We're in the home stretch of a Kickstarter campaign to raise 2/3 of the production budget for my play, What We Get to Keep. And, frankly, it freaks me out. I've never had this sort of a public, social media driven metaphorical gun to my producer head before. I ran a non-profit for a decade. I raised hundreds of thousands from investors for two indie films. There were always rules around who we could ask, how we could ask, how much we could raise.
But you know what was never the case til now?
It was never all happening out in public online with every dollar raised tracked, announced, applauded (or not) online for all to see day and night until one day me, my project and all my collaborators would be shoved into one of two columns:
SUCCESS OR ` FAILURE
I keep trying to remind myself of one of the most important lessons learned during the pandemic shutdown.
The five monologues we'll be presenting for you Monday are a rather eclectic bunch. Now that we're starting each Some1Speaking evening with a song performed by a singer-songwriter of heft, I invariably have some sort of a conversation or email exchange with the songwriter to try and select a song that will complement the collection of characters and struggles on display in the hour of Zoom mini dramas.
This month as I described the five wonderful (and so richly varied) plays (and they really are short solo plays) to Anke Summerhill, I found myself landing on this:
Dispatches from a Troubled World. But I don't know if that quite captures it.
So, I'm kind of on this roll. Or kick. Or something. I don't know. I've been writing and performing monologues about the past couple years of pandemic insanity... written specifically for the flat rectangular stage that is the Zoom box.
And I'm loving it.
Somehow it feels like Zoom is the perfect sandbox for me to play in when exploring various aspects of what the hell we've all just been through.
I first presented one of these in August 2021 when I premiered Danger Round This Cornerat Some1Speaking. And it felt cathartic creating a character who felt as stuck as I did—albeit in different ways unique to him—in a new reality defined by pandemic isolation. And because we always have the audience unmute in the Hear Me Out Black Box it was seriously fun performing and riding the waves of laughter.
Then, this past summer I gave several performances of A Nagging Feeling Best Not Ignored, for which I'm now writing a companion piece to be performed in person. But Nagging was also Zoom-site-specific. And I had a blast trying to make a 55-min. monologue feel more like a dialogue with the small audience gathered each night.
Monday I'll present my latest Zoom monologue, Tag, which begins when a sort-of-ex shows up unannounced in this guy's personal Zoom meeting. Join us if you're free. I'd love to hear what you think.
Tomorrow, Suze Allen welcomes playwright Janet Kenney to share a few passages from her forthcoming memoir, What Else But Grace. If you read this blog or are an RT Inner Circle member, you know that on the first Sunday of each month at 4PM EST/1PM PCT you can find me tuning in to soak in the good work as a regular audience member and parishioner at Suze Allen's Memoir Church.
We Go Way Back... 3 Decades!
Janet Kenney happens to be one of my oldest friends.
We sort of heard of each other before we ever met. The first workshop of my solo show, A Better Boy was presented at the Boston Center for the Arts on a dark night on the set of Janet's play, Lucy's Attire. So I felt even though we had not yet met that her spirit was somehow holding me and my tough little play. As it happened, a few years later I would choose to adapt A Better Boyinto my first feature film, All the Ragewhich we shot in Boston in about 20 different locations tapping into the deep reservoir of performer talent for a film with 40 speaking roles.
So long before we both showed up for the first meeting of a writers group we helped found we'd heard of each other but never met.
She Lived Up to All the Hype
I looked up to her as a big shot among Boston playwrights and if I'm to believe her version of events, she was intimidated by me and my fancy feature filmmaking (sic). It didn't take very long for the seeds of an enduring loving friendship to take root. Week after week in that writers group above a Burger King I found myself delighted by the pages she brought in.
And I think she may have liked some of my pages too.
Truth Teller
I would say that Janet Kenney is certainly one of my favorite playwrights for a simple reason.
She writes characters she loves and wants to understand and so she tells the truth. Her ego doesn't get in the way of her characters. There's always something at the heart of her writing that needs to get out and it has nothing to do with a writer's ego and everything to do with her awe and wonder at the human condition.
A New Monologue at the April Some1Speaking
On April 3rd, Janet will be performing a new monologue she created in my most recent Advanced Monologue Workshop just a couple months ago. Like most of Janet's work, the piece invites us to take a look at a character we might be tempted to overlook, assuming (incorrectly of course) that we see everything there is to know about her at first glance. And oh how wrong we'd be! I've read and/or heard some version of the piece about a half dozen times and each time I discover something new and surprising.
A couple years ago as I was wrapping up another session of my 6-month RT Online Writers Workshop, Janet was one of the workshop members who responded to my request for a video testimonial. And what she sent in tickles me still.
Pinching myself at all this talent: Barbara Kessler, Rev. Yolanda, Ann Klein, Anke Summerhill, Patrice Haan and Sloan Wainwright! (What?!)
Our first Monday of the month monologue series Some1Speaking has been running almost three years now. It began as our finalist judges arrived at the very first slate of prize winning monologues for the Hear Me Out Monologue Competition and I took a look at the dozens of brilliant pieces that hadn't won and realized we needed you all to experience the magic of a few minutes in the presence of these unforgettable characters for yourselves.
Now, almost three years in and I'm so excited that some absolutely kick-ass singer-songwriters have agreed to swing by and start each show with one original song performed live with no fancy equipment, just an acoustic instrument and their naked voice singing directly into the Hear Me Out Zoom Black Box.
April 3rd, when Janet Kenney will be performing her own monologue (which she developed in my most recent Advanced Monologue Workshop) her dear friend, the super-talented songwriter
And I have to pinch myself as the talent just pours in with their generous sharing of their gifts. Here are some of the other amazing singer-songwriters who have already said yes to my audacious request.
Too many artists are passive about stuff that matters to their bottom line.
I recently learned of a friend's book launch and I wanted to go to show my support and buy a book. (By the way, when you do go to a book signing, not buying a book is kind of tacky. IMHO. Just sayin')
I hopped on over to the website of the sponsoring org and found...
oh wait, it must be here somewhere...
Wait a sec.
Not one word about my friend's book launch, which is in less than 3 weeks.
Then I clicked on the calendar page and it was empty even though I know for a fact the organization has events all month long every single month of the year.
So, if you read this blog much you know that since the dawn of this pandemic I've been on a kind of OCD Mission Impossible to encourage playwrights and screenwriters--really anyone who writes scripts, who tells stories this way--to give monologue a closer look because, well... as the pandemic shutdown demonstrated so well, when the expensive and time-consuming elements associated with productions disappear and the community at large finds itself communicating via Zoom, the unique work of the playwright becomes more essential than ever.
No lights. No sets. No costumes. No stage. Yet still feels like theatre. How come?
If people are waiting for something akin to theatre (as we once knew it) to find them and move them through the Zoom box, then who is more equipped to provide this than the playwright?
After all it's the playwright who engineers our catharsis. If I am pummeled to my core at the final curtain that's because the playwright wanted it. It's the playwright who understands, perhaps more keenly and more viscerally than any of us, the bond between life as we live itand life as we wish it to be. Our refusal to acknowledge that there might be a difference between these two things has been selling theatre tickets since man discovered fire and gathered everyone around to talk about it.
The Festival of Playwrights Making Lemonade from Lemons
The 3rd Annual Hear Me Out Monologue Competition Finalist Winners will be presented over two nights this year: Nov 25 and Dec. 5.
Although people looking for a writing teacher often find their way to me, the truth is I don't know that writing itself is something that can be taught. The skill of good (or great) writing starts with listening. Listening to the deepest part of you where the truth of your intentions lives. Sometimes there's a lot of noise coming between a writer and the successful execution of the idea.
Common Sources of Distracting Noise Coming Between You and Your Vision
Imagine you need to write a synopsis of your latest screenplay. What might be some of the most unhelpful sources of noise, noise that distracts you from effectively coming up with great language to describe your new screenplay? Here are some examples of noisy voices that live inside your head and keep you up at night.
There's nothing original about your ideas.
Nobody is going to want to see this.
You better not get too specific or you'll scare off half your audience.
Your work on this latest script has taken a lot out of you and people need to understand that.
If I was really talented I wouldn't have to waste time writing marketing copy. There would be an army of professionals rushing in to do it for me.
My original impulse for starting this project dominates my view and keeps me from seeing just how far I veered off of my original idea.
I'm not honestly sure what this movie is going to be about in the end.
Someone in my writers group told me I must not forget to emphasize X, Y, or Z.
My Approach to Teaching Writers Starts With You
I have no interest in teaching you how to write like me. Nor do I imagine you want to write like anyone other than yourself. So, the primary focus when I work with a writer is always digging our way down until we uncover your deepest goal for whatever project you've brought to the RT Private Studio.
It all comes down to listening. I listen carefully to what's on your pages as well as what's not on those pages. And eventually a picture of an artist (you) comes into view. My job is to help you see what I see at the core of everything you write.
Now through Thanksgiving Day, Enroll in Advanced Monologue
Dec 12, 17, 21 and 28.
“So many playwriting development opportunities focus on the forest rather than the trees, leaving playwrights stranded with a solid idea but the inability to communicate it effectively. Roland sees every tree in the forest and meticulously helps playwrights communicate precisely and artfully.” — Laura King, playwright
“No one understands the fundamental engine that drives all monologue better than Roland Tec. His vast experience as a theatre maker and as a filmmaker give him a unique ability to keep any writer honest. Study with Tec and inevitably you’ll begin to understand your own work better than you ever have.” — Jared Katsiane, filmmaker
“I performed my monologue that night and I heard the laughter and immediately felt relaxed and focused. I emailed a link to the YouTube to a friend and he asked: ‘Where did you get that audience?’ I got it from Roland.” — J. Lois Diamond, playwright
How ready are we for live performance as we used to enjoy it? We're circulating a very short survey. Please take 3-5 min. to answer a handful of key questions about your feelings in the fall of 2022.
As I thought about whether to move the RT Inner Circle to Patreon I had to stop and think about everything I'd been producing, presenting, performing or hosting over the past few years.
Would the offerings stack up and strike all of you as worth it?
Patreon offers artists a reliable revenue stream (albeit a modest one) by inviting members of the artist's sphere of influence to make a monthly financial contribution to the general health and well-being of the artist and by extension everything they create and offer to the world each year.
It's a tiered model so, those most casually affiliated contribute something you may hardly notice. In our case we set the lowest tier at a $3 monthly contribution.
$3 per month amounts to a little more than $.09 a day. Hopefully anyone who has found joy or value of any kind in any of my workshops or the Hear Me Out programming won't hesitate to join us.
I decided to simply keep the three existing benefits of RT Inner Circle membership as has been the case for free for all these years: subscription to the semi-monthly RT Inner Circle e-Notes, priority notice of contests and other submission opportunities and the exclusive RT Inner Circle Comp Ticket promo codes which allow you to pay zero at many of the online events I host.
This choice, I hope, sends a clear message:
That thing you were getting for free all this time now has a $3 price tag but no one is going to force you to jump on board. You can choose to continue in the RT Inner Circle without signing up on Patreon but I really hope you'll seriously consider enrolling at Patreon, thereby contributing to a community that chooses to honor the value of what I've been making happen for people with a small outlay of cash each month.
It's never simple when something you've been getting for free is suddenly protected by a Paywall. I remember the first time I clicked to read an article in the New York Times online only to be suddenly asked if I had paid for a subscription. It felt like a betrayal.
That's the last thing I want to make you feel. So, if you wish to remain in the RT Inner Circle and avail yourself of certain opportunities, announcements and bits of professional advice contained in the e-Notes and on the YouTube channel, no one's going to be policing you, waiting to stop you.
But, some of the things I've been giving away free of charge, like Wednesday Gathering, for example, have never been free of cost to me. So, in order to continue to drop in on the occasional Wednesday, all we ask is that you set aside $36 a year for the privilege. I hope you'll agree that that's negligible compared to what it means to you to know that the gathering is here. Because of course, the Wednesday Gatherings are not a writer's workshop, like the Roland Tec Online Writers Workshopin which an instructor (me) has carefully constructed a course in order to result in a specific result (your completion of a specific goal for your work over a six month period).
As I said, before launching on Patreon, I thought it might help for me to make a comprehensive list of all the things I'd offered the community since the start of this pandemic.
If you're one of the dozens of folks who've emailed in frustration at not being able to locate a project, deadline, video, schedule or anything else related to a Roland Tec enterprise, you're in luck. As of today, you need only ever remember one address.
The Summer of 2022 has been full and fraught. I'm not sure why I imagined it would be smooth sailing to produce and perform my own solo show while producing the third Hear Me Out Monologue Competition.
There were signs of cracks in the foundation as early as May when I started to receive evidence of logistical details getting lost in emails between me and various others who make this thing happen. Entire emails went missing.
Sometimes those I'd written.
Sometimes those I was supposed to have read.
I've been told (Hello, Gary!) that I have too many email addresses.
I know this is true. Yet seem unable (or unwilling?) to address it.
I'm hearing anecdotally of other breakdowns in communication on so many fronts that I'm beginning to suspect we're all just suffering under a collective case of Pandemic Fatigue.
I was thrilled when A Nagging Feeling Best Not Ignored got a very positive review from our first critic. Others were lining up to see for themselves.
And so we added performances and decided to extend through September 7th.
And then I got sick.
And have barely been able do much more than sleep, eat a bowl of cereal and sleep some more. (Rinse & repeat)
Performances of my show were canceled. And some of you know how much this one has meant to me, possibly cause it's the first thing I've managed since March of 2020... But... If the actor can't keep his eyes open...
Having lost about two weeks in our production schedule on the monologue competition, I've finally heard the universe which seems to be playing the same tune all summer long this year. And the tune is:
Slow down. Take a breath. What's the hurry?
So, this is all to announce two important scheduling changes.
A Nagging Feeling Best Not Ignored will not perform August 24th but will resume for two nights only on Wednesdays August 31 and September 7.
And the Hear Me Out Monologue Festival & Awards Ceremony will postpone from Labor Day this year to a date in November, TBA.
And I hope to be able to announce a new structure to hold all the RT workshops, Wednesday Gathering, the Hear Me Out Some1Speaking series and the annual competition and all the rest in a more coherent unified structure that will allow me to support the work without doing everything on an absolutely voluntary basis. More details to follow...
Please update your RT Inner Circle status to be sure not to miss any of this.
Attention Extra Criticum readers: If you do click through and read this piece on Medium, please consider taking a moment to follow me, post a comment, clap at the end or highlight text. Engagement really helps. Thanks!
My new play A Nagging Feeling Best Not Ignored(which I'm currently performing on Wednesday nights) grew out of the January 6th insurrection. My last film, We Pedal Uphill was my very personal attempt to make sense of the climate of fear which seemed to take root in this country in the months and years immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The first play of mine that was produced in New York, Bodily Function, grew out of an offhand remark made by a midlevel corporate executive about workplace morale and bathroom breaks. The comment was delivered casually, almost cynically over a brunch with friends in Boston. Maybe the fact that the man who made the comment was not a friend of mine but rather a friend of friends, kept me from asking a pointed follow-up question. And so for weeks afterward I was haunted by the values behind his remarks. And eventually found my way to a play about a woman who has reached the pinnacle of success in her career yet somehow finds herself not quite feeling what she always imagined she would.
For whatever reason, there usually is some kind of thorn or confounding riddle at the center of the scripts I write. I'm drawn to the details of how human beings cope. We are uniquely creative and optimistic animals most of the time and how we manage to overcome, work around or stumble through life's towering obstacles is, I think, where the most vivid storytelling lies.
So it shouldn't have surprised me to find that my latest play, A Nagging Feeling Best Not Ignored has left some audience members feeling a kind of emotional whiplash. The piece is a kind of attempt to capture something of the tenuous relationship to truth and reality we find ourselves swimming in these days. And so the man at the center of the piece is, to put it mildly, an unreliable narrator.
It's difficult to know what to believe as he leads us from one assertion to the next, not much of it able to be held by the same single reality of one person's life.
It turns out that after an hour of very dark laughter, distortions of the facts of our reality and the tension of an audience holding one man's future in their hands through their vote at the end of the show, people need a few min. to process what they've just been through.
And you told us as much in the feedback offered online after the first three performances.
Post-Show Process Conversations Led by Leading Thinkers in the Fields of Psychology, Government, the Arts, Sociology, History and the Law.
But we've just added a bunch of additional dates to the schedule so if you weren't sure you were going to get in to see this unique live solo Zoom show, visit the website today and you may be in luck. The schedule has been expanded to include Wednesday nights from now through September 7th.
The following videos feature just some of the raves that have been pouring in from audience members at our first few performances.
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