Theater Dreams & Actor Nightmares

If you have ever fulfilled your dream of acting on stage, there's a good chance you have also experienced theater-themed nightmares.

I'm not a professional actor, but I do occasionally appear on stage at my local playhouse, and it seems whenever I am in the middle of the rehearsal process, I start having the usual actor's nightmare. There are many variations of this dream, but they all involve me about to go on stage for a production I haven't prepared for... Sometimes it's a familiar show, like Hamlet or Hamilton. (That's when my dream-self says, "Maybe I'll be able to wing it.") But often it's a never-performed show, and I have no idea what the heck is going on!

The last theater dream I had was so amusing and so vivid, I decided to make a little animated film about it and post it on Youtube.

(Can you tell I've been on vacation and have way too much time on my hands? Don't worry, that will all change when I go back to work on Monday.)

For me, as an amateur actor, the experience of being in the middle of a scene is very dream-like. I guess there's that deja-vu feeling because you have practiced the scene over and over again. It can be a bit surreal if I stop and think about it -- which is the last thing you'd want to do when you are performing for hundreds of people. Thinking too much is a great way to forget your next line!

There's also something dreamy about the theater space, especially in those moments before or after a show in which you are all alone... Like being out in the Quonset Hut prepping my lines...

Or getting lost in the prop attic...

I guess there's dreamy about the whole theater process. It starts with a playwright's imagination. Then a director, actors, and a whole team of dream-builders...

Dream-builders such as our amazing lighting-designers...

(Don't they look thrilled to be here???)

... our incredible set designer / set-builder...

(who also got dragged in to play a supporting character 

because Theatre desperately needs men!)

... the sensational stage crew...

(who also moonlights as our theater's phantom --- every playhouse needs one!)  

...and let's not forget the directors!

(The rumors are true: I had to sleep with one of them to get the part.) 

At our local playhouse, the Canyon Theatre Guild, we take dreams and bring them to life.

Are you involved in the Theatre? Professional? Amateur? School plays? Leave a comment or link to share your dream-like experiences on the stage.



(PS: I slept with the one on the right -- my wife!)

The Sensitive Side of Stephen King

Horrible, horrible things happen in the stories of Stephen King. His penchant for terror is renown. Whether within a tale of the supernatural...

(The Shining) 

...or a more realistic psychological thriller...

 (Misery)  

Stephen King knows how to scare us. That's the fun part about his work. But there's something more meaningful to be discovered below the surface. Despite the pain and gore that permeates much of his plot-lines, Stephen King has a very moral center in almost all of his stories. You can tell he wants good to triumph over evil, even if that's not always what happens at the end. 

Lots of casual readers might not know that beyond the horror novels, and their hit-and-miss movie adaptations, Stephen King has created several works which are deeply personal and surprisingly inspirational. I wouldn't say they are exactly heart-warming or kid-friendly... but they are remarkably different from the horror stories which have made King a household name since the late 1970s. Here are a few examples of King's softer side:

Stand By Me (Based on King's novella The Body)

It's the quintessential coming-of-age story (or a Bildungsroman if you wanna get all German about it.) Four friends in a backwoods town go on a quest to find a dead body. Along the way, our protagonist, Gordy, contemplates his past (the loss of his brother), his present (emotionally detached parents), and his future (aspirations of becoming a writer mixed with fears of losing his best friend). 

The kids are often rude and crude, but they can also be sensitive, wise, and philosophical. This was released in the late 80s and my high school teacher complained that "12-year old boys aren't that emotionally complex." But my feeling is that 12-year old boys often do their best to hide their emotional complexity, and King taps into this beautifully. 

Now the film and the short novel have significant differences, and some aspects of the book offer more depth. However, I think this is one of those rare cases in which the film is equal in artistic merit. (To explain why, I would have to devote a whole post...) Both the book and the film have exquisite moments, including one of my favorite scenes: 

 

The Eyes of the Dragon:

This is a good old fashioned fantasy novel. Even though there are a few mature moments as well as some violent deaths, it's something that you could read to most kids, and they probably wouldn't have nightmares. In fact, I think the Stand By Me gang would be all over this book.

It seems that Stephen King was sending this book out into the world to see if his readers would appreciate books that didn't fall under the horror category. According to the internet, fans were disappointed. This was at the height of his popular when his readers were greedy for the next scare-fest novel, and many grumbled when they snatched up this delightful book.

Faithful (co-authored by Stewart O'Nan):

Stephen King is a die-hard Boston Red Sox Fan. Lots of his characters seem to share that sentiment.
The most apparent example of this is his novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon -- in which a young girl gets lost in the woods and tries to survive, all the while channeling her favorite Red Sox pitcher. But this story still fits in the typical world of thrills and chills. There's also a baseball novella called Blockade Billy. It's a good old fashioned yarn... but things get dark, so I'm not putting on this list either.  Here's the book I wanna talk about... 

Not a single zombie cat, serial killer, or clown-demon to be found.  Faithful falls into the non-fiction category as it is mainly comprised of King and O'Nan corresponding as their dream comes true and the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series, thus ending the long standing Curse of the Bambino.  

11/22/63

This is an epic time-travel drama, really one of his most vivid and satisfying novels. It's about a guy from the 2010s who is shown a portal into the past (which of course is in the pantry of a burger joint) and travels into the late 1950s. He journeys into the past with an enormous task: to stop the assassination of JFK.

Now, as the they plot suggests, there are splashes of violence in this book, but at its core is not a Doctor Who styled rescue mission. It's a love story. And out main character falls in love while he's in the middle of his five year mission. Will he choose love over duty?  Can he stop a national tragedy and get the girl? 

Oh, and there's lots of swing dancing. What's not to love about swing dancing? 

The Shawshank Redemption:


This is a prison drama, so there are plenty of grizzly details that almost prevent me from placing this in this blog post. However, the original novella is short and sweet and the terrible events (specifically Andy Dufresne being raped by fellow inmates) is mercifully vague. King doesn't usually go with vague, so ultimately I think Shawshank falls in this category of his more sensitive / dramatic works. 

The film is EVEN BETTER than the book -- a rare thing indeed! Screenwriter / director Frank Darabont masterfully takes the best aspects of the novella and expands on them in wonderful ways. The characters are more developed, the multiple wardens are condensed into a single villainous warden, and the subplot of Brooks leaving his prison home is both heartbreaking and beautiful. Also, the film solidifies Morgan Freeman's place in history as the best narrator of the 20th Century. 

Just watch this scene as a reminder of humanity's capacity for hope and transcendence. 

On Writing -- A Memoir of the Craft:

This is part autobiographical reflection and part masterclass on the art of telling stories. It's concise, profound, funny, and perhaps best of all inspiring to anyone who dreams of becoming an author of any genre.

I remember this book was released not long after King had been severely injured. He got hit by a van while walking down a country road. In the painful aftermath, he wondered if he would ever be able to write again. Thank the Gods of Fiction, it wasn't long until King worked through his injuries and his writer's block and began creating some of his most ambitious works of his career -- not the least of which was the conclusion of the Dark Tower series.

The finale of On Writing gives us a first person account of the accident, as well as the road back to recover, and the return to creativity. If you want to learn from someone who loves & lives the art of storytelling, read this book.


Other Useful Blog Links for Creative Writing Students:

Sailing Through the So-What Factor

Wade's Poetic Terms

Guide to Poetic Devices (AKA Actual Poetic Terms)

Join "Word Count Wednesday" -- Here's a Sample

Phase Two Complete! (Summer - Day Ten)

The scans are finished! (With the exception of the final page. I want that image to be the last thing I illustrate/ink/scan/edit -- to give me a sense of completion. (You know, as if I'm not going to need to do multiple drafts on this baby.)

May 27th was the day I made the most progress in a single day. It started out with a bunch of other errands -- going back and forth to help with the set of Hello Dolly! -- all the while taking the girls to their classes. But once the ladies left for dress rehearsal, I got down to business. I must have scanned over a hundred images. Stayed up till 2pm, diligently walking back and forth between the keyboard and the scanner, all the while listening to the audiobook of Stephen King's 11/22/63.

Here's a sneak peek at one of the action sequences in Duck Town. Our heroes jumped into a canal to get away from a villainous gang of rats. But then Penny (the chick who thinks she's a princess) starts to float down the drain...

Well, now it's time to move to Phase Three. Operation Photoshop!

Day #43: Micro-Marketing - 30 Contacts a Day

The Camp Omigosh Kickstarter Campaign has officially begun.  So far, we've got a whopping two backers (and I must say I am eternally grateful!).

It's going to be a challenge generating the goal amount: $4500. We've only got 29 days to meet that goal. And I've probably already pestered all of my Facebook friends way too much. I'm going to need to do some bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping -- if I understand the term correctly -- is when you reach out to individuals and groups that you have connections with, and you basically beg them to support your crazy business idea.

So, that's what I'll be doing -- begging for book sales. I plan to connect with thirty contacts each day. Hopefully that will get the ball rolling.

"Summer of Fun" Schedule

So, in my last post, I mentioned how amazingly productive I've been.  In this post, allow me to once again say that I am amazingly pathetic when it comes to developing an audience.

I do have a few loyal fans (Hi Mom!).  I am grateful for the many drama teachers that continue to choose my plays.  And there are quite a few nice folks (over 10,000 of them) who bought my picture book, Why Do I Have To Make My Bed? 

But I don't have a following... Mainly because I'm not interesting enough to be followed.  I once had a stalker, but he only stalked me for about minutes and then he was like, "This sucks, I'm outta here."

So, in addition to my writing, I've decided that I am going to do an experiment.  I've got several projects going on this summer.  For the next two months -- and hopefully beyond -- I will be involved with several fun projects that will get me a little bit out of my comfort zone.  I'll be using this blog and my website (and some other socially-networky things) to promote them.  In a few months time, we'll see if any of these things catch on...

And now, without further ado, I present my "Summer of Fun" Schedule:


Monday: Web Comic "Drama Geek" (Monday Edition)
This is a cartoon I've been drawing for a while.  It's like Broadway meets the Far Side.

Tuesday: Professor Picture Book
This is a blog I've been brainstorming about for a while.  A character named "Prof. Picturebook" and his cat will review children's books in the style of Siskel andEbert.

Wednesday: Castle Writemore
Join Sir Snoresalot and the rest of the castle characters as they share writing ideas with young authors.

BONUS: "Drama Geek" (Wednesday Edition)

Thursday: Movie Question Day

Friday: Camp Omigosh YouTube Channel
This week I will be uploading five videos chronicling the misadventures of the kids at Camp Omigosh, creating a YouTube companion piece to the play & novel.

"Tomorrow's Wish" Available at the Kindle Store

Tomorrow's Wish has been available in print, and as an ipad e-book for about three years now.  But, I've finally gotten around to formatting it into a Kindle Book, since that seems to be one of the more popular devices.

"Tomorrow's Wish" is a three-act play by Wade Bradford. It is a comedy-drama with a bit of fantasy thrown into the mix. 

During the most boring summer of her life, 16 year old Megan Pomerville must now deal with her strange, friendly yet embarrassing cousin: Juniper, a home-schooled teen who's been living a sheltered and secluded country life. 

Megan's cynical attitude soon changes when she discovers Juniper's secret - a secret so remarkable it will change their lives forever. 

Follow this link to order you Kindle Edition of "Tomorrow's Wish," only $2.99.


Looking for more plays?  Visit: www.wadebradford.com

"Banana Nut Split" - Wade's First One-Act Comedy (Circa 1987)

Way back in high school, 10th grade to be specific, we had this glorious thing called Mini-Term.  Our second semester ended in early May.  Then, students would experience Mini-term, a collection of fun elective classes allowed students to explore their specific interests.  (You could also make-up a class.)
Anyway, during Mini-term the drama club put on a series of One Acts.  (My favorite show by the way was I.T. -- Improvisational Theater, by fellow drama buddies Ryan, Joelle, and other talented thespians.)  I decided that I wanted to write and direct my own show.  So I wrote: BananaNutSplit -- all one word to be cool.  It's a pretty silly show with a rather sitcomish premise:

A young man is meeting his girlfriend at a fancy restaurant. He is going to propose to her.  The problem? He secretly has split personalities, and whenever he gets nervous, those multi-personalities burst out of him.  Wackiness ensues.

Yes, quite silly.  But I had a great deal of fun directing the show.  The drama students voted it Best Play -- so that was an ego boost.  And something else happened with it.  Around 1988 when I was working at the Grand Cinemas, a smart, sexy manager named Cheri wanted to do a comedy for her college class.  I suggested Banana Nut Split, she directed the play, and I got to watch adult actors perform the work.

Now here's where I turn into Paul Harvey:

That sexy smart manager named Cheri, the woman who directed my first-ever play, married me in 1995 -- and we've been living happily ever after ever since.

A few years ago, I found an old copy of the play.  I dusted it off -- updated some of the jokes -- tightened things up... and then sent it to Big Dog Plays.  And now, Banana Nut Split is a published one act play.

You can read this article about a senior getting to direct her first theater one-act... and she chose Banana Nut Split.  (I hope she didn't regret her choice!)




<h3><a href="http://www.wadebradford.com/plays.html">Learn more about Wade's plays.</a></h3>
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About Wade

Wade Bradford grew up in rainy Washington state.  In 1991, at the age of 19, he moved down to California.  Ever since then he has been complaining about how he “misses the seasons.” He has a beautiful wife and two adorable children.  He also has a dog, a fish, a cat and a bird. (2013 Update: The goldfish finally died.  So did the dog, the cat, and the bird.... But we have two new dogs he adopted!)

 

Okay, I'll stop talking about myself in third person.

 

I have loved writing since I was a little kid.  My specialties are: plays, young adult novels, middle-grade fiction, and picture books.

 

My first picture book, "Why Do I Have To Make My Bed?" was published by Random House / Tricycle Press. 

 

In 2000, my first play was published by Eldridge Plays.  Since that time, the following plays have been published by Eldridge, Heuer, and Big Dog Plays.  <a href="http://www.wadebradford.com/plays.html">You can find a complete list of the plays here.</a>

 

Here's some of my ongoing internet projects:

 

WadeBradford.com -- The Official Gateway to Wade World

 

Plays / Drama for About.com -- Your guide on all things theater, since 2007!

 

Strange and Funny Thoughts on Tumblr

 

Wade's Twitter Account

 

Wade Bradford's Facebook Page

 

Wade's Google+ Page -- Ugh, isn't that enough social media???