One Step at a Time

One Step at a Time

by | Aug 13, 2024 | NPD, The Working Playwright, Theater, Writing Tips

The Working Playwright

A monthly column by Melissa Bell

 

One Step A Day

Writing is hard work. It takes time and energy. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the process. Our day jobs require most of our energy. Our family commitments take up the rest of the time. When do we have time to write, develop and promote our creative work?

There are some weeks when I never seem to be able to sit down and focus on my art. Like today. I just returned from a weekend trip to a family event. The suitcase is still unpacked, the laundry sits in the basket and the fridge is empty. Yet my brain is ticking and my fingers are itching for the keyboard. Something has to give.

So I satisfy the most urgent need. The need to write and create. And I follow a technique that has worked for me over the years: One Step a Day. When put into effect, it can be a powerful process. It means diving in and starting with creativity. Taking a short amount of time to write or create without stopping for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 20 minutes. Just do it. Don’t stop. Get those ideas on paper. Make a list. Start a dialogue. Work for without stop for your chosen time. Set your timer. Create. When the timer goes off, stop work. Then load the laundry. Go to the grocery. Hit the gym. Walk to work. Do whatever it is you need to do. After you’ve done chores, made dinner, put the kids to bed, answered your emails, THEN take a moment to review what you wrote earlier. Read it. Allow yourself to reenter the piece and make some edits. Clarify it. Rework it. It slowly begins to make sense.

During the day, while you were out doing other things, your brain continued working subliminally. You unleashed the urge, pushed something out, and walked away. But your brain kept the fire going. And when you gave it a little space, you came back clearer. You’ve made a new connection. Take a few moments and reflect on what you created. Respect it. Then close down for the day. You’ve done your work, one step at a time. Every journey begins with a step.

 

 

Melissa Bell’s work has been featured in the New York Times for Farm Arts Collective; LADY CAPULET was nominated for Best Adaptation & Modernization 2020 & 2021 by New York Shakespeare and as a Finalist for Henley Rose Playwright Competition; and COURAGE was awarded Honored Finalist for the Collaboration Award by the Women in Arts & Media Coalition. ZOE COMES HOME is available to view on the CreateTheater YouTube channel.

 

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The Need for an Artistic Home

The Need for an Artistic Home

by | Aug 6, 2024 | Inspiration, NPD, Theater

 

The Need for an “Artistic Home”

Theatre is an especially collaborative art. It truly takes a village to create, develop and produce new work, and that needs to happen face-to-face, with a collaboration of artists that know, like and trust each other. Yes, collaboration can and does happen on Zoom; that has been a decided beneficial outcome from the pandemic. However, theater is “live” and must happen with the actors and audience in the same space.

Theatre’s professional developmental path, as it stands now with its three-week rehearsal schedule, is built for commercial success more than development. What’s needed is an “artistic home” to serve as a nurturing ground, to foster creativity, collaboration, and innovation, with other trusted artists.

An artistic home can provides a supportive environment for theatre artists to explore and experiment with new ideas. It offers a ‘safe space’ where they can take risks, challenge conventions, and push the limits of their artistic abilities. This freedom to explore and create without fear of judgment or failure is crucial for the development of groundbreaking and transformative work.

Moreover, an artistic home allows theatre artists to collaborate and exchange ideas with like-minded individuals. It brings together a diverse community of playwrights, directors, actors, designers, and technicians, fostering a rich and stimulating environment for artistic collaboration. It also can provide critical resources and support necessary for the development of new work, with funding, mentorship programs, and networking opportunities, empowering artists to overcome financial and logistical challenges that often hinder the creation of new work.

It fosters a sense of belonging, an identity of professionalism, and provides concrete networking channels leading towards production.

Need to experiment with form? Let’s do it. What about trying out your latest draft with actors, to see if what you have on the page is working? That’s different than a typical reading, where you invite others in to see the work, or a cold “pizza reading” that you plan with friends to get some feedback. I’ve been to two cold musical readings with minimal prep time, that are absolutely outstanding, and we’re now trying to help the work go forward.

I’m proud that CreateTheater has been considered an artistic home for our writers,  as it’s playing a vital role in nurturing new scripts and fostering artistic development. The New Works Festival has proven to be a platform for artists to showcase their work, gain exposure, and receive critical feedback from their peers and industry professionals, helping these artists to refine their craft, develop their unique artistic voice, and establish themselves within the professional theatre community.

I also want to say, as an artist with both a BFA and an MFA, that forming your artistic vision among other more established artists gives you a foundation to become, in time, an established artist yourself. Mindset matters; community matters. People you trust to hear your work and offer feedback, matters.

An artistic home  is essential to foster creativity, collaboration, and innovation. A supportive and nurturing environment can allow artists to explore new ideas, collaborate with peers, access resources, nurture emerging talent, and push the boundaries of our art form. By investing in such places, we not only empower theatre artists in the 21st century but also contribute to the growth and evolution of theatre as an art form – which needs some help right now.

Let’s Develop New Work Together

I’ve created a space where artists can challenge traditional norms and conventions and create some groundbreaking and thought-provoking work. Whenever you gather creative people in a singular space, some wild things can happen… especially in a theatrical hotspot like NYC. The people are here. Are you?

Last spring I offered a free Collaboration Event to introduce creatives to each other online, and people have been asking me to start up the ‘Cocktail Hours” that I held during lockdown. So, I’m starting it up again. Would you like to participate?

Any other ideas? There will be a “Welcome to CreateTheater and ETC” in the works for August 29, so you can meet us and see what we’re all about then.

I’d love to hear your thoughts as I continue to figure out ways to help all of us develop and produce theater in this ever-changing environment. 

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The Artist Isolation Problem

The Artist Isolation Problem

by | Jul 30, 2024 | Community, NPD, Theater

I saved a research study from last fall that I stumbled upon again, that gave stats for overall employment rates in Arts graduates. The research was conducted by Sunil Iyengar, the Director of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts. As I am both an artist and an advocate for other artists, I was interested in hearing the findings.

Unsurprisingly, the quick study found an overall loss of employment of artists. Interestingly, those having a college degree in an arts-related field were more likely to be employed in those fields than those who did not hold a BFA/MFA degree. Happy news as a person holding a BFA in Acting/Directing and an MFA in Dramaturgy! However, it also suggested to me that those artists who knew in their bones they were artists were able to sustain employment in the field over the long term. When your art is integral to your identity, you keep creating art.

Also interesting to me was that when the study segregated the results on artists’ participation in their art roughly by age (early career artists were those in their 20s, more established artists were in their 30s through 50s, and late career artists that were in their 60s or 70s) it highlighted the effects of the pandemic on artists.

In general, after the pandemic the study found that:

  • early career artists had a hard time building new connections in their field and were struggling to even maintain those they previously had pre-pandemic.
  • more established artists in their 30s through 50s were generally better connected, and were using those connections to gather in person or discuss art, network and socialize, but weren’t building new networks.
  • late career artists felt largely isolated in their work and personal lives, even though they seemed adept at using social media during the pandemic; they  were still “losing touch with existing professional connections that they had before the pandemic” more than the other age demographics.

In other words, despite the general experience of isolation that we all felt as a result of the pandemic, older artists were already working in the gig economy, and had weathered the last two economic recessions – but there was a “perceived loss of community and collegiality” that came with a “perceived loss of professional opportunity and collective artistic creativity in a digital professional landscape.”

Conclusions?

The study emphasized the importance of serendipity and regular encounters with others as critical to artistic career development, especially those that occur in person in their local professional communities, and encouraged all artists to “gather in person or discuss art, network and socialize.” *

Note the key words “in person.”

My take – artists of every age need to connect, especially to connect in person – but online communities can facilitate those connections, friendships and professional networking.

CreateTheater is a Community of TheatreMakers

From the very beginning CreateTheater has been an online community. I began the company to work with writers across three continents in 2015, on Zoom; soon they began helping each others in Zoom readings, which were almost unheard of at the time. Needless to say, were were ready to go when the world shut down in 2020. Each Monday throughout that year we had a developmental reading on. Zoom, given freely to many different writers just to keep them moving forward (and sane). It established CreateTheater as an online theatre develmental community.

People have told me that they miss the monthly online cocktail parties where people could meet in a fun format and talk about their work at the “cocktail tables” (known as Zoom rooms). We stopped doing these at the end of 2020 when our Zoom readings were Zoom-bombed at the end of 2020 (a traumatic experience if you’ve never experienced it), but I think as a space to network and meet people these cocktail parties were really helpful.

In January 2021 I began our resident writers’ company The Experts Theater Company, aka as ETC (a loving hat tip to Ellen Stewart, the original La MaMa, who has always served as my theatrical role model). Today ETC is a vibrant writers’ residency where writers get to know each other in writers groups, producing groups, and monthly developmental and networking opportunities. It is truly what I had hoped it would be: an “Artistic Home” that supports the creation of new work in a community of artists who encourage, instruct and inspire each other and form strong friendships and collaborations.

As a producer I’m 100% committed to creating producing opportunities for members to see their work on stage, which is why the New Works Festival is such a success.

Creating Theater is Creating Producing Opportunities

As I often say, everything I do is about developing and producing the new work created by these ETC artists. All of my programs – the New Work Festival, the Cabaret Festival, the producing partnerships – are centered around creating oppoortunities for these member artists. I do open up opportunities at times for non-ETC artists, but knowing my members’ work and being able to contribute dramaturgically to the creation of their scripts helps me to talk authentically and enthusiastically about  them, all the time.

I’ve decided to open up the cocktail hours again to anyone who is a theatre maker, of any stripe, including directors and designers. We all learn from each other. It’s also in the summer that I open the doors to new members, and I’m reading new submissions now for the 2024-25 ETC membership and for our developmental partnerships. We’re also planning the 2024 CreateTheater Cabaret Festival, the 2025 CreateTheater New Works Festival, as well as our Smash It! Musical Workshops.

As to the in-person thing, I will continue the summer and Christmas parties that are open to members. but I also believe that we can still connect online, to network, create and collaborate. But look for new in-person opportunities to support you as well, in light of and in consideration of this study.

Have ideas? I’d love to hear them! Reach out to me at cate@createtheater.com

And don’t forget to submit your scripts to createtheater.com/submissions. I want to get to know both you and your work 🙂

* Check out the study for yourself here.

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Making Theatre in a Changing World

Making Theatre in a Changing World

by | Jul 3, 2024 | Inspiration, NPD, Theater

Any Way the Wind Blows

Weather ain’t the way it was beforeAin’t no spring or fall at all anymoreIt’s either blazing hot or freezing coldAny way the wind blows
 
And there ain’t a thing that you can do
When the weather takes a turn on you‘Cept for hurry up and hit the roadAny way the wind blows.
 
( “Any Way the Wind Blows,” HADESTOWN, book, music and lyrics by Anais Mitchell)

.

I think that many artists feel the winds of change happening regarding the arts in America. We look around at states defunding the arts.  We see major non-profit and “successful” theater companies laying off staff and divesting themselves of their theaters. Meanwhile, the costs of producing theater in America has skyrocketed. We’re now in a world where a two person Broadway play capitalizes at $7 million.  No wonder so many commercial producers are looking to produce across the pond.

Are the arts dying in these not-so-United States? And what are we artists to do about it?

Well, in the musical HADESTOWN, Orpheus wins the chance to bring Eurydice back but doubts at the last second, thus condemning her to everlasting bondage in Hadestown.  The workers are devastated; Orpheus was their hope, and he failed.

Yet like a video game, the action resets back to the beginning. In the finale “We Raise Our Cups” the company honors Orpheus for his optimism and hope in times of darkness despite his momentary failure, and we see the lovers meet again on stage for another chance at happiness.

Some flowers bloomWhere the green grass growsOur praise is not for themBut the ones who bloom in the bitter snowWe raise our cups to themWe raise our cups and drink them up

(“We Raise Our Cups,” HADESTOWN, book, music and lyrics by Anais Mitchell)

Hope in Times of Darkness

We celebrate Orpheus because optimism can be a powerful tool  to help us navigate our way through challenging times. In a way I feel like we’re back in 2020, overwhelmed by the shutdowns and needing to form theater communities online where we could create work and emotionally bond with like-minded people. That was how our writers’ company The Experts Theater was originally formed.

Psychologists tell us that there are a few ways to keep hope alive in dark times. Below are some ideas that we’ve used in CreateTheater and things artists have always done when ominous clouds loom on the horizon.

Focus on what you can control. Take proactive steps forward weekly to give us a sense of agency and accomplishment. It’s easy to get down and trapped in your own inertia, I know too well. Yet look around at what some people have done during shutdown; I am continually reminded that being given the gift of time to make art is no small thing

Practice gratitude. While this may sound like a platitude, it lifts us out of continual depression, allows us room for agency and action, and just makes it easier for others to be around us.

Connect with others. Isolation leads to depression, poor health, and a veritable living death. Is that what you want, really? Sharing our new ideas and our new pages in our company not only is good for us individually, it’s good for others too. They offer feedback and feel like they have some real experience to offer, and feel part of the wider theatre industry. Feeling of value to others validates us, and helps us not question all of our previous life choices. Too much, anyway.

Take care of yourself. Honor your physical body with exercise and good food, honor your mind with reading and researching new stories, and honor your spirit with expressing yourself in your art. Only you can give your unique insights and gifts to the world.

Don’t go down the rabbit hole of negativity. Part of honoring your spirit is realizing when you’ve had too much of something (food, media consumption, being around negative people) and protect yourself. Only you can protect your own heart, mind and soul, and they need you to be fully “you.”

Celebrate small wins. Did you write two new pages this week? Huzzah! Did you show up to your writing group or reach out to your fellow artists, even when it feels hopeless? Good on you for not giving in to isolation. Did you approach a possible investor or producer with your ideas for a new piece? Fantastic! Taking action, however small, during dark times deserves your celebration and acknowledgment of your own inner strength.

Seek professional help if needed. Creative people sometimes find it more difficult than otheres to maintain optimism. If you find yourself overwhelmed by negative thoughts and fear, seeking support from a mental health professional is the very best gift your can give to yourself.

Making Theatre is Who We Are

It’s not easy to ignore reality, and I’m not suggesting you should. Rather, understand that what you’re experiencing is real and is also affecting us all to varying degrees. Maintaining a hopeful and resilent mindset right now is not easy (to say the least), but there are options other than stewing in depression or turning to mind-numbing substances to forget.

A good friend who’s also a writer was sharing with me this week. “I don’t need a theater to produce my work. I’ll put my plays on in a parking lot, I just need to write and express myself!” I admire him profoundly, and I was, as always, completely inspired by his attitude.

While it may not be all that realistic, it points to a central truth: making theatre is who we are, not just what we do.

Hey, our inner reality is theatre. Your inner life is who you are. Hang with like-minded people, and keep your spirit alive.

We are the artists in society.

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One Step at a Time

Find a Mentor

by | Mar 20, 2024 | Inspiration, NPD, Theater

THE WORKING PLAYWRIGHT: a monthly blog column by Melissa Bell 

Find a Mentor

Sometime after I wrote my first musical, I attended an alumni event. While waiting for the elevator, a well-groomed woman and I picked up a conversation. When I asked her what she did, she said “I’m a Broadway producer.” Although at that point I had never heard the expression, the proverbial moment was about to come true – you meet a producer in an elevator, what do you say? I smiled and said that I had just written a musical that had been optioned by a film company, then added “so we can talk,” meaning I wasn’t going to try to sell her my show. She responded with a smile, “I would love to hear about your show.”

Thus began a 14-year mentorship – and friendship – with legendary Tony-winning producer Stevie Phillips, who singlehandedly produced THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS from its Off-Broadway beginnings to Broadway, film and beyond. I recommend reading her amazing auto-biography Judy & Liza & Robert & Freddie & David & Sue & Me for the details of her career as high-powered agent, manager, and producer.

So how did this amazing producer become my mentor? Over time.

 

Cultivate the Relationship

After our initial meeting, Stevie attended another alumni event I hosted called the “Writers Forum.” We were reading scripts and screenplays, and she showed up. Giving only her first name as an introduction, she joined the group, read parts, offered feedback, and listened to 5 sets of 10 pages of new work. Near the end of the meeting, one participant innocently asked, “so how do we get our scripts out there?” I looked at Stevie to answer that question, whereupon she introduced herself to my stunned participants. Her answer was simple: “You do it just like this. You go to readings, submit your work, if you don’t know where, get your friends together, do a reading, and invite people. When I was at Universal, I read the first 10 pages of everything that made it to my desk. That’s how you do it.” She added it was hard work, but everything worthwhile is hard. I took that advice to heart and still follow it with my own work.

A few days later, Stevie reached out to me and asked me to read something of hers. I read it and sent her my notes. She replied with thanks and asked, “now what can I do for you?” I invited her to a reading of my play a few weeks later. She came and sent me her notes (which was like getting a masterclass in playwriting). Back and forth we went. When she told me she was planning to produce a new show with Tommy Tune, I begged to be part of it. “I’ll take, notes, run errands, anything.” Noting that I had high-level PowerPoint skills, she said, “I’d love to have a presentation I could run on my iPad.” I met with her and Tommy, came up with an idea and created a pitch deck that she used to pitch Universal Studios and others. Sadly, the show didn’t work out, but we had become a team.

When I got the opportunity to present a one-night-only benefit reading of “Lost in Love,” a musical based on the hits of Air Supply for which I wrote the libretto, I called Stevie immediately for advice. She looked at my press release and asked me “What are you selling?” I was unsure of what she meant. She noted that I had not just one star but two in the cast, but that the press release listed all the actors in alphabetical order.

“Listen to me,” she said, “your first press release should say: Tony-nominated actor Constantine Maroulis cast in Lost in Love at the Triad along with his photo. One week later, your second press release should say: Tony-winner Andrea McArdle joins cast of Lost in Love. And the third week you announce the rest of the cast.”

Lesson: when you have a star, use them. It was golden advice, and a strategy I have followed to this day.

 

Be There

Stevie has been an amazing mentor to me ever since. I call her when I’m facing a tough decision, when a production goes off the rails, or when I don’t get the “yes” I was hoping for. Stevie calls me when she needs help with her various projects, knowing I will show up, ready to support, and will always share my honest impressions and listen to hers. And sometimes she just needs me to send a large file by setting up Dropbox for her. I will drop everything to help her, and I highly value our relationship.

Finding a mentor is a two-way street. It begins slowly and builds over time. The best way to gain a mentor is to either ask for advice with a specific problem or to offer a service only you can deliver, and then overdeliver. Go beyond the call of duty.

If you are a member of ETC, I know you’ve found a mentor as I have in Cate Cammarata as well as in the fellow members. I share my real-world experiences in the hopes that my experiences can mentor you as well. Being a theatre-maker is hard work, but so is anything worthwhile.

Find a mentor to make the journey a bit easier.

 

Melissa Bell’s work has been featured in the New York Times and nominated for Best Adaptation & Modernization by New York Shakespeare and awarded Finalist for Henley Rose Playwright Competition for LADY CAPULET and awarded Honored Finalist for the Collaboration Award by the Women in Arts & Media Coalition for COURAGE.

 

One Step at a Time

The Working Playwright

by | Feb 26, 2024 | NPD, Theater, Writing Tips

(This is a new monthly column on CreateTheater.com – thank you, Melissa!)

FIND THEE A WRITER’S GROUP

When I speak with aspiring playwrights or writers of any genre, the first piece of advice I give is “join a writer’s group.” If you can’t find one, create one. A writing group has been essential to my growth as a playwright, and it will be for yours as well.

Why? Writing groups offer both a dedicated time to write and a dedicated time to present and receive feedback to your project.

The consistency of selecting and presenting a 10-12 minute section or scene of your play helps you focus on your play one scene at a time, deeply and succinctly. You see the way the scene operates in and of itself and the way it functions within the play wholistically. If you present 10-12 pages per week, within 10-12 weeks you will have detailed notes and comments that will help you edit the play, focusing on what is working and eliminating what is not working.

I have been a member of a writing group that meets once per week, for three hours, 10 months per year since 2015. That’s nine years! I’ve developed each of my plays using these methods and all of them have been presented as staged readings or productions once completed. It’s a method with proven results.

HOW: To function well, a writing group needs commitment, consistency, and structure.

Rule One:

  • Set and maintain a schedule and hold each other accountable for attendance whether once per week, once every two weeks or once per month. The group can’t function if no one shows up. Each member should have a project they seek to create or revise using the momentum a working group provides.
  • Set the length of the meeting to allow for a 10-minute check-in, followed by 20 minutes from each writer. So if your group has 4 writers, your meeting should be 1 ½ hours. If you have 8 writers, your meeting should be 3 hours.

Rule Two: Presentation and Feedback.

  • Set rules. Each writer can present up to ten minutes of new or revised work. The writer “casts” the players from the members or bring in actor friends. The group might invite a few actors to participate regularly—it helps them too!
  • After the reading of the selection, the floor is open for comments. This is not the time to rewrite the play, offer “advice” about what you would do, or talk about your own work. This is the time to tell the author what you heard and what you know from the scene. List the events and how you experienced it. What did you like. What didn’t you understand. What confused you. Don’t offer prescriptive advice.
  • Writers: LISTEN. Reserve the right to remain silent. This is your chance to learn about your play! This is not your time to explain the plot or answer comments.
  • Don’t reveal your intention. Take notes. Write down everything that is said. If one member is confused, let other members answer their questions.
  • At the end of the discussion, if you have one or two questions, ask them, but again, don’t explain. If you don’t get the responses you want, it’s time to rewrite and re-present until the scene works.
  • When people ask me a question my favorite answer is “what do you think?” They often have a response, and surprisingly, it often is the response I was hoping for.

In addition to listening to your own work and hearing responses to it, you will grow by listening to other’s work and responding to it as well. It’s all about learning and listening.

A few more things:

Don’t cancel meetings unless ALL the writers are in rehearsals or productions, which is your goal. If no one has work to present, meet ANYWAY! And use the time to write together, starting with a prompt (you can find these on the internet) and write silently for 40 minutes. You do not have to read what you wrote. Just use the time to focus on writing without interruption. Discuss the prompt, how if affected your writing, then move on.

Discuss plays that you’ve seen, plays you admire. Discuss craft. Use the time to talk about theatre. How often do you get time to do that in your life? Value it. Protect it. Use it.

Use your writing group to prepare your script BEFORE you submit or schedule a staged reading. Those steps should follow AFTER presenting and rewriting your draft within the group.

Submissions and Staged Readings will be topics for other columns, so stay tuned!

For now, keep writing!

Melissa Bell’s work has been featured in the New York Times and nominated for Best Adaptation & Modernization by New York Shakespeare, and as a Finalist for the Henley Rose Playwright Competition for LADY CAPULET. She was also awarded Honored Finalist for the Collaboration Award by the Women in Arts & Media Coalition for COURAGE. TheMelissaBell.com