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I haven't been able to get this to the proper authorities, so I thought I would post it here for you all to see. Those that have seen it think this is pretty good, and I hope you all agree.
Thanks for bearing with me during a weird photoshoot.
Here are my overheard conversations. I actually had trouble finding a place where I could overhear people without them noticing me. When I went to coffee shops, there was too much noise to pick out individual conversations. When I went to stores, everyone was shopping alone. When I went the the courthouse everyone talked in hushed tones or spoke to the judge in formulas. In the end, the best stuff came from my house:
1
- You got to put some things in it.
- Damn right. I want to clean my basement and my garage.
2
- Now the water leve is completely different.
- Your chair's falling apart.
- I got to stop wiggling. [cell rings. picks up cell] Well inspector, how are you doing? Well that's where we're at. He might have called the office because I'm off the field. Well I appreciate the information. Ok. Bye. [hangs up cell phone] The water level was up about three feet. It was spilling up across the street.
3
- Mom, I need a buck seventy five.
- Why?
- For lunch.
- Ok.
- No, never mind. I'll just take some of that shish-kebob stuff.
- How do I pay for your lunches?
- Give me a buck seventy five.
- No, for the semester.
- You write a check to Goshen High School, I think.
- For how much?
- As much as you want to pay.
4
- Here's a marker.
- Does it work?
- It's blue.
some brief lines of overhead lines from the olive garden on travel, terror, and lunch.
-I haven't been on a plane in 10 years.
-why not?
-I like to drive, I like my car, and I like to visit the tourist sights.
-Not me, I like to get where I'm going.
-Are you ready yet? I always get the same thing.
-I know, but I like to look at least.
-Okay, but i'm getting my usual.
-they just freak me out.
-what?
-the way they crawl, and move so fast, i just can't stand them.
-but i think they're so interesting.
-no, eww, gross.
"So she still needs help."
"I can’t believe she’s not leaving ‘til September."
"She’s leaving September 1st."
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"Alyssa hasn’t called me yet."
"Alyssa?"
"Yeah."
"Is Denver that blonde kid?"
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"Which way? Left?"
"Uh…sure…left."
"Is the school still open? I need to get my fuckin’ list."
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An observation from this assignment...
The obvious is that the lines, no matter what, are so random...especially when they're sliced out of a full conversation. Their randomness makes them disorder.
What then occurs to me within the disorder/order conversation, is that it depends on the role. When I am an observer, disorder is more likely. If I am a player, it isn't random, it's order. I carry the entire context within my head where it makes perfect sense. (Of course, within my head is a dark neighborhood where no one should wander alone!)
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On a different note, I watched "The Family Stone" last night. I had seen it when it came out, with Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker. Parker is disorder, or so it seems. At closer look, it's interesting to examine our judgments about what is normal and what is abnormal. Normal/order is often the more dishonest, the illusion. Seeing the movie a second time, within the context of Fear/Falling is fun, interesting, new.
So I'm sitting here in this coffee shop called "It's a Grind" in Colorado Springs, and this huge mass of people just walked in and I've overheard some great stuff! The only problem is that they all keep talking at once, so it's really hard to distinguish which lines are part of which conversations. And I also really hope they can't see what I'm typing on my computer, because that would be really embarrassing if they realized I was just sitting here eavesdropping and transcribing. Anyway, here are a couple conversations that I could distinctly pick out and subtly write down...
Conversation Snippet #1:
A: What? Aaaahhh! I can't hear you!
B: Wear your cammi shorts!
A: Cammi? What's cammi?
C: What did you say? Go commando?
Conversation Snippet #2:
A: Did you just see that guy run in?
B: Well, he's an elite runner. They make exceptions for elite runners.
Conversation Snippet #3:
A: I'll have that without the banana chips.
B: Do you think they actually mix the banana chips in it?
Conversation Snippet #4:
A: Pretty soon you'll be saying "Dad, I need the keys."
B: "Ok. Yeah. And get me some beer on the way out."
Conversation Snippet #5:
A: He was like "What's your number? What's your number?"
B: That was his conversation starter?
Conversation Snippet #6:
A: I'll have a coffee cake with that
B: Do you want that warmed up?
A: Do you, Jade? ... Yes, warmed up.
B: That will be $33.17
...If I overhear anything else spectacular, I'll be sure to post more later...
Crap, I don't know what shoe size to get.
Muffin?? I want to be cupcake!
Yeah, see, I don't like the way that one swings.
Gotta find something to blame it on.
Who's socks? Not mine, I'll tell you that.
Usually I use a light switch to start it.
I'm a light and you're a fly? What are you saying? That you're attracted to me?
My other mom's a bit anal.
Will you please kidnap me?
I think Renee will want in on that.
I can’t find the filters.
Just use a papertowel.
I know, I got it at the gap.
Thank you for holding, one of our representatives will be with you shortly.
Oh you mean…ya, ya, ya maybe.
My back hurts.
We just realized we all left for lunch and forgot to tell you.
We taped everything down to Mindi’s desk
Last night each member of the cast brought a presentation on order/disorder.
As I began working on my own presentation I found myself pacing, talking to myself, gesturing and taking notes on three different notebooks. I have ADHD, and yes, that last D stands for disorder. I decided to present myself.
In solidifying how exactly I would present my own struggle between order and disorder, I began to realize that it was closely tied in with why and how I do theatre.
A note on ADHD: "Attention Deficit" is a misnomer. The actual issue is "Attention Overdose". I find it very dificult to not pay attention to anything and everything in the room. You can maybe imagine why that would end up looking like an attention deficit, with my attention bouncing from one thing to the next - or trying to focus on all things at once. In my worse moments I am overwhelmed by all the input, and unable to think clearly about what I am doing. ADHD can also result in hyperfocus - which might look more similar to OCD in some ways - me sitting at my computer adjusting each pixel of a design I'm working on because it's not perfect yet. At these times I can get very frustrated when someone trys to talk to me. TV, movies and theatre also often cause me to hyperfocus.
While directing ADHD can be a great help and a great hinderance. I'm not happy with a final product until it pulls my attention along smoothly from one moment to the next. I often simplify and simplify a show till there is enough order to counteract the disorder of my mind.
In rehearsals, on the other hand, I can become so distracted by all the various things I have to think about that I find it hard to make a decision on any one thing. I can become overwhelmed and shut down or flail. That's not extremely helpful in most cases. Or I might, as Michelle and Kyle have commented, walk back and forth between the stage and my notebook or script untill I find enough room in my brain to make a clear decision.
Some of the articles that I've posted on Backpack seem a little corny or lean towards 'self-help', but in all that I've posted I've found things that will be really helpful towards developing the characters in this show for a number of reasons: you can use facts to back what you say up and to have a deeper understanding of certain disorders, words, and ideas; you can create a background to your character: example: some articles talk about how in many cases those with eating disorders have had abusive childhoods--this is a piece of information that can help create your characters story bringing more depth to the overall piece. So I just encourage everyone to actually read the articles because all it usually takes is one line or paragraph to really push you along on your development of your character!
Rehearsal shots from last night. Enjoy.
Last night, even the brief amount of time I was there, was entertaining and interesting. I'm eager to see more.
If you follow along here you'll see what we're researching, what we're doing, what we're thinking, and what we're talking about. Enjoy. Please leave your thoughts and comments for us - we'd love to hear from you.
Many thanks to Michelle for a wonderfully inspirational script - and the willingness to let us workshop it some in production.
We're cast and several days into rehearsal at this point, and developing some great material - some of it from as early as the first night of auditions. The cast (in no particular order) as stands is: