Author, Theatre Artist, and Educator
It’s time to talk about the very real power of your potential. In science, potential energy is the stored, untapped energy that a body has by virtue of its stressors, structure, or position in relation to its environment. It’s energy that hasn’t yet been put to use, but that potential is formidable...and measurable. Think of... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago, I visited one of my Philadelphia Young Playwrights classrooms as a guest teaching artist. The students finished writing scene one of their plays, and it was time for them to outline their full story arcs. It was a perfect moment to introduce timeline as a way to challenge them to think... Continue Reading →
As I mentioned in my last post, I had the absolute pleasure and honor of directing a play by an amazing young playwright for the How I Learned to Write Festival, a program created by Philadelphia Young Playwrights. During the weeklong process, I can only hope this talented young writer learned as much from me... Continue Reading →
During my days as Artistic Director of a theatre company focused on new work and emerging artists, we used to host an annual Lock-In: five teams comprised of a playwright, director, and two actors each creating, rehearsing and performing a play in 24 hours. Every year, the first challenge given to the teams was a... Continue Reading →
It’s not like I don’t get any writing done at home. After all, I’m sitting here at home as I write this right now! But when I’m home, I’m surrounded by things that all have the potential to pull my focus away. It might be the pets, it might be a dirty kitchen, it might... Continue Reading →
For me, writer’s block is a funny thing. Back before I started teaching, when I got writer’s block I just…well, I just dealt with it, wallowed in it, avoided it by not writing, it depended on my mood. After I started teaching and I watched my students come up against it, however, my attitude toward... Continue Reading →
One of my New Year's Resolutions was to write a form poem a week, using the guidance and challenges that writing a form poem can bring as a way to shake off my 2013 writer's rust and get back in the saddle. It was this charge to myself that lead to my discovery of an... Continue Reading →
In the midst of writing a new scene for the Young Adult novel I'm currently revising, one of the characters unexpectedly popped out with the advice above. The character who says this just so happens to be known in the town as a Wise One, and these words are her attempt to console the protagonist,... Continue Reading →
Mae Early 