This weekend I saw Twelfth Night at Bard on the Beach and learned several things.
- Two hours on a glorified folding chair is too long even when the show is amazing. (My apologies to those behind me who had to endure me fidgeting.)
- Spas are, and apparently always have been, the best place on earth.
- Bare bums get a laugh every time.
FYI the show was great and I’ll totally go again. (I’m bringing a cushion next time…no I don’t care how it makes me look…it’s too late to look young and hip when you pull your groceries home in an Aquafresh coloured cart.)
Jonathon Young played the fool and I can’t wait to see him do Hamlet. (FYI, huge geek that I am, I can’t stop thinking of him as Tesla from Sanctuary. Seriously we walked out saying “I can’t wait to see Tesla play Hamlet.)
Sadly, despite a wonderfully inspiring show, I didn’t write much on the weekend. I did think a lot, about adding tension to my writing and complicating plot, that counts as productive time right?
(There’s nothing like a good mistaken identify show to prove how entertaining plot complications can be.) I also came up with a great new character, a youngish guy who decides to memorize all the sexual references in Shakespeare’s plays and then try to work them into conversion. I don’t know which story he’ll call home yet but I already love hating him. Maybe writing his story will get me out of my procrastination cycle…
Writing Exercise:
In high school one of my favourite assignments in English class was to write in a new style. I liked the challenge of fitting words into prescribed patters and still having them make sense. I also thought that if there was a pattern then there must be a sure road to success and the “right answer”. (Little did I know.) So today, in deference to the Bard, try your hand at iambic pentameter. (Bonus points for working in a hard chair or bare bottoms.) Happy writing.
