of the chorus, and then left the idea to stew.

Today, while I was tutoring students in Pre-Calc, I realized that another recent popular song, Rihanna's "Umbrella" could be parodied to the tune of math department head Mr. Moscariello.

That could be a series of parody clips instead of the music video that I had originally intended to make out of the first one. I could create an imaginary senior whose had a completely musical day. Not High School Musical. Just a day put together with the music.

It's Hip to Be Square

I saw three excellent movies over the weekend: The Departed, American Psycho, and Harvey.

I saw the first on Saturday, and I can see why it won the Oscar for best screenplay. It believably keeps the identity of each mole secret from the other until it absolutely has to give one of them away. Also, the choice of "Shipping Up to Boston" for the car chase towards the end is great. The song is established in the beginning when DiCaprio does his stint in jail for the trumped-up assault charge, so the audience has it in the back of their minds. It fits the movie's basic gist: it is undeniably Irish, and it is a violent piece of music on a basic level. The violence is accented by the rising tension of the film itself, so when you hear the first strains, just before the mobsters start heading over the Zakim Bridge, your pulse revs.

On Sunday night, I saw American Psycho followed by Harvey. That has to be one of the weirdest double features ever. In the first, you see how Christian Bale was selected for Batman, for his uncanny ability to play a person hiding a secondary persona under a solid veneer of semi-respectability. Also amazing in this movie is the scene in which Bateman (ha-ha, sounds like Batman) monologues about Huey Lewis and the News and "Hip to Be Square" while readying to axe his business competitor. He puts on a raincoat, starts playing the song, and takes an axe to the man's head while Huey is about halfway through the first verse. The scene is beautifully written: it shows Bateman's mask rapidly deteriorating, both in his actions and the way he speaks.

With Harvey, there is another dynamic of insanity for much of the first part of the book. Its much more pleasant, and you are trying to figure out if Harvey is imaginary or not. Though it is later hinted that he is real, the dialogue and actions are meant to lead the reader to initially believe that Elwood P. Dowd is merely a happy and likeable loony, and that there is not a six foot three inch white rabbit standing behind him.

College scene and a new idea

I finished the first rough draft of my USC Creative Challenge B scene! Huzzah!

I also have an idea to spice up Creative Challenge A--the elevator scene. Two men get on in a lobby. One has a relatively cushy job (successful banker, something like that) and is dressed as such, coming home to the eighth floor at nearly midnight on New Years Eve to catch heck from his wife while he watches the ball drop. The other is on his way to a costume party on the twelfth floor; he is dressed as a cartoon platypus. Cartoon platypus guy has a lot of energy, and starts dancing to the elevator Muzak. The elevator gets stuck at the seventh floor, and the formal guy is not pleased. He tries pressing the call button (no go), then the emergency call button (goes through), then his cell phone to call home (no reception). Meanwhile, cartoon platypus dude is also worried about missing the party, but this manifests in being more fidgety and tense. Temperatures rise.

One more thing: I was talking TV with my family last night, and we mentioned a show, Max Headroom, that was on about twenty-five years ago. I know the show because my parents recorded several episodes; it's about a future in which the world, or at least the US, is controlled by the TV networks. I think that, if it was reworked, it could compete in today's market for shows, at least on SciFi (or however they spell it now). Instead of being controlled by TV networks, Earth would be owned by Googlesoft, controlled by the Internet. The hero would spend the first season trying to rid the world of Googlesoft's influence, only to find that the company is only creating miserable conditions on Earth to stop an alien invasion. The hero would change sides, trying or unable to explain to his former allies, and would fight the aliens for at least one more season.

One more thing: New House tonight!

College Visits

Colleges that say that they are coming to you, instead of you coming to them, remind me of Soviet Russia jokes.

"In Soviet Russia, you do not visit George Washington University; George Washington University visits you!"

Not quite as classic as "Channel changes you!" or what have you, but it is odd.

Back to blogging

I have been slacking, no doubt about it.

First today, a joke:

Q: What disease do you suffer from if you compulsively embroider to keep away bad luck?

A: Super-stitchin'.

That's a fun ten-minute play right there. A grown man visits (or maybe lives with) his aging mother, and comes home one day to find a pile of embroidered garments (which may be all his clothes). He is frustrated with his mother...he told her not to do that anymore. She apologizes just a little, excusing herself by saying that she needs to do this to keep away the bad luck. He questions her, trying to figure out what has her doing this compulsive thing. She gives a reason, an example of bad luck without embroidery, and he tries to convince her that the bad luck won't be held back like that. She asks him what she'll do about making sure that he gets his promotion, and the roof doesn't cave in, and other things.

"I don't know, Ma, we'll figure out a way. One thing's for sure, though."

"What's that?"

"Super-stitchin' ain't the way."