No, nothing angsty tonight. In addition to no longer wishing to discuss such things, I also grow weary of typing them.
So hey, finished another script tonight. Second full length and fourth script overall this year. In the last few weeks, actually. Which would be more impressive if the first two hadn't turned out so badly. But that was the past. Word on the street is that Hotline, soon to be part of Sacrilicious! (hitting the Fringe circuit this summer, dontcha know), is indeed funny. Which is literally all I require it to be. I have, as of 8:00 tonight, finished Dying on Stage, formerly known as Murder at the Variety Invasion. It's a murder mystery/comedy set at a comedy/variety show. It's still a little early to tell, but I think this one turned out okay. I think this one has a solid shot at being part of my group's next season.
Speaking of which, Calgary people should watch the Three Musketeers. You won't find a better play in this city, not today and probably not tomorrow. Here's some info.
The point I think I was approaching about the new scripts is that they're funny. The short one is, anyway, and I have a good feeling about the other. I am capable of producing words of great mirth. My skills at humour have won awards. And if that hasn't been apparent in conversations we've had it's because I have certain conversational handicaps. The first is a mild stutter that likes to show up just in time to ruin a pithy comment or coherent argument. The second is... I call it a stutter, but I'm honestly not sure what it is. There are times, if I'm not careful, when the words I'm saying do not match the words I'm thinking. I'll say something, then I'll pause and say "Did I say 'table' just then? Because I meant to say 'car.'" That may be an exaggeration, but it's quite probably not. It's quite the annoying little quirk. So many times the comment which, and I hate to reuse the word but it's still appropriate, may well have been pithy, but the meaning has been swallowed by the fact that I just said "pillow" instead of "penguin" and that's all anyone can focus on.
The third thing is that I have issues getting and maintaining people's attention. At a recent party two people were chatting about motorcycles, and how men approaching middle age tend to buy them, and I had what I considered to be a funny anecdote about exactly that, but despite multiple attempts to point it out I'm not entirely convinced either of them was aware I was in the room. Another time AC asked to hear about my just-concluded vacation to New York, then immediately, immediately began talking to someone else at the table.
That's starting to sound angsty. And I wasn't going to do that. There's just certain verbal patterns that make sense when I'm in storytelling mode, and I just run with them, like a river rafter moves with the current. Anyhoo, the point is that in a large social setting, you might notice me starting to say something, then stopping because the conversation seems to be running over me. In high school, I would try to finish my thought anyway, hoping that people would tune in. I've basically stopped doing that. So if you see my doing this, try to tune in. There's a distinct chance I'm going to say something funny. Unless, that is, my crazy brain and obstinate larynx decide to bungle the whole thing.
Well this surely got long for not actually saying much. Danny away!
"I didn't want to start writing something of my own because to do that I'd have to start writing something. I love writing but hate starting. The page is awfully white and it says, 'You may have fooled some of the people some of the time but those days are over, giftless. I'm not your agent and I'm not your mommy, I'm a white piece of paper, you wanna dance with me?' and I really, really don't. I don't want any trouble. I'll go peaceable-like."
-Aaron Sorkin
