February SFYS

I mentioned that I was very bummed out about The Storefront Theatre not being able to get an extension of their lease, though I was glad to hear that SFYS would carry on.  I've found out that the Feb. SFYS will be at the Tarragon Studio Theatre.  The location is ok, not great.  I think the biggest issue is that I don't believe you can take drinks in, which did contribute a bit to the overall mood.  There are a few bar/reading spaces that might work better in the long run, but I am grateful that there is a workable solution for now.

I figure my contribution would be to write one more piece (maybe my last for the foreseeable future) and submit it, though I expect they will have plenty of entries this month.

Anyway, I had started something vaguely inspired by the Donner Pass (with Scott being abandoned along the way), and then I was thinking about an odd train encounter (with a passenger who longed to use a pair of brass knuckles).  Neither of these seemed worthy of extending out to 8-10 pages, but then the creative juices finally started flowing.  At some point after this I decided I would do a parody of a gangster movie but they are trying to muscle in on the maple syrup trade.  And then I set it in Quebec, because why not?  (I did manage to see about 10 minutes of Serie Noire (this time with subtitles) but I don't think it was actually a major influence.)

Basically the core of the play is a parody of Pulp Fiction with a few elements of Reservoir Dogs and maybe just a sprinkling of The Hateful Eight.  I know they don't always go for parodies, but you never know.  This is what I wanted to write.  I finally finished it (it is here if interested), and now I am working on the endings of The Pitch and Meeting Mr. Mouse (to decide if it really is worth putting together an evening of shorts, but I am definitely leaning that way).  I'd say the short pieces have generally been more helpful than not in helping me hone dialog for my longer, more serious pieces, but it is time to just bear down and get them written.  No more excuses!

At any rate, I will find out in a few more days if Les Smattes was accepted for next Monday, and I'll blog again as appropriate.

Update: I heard that Les Smattes is on the line-up for Monday, Feb. 6, starting at 8 pm.  It's at the Tarragon Studio space.  This was really a record turn-around for me.  It's great since it actually allows me to spread the word.