Today is the fourth anniversary of the day I threw in the towel on our marriage. I like to think of it as my very own independence day. 4th of July was a stressful time for me, because it was a drinking holiday. But that is far behind me now, and I can get back to really enjoying this holiday, with family and friends, and fireworks, and love.
Last Sunday (July 1), I had the most incredible experience as a storyteller at our theater's bi-monthly production. The theme of the evening was "Makin' Whoopie!" and the curators are close friends of mine, and they asked me to share a story. I've never actually written something from start to finish, with the point of actually presenting it to an audience. I was a little put off by the topic, because I didn't want to get that personal, so my original intent was to write a charming little piece about how parents sneak in some private time with youngsters in the home. We used to tell the kids we were cleaning our room. But then I found out I needed ten minutes, and I didn't think I could pad that many extra minutes into that story. So I started writing, with the goal of not editing until I got it all out. I shot for ten pages. Writing is like vomiting, there's no point in cleaning it up until you've gotten it all out. So I was very pleased when I got my ten pages. It was almost 3500 words. And then I found out from the submission guidelines that they wanted 1500 words max. That was my motivation to slash and edit. I remember feeling satisfied, when I would think I had cut all I could cut, and then I would ask myself...what is the goal of this story? What are you really trying to convey?...and then I would slash some more. By the end of it, I got it down to 1492 words, and it was 8 minutes and 14 seconds at my audition reading. This whole process is very much outside of my comfort zone. I wrote something, and then I read it out loud in front of strangers! WTF!? So, I got two notes on my audition...and they were easily remedied by adding a couple of the cut sentences back in. Then I got the email that said they had accepted my story, and I would be reading it at the production. I'm surprised at how proud I was, of myself, not just because of the writing, but because it was my story, and I've neglected my ability to tell a story for far too long. This is some bucket list shit going on. So I showed up to the tech rehearsal, and they informed me that my story would be closing the show. What?!? They usually bring in a well-seasoned storyteller to close the show. Wow, wow, wow! So Sunday night was the performance. I was much more calm than I expected, maybe because it was my own story, and I wouldn't have to remember cues and marks. It was sold-out, with a row of extra seats. It was a delightful evening of music and stories. When my turn came, I had that hollow sound in my ears, where I could hear my pulse inside my head, and I stepped up to the stand, I looked at the audience, and I took a calming breath, and then I started my story. I was able to look at several of my friends in the audience at various times during my story, for support. The audience was so quiet, but they laughed at all the right spots. And they were very generous in their applause when I was done. So many people, men and women came up to me, with hugs, and to tell me that they loved my story, to tell me they had the same or a similar story, and one lady, who was quite older than I, told me I am her role model. I shared the story with one of my co-workers, a gentleman whose opinion on writing I respect very much. He was bowled-over by it! So this experience has been extremely gratifying for me. Very much. For many years, I've thought I wanted to be a stand-up comedian, but now maybe I will be a storyteller.
I'm mulling over changing the name of the blog, since this blog originated with the title of a poem my wasband wrote for me/us. I need to learn WordPress anyway, so I might as well create my own website with a blog. #goals
Enjoy your Independence Day. Stay safe out there!
~L
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