The Write Minds

Write Club Rides Again!

2009-05-21T16:00:00.002-04:00

Hello, friends!

Some of you may have noticed (I know you have, 'cause a bunch of you e-mailed me) that we've been off of teh intarwebs for some time now. Well, fear not. Write Club NYC has officially rejoined the 21st century. Huzzah!

I could take this opportunity to expound on all of the wonderful things that have been going on over the past year, but here at Write Club, we prefer to look ahead. So in that spirit, I'd like to pimp our next big offering. This August, we will be presenting two (you heard it - two) new shows at the fabulous 59E59 Theaters in Manhattan: Walter vs. the Water Authority by Ben Scott and On the Eighth Day ... by Geoffrey Scheer (aka - me).

Ben has been developing Walter for a couple of years now, and I've been priveleged enough to watch this play grow from a simple kitchen sink drama into something that I believe speaks to our current national mood. I can't wait to see what happens when this play finally gets the chance to come to life on the stage before a real audience. Will people be moved? Angered? Entertained? I'm kinda hoping for all of the above.

On the Eighth Day ... started as a ten-minute play that just didn't "click" for me. At first I thought the central idea didn't work, but I soon realized that this was not the case. The idea was sound, but I had more to say on the subject than I could express in ten minutes. So I decided to rewrite it as a full-length piece, which for me meant wrestling with all of the ideas I wanted to explore for several months, and then sitting down to bang out the first draft in a few days. It's a fairly agonizing way of working, but what can I say? You don't decide to go into the arts without a certain streak of masochism within you.

Anyway, it's great to be back online. We hope you'll stop by our site often (especially this here blog, which we're going to be updating much more frequently) and that you'll all come out this summer to lend us some support and see some great theater.

Cheers!

Write Club Dissects Itself (Part V)

2007-09-08T13:21:00.000-04:00

Hello, friends!

We've been taking a little nap since offering up our first full-length production (a rousing success, in case you hadn't heard), but we're coming back with a vengeance. This month will mark the return of our 5x5 scene night, and our next full show should bow sometime this winter.

In the meantime, let's hear from the author of last April's Growing Pretty.

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Carey Crim
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Where are you from?
I was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Then, we moved to Philadelphia when I was five, Evanston, Illinois when I was six and Grosse Pointe, Michigan at age seven. So, mostly Michigan, though, I have some really wonderful memories of Pennsylvania and Evanston as well.

How do you think your upbringing shaped you artistically?
My mom passed away when I was in high school. I’ve never written about that, specifically, but realized, recently, that I’ve explored themes of emotionally absent mothers twice now. But I think I’m finished with that motif…for now. My life has always included a great deal of story telling and made up worlds. It’s just that now, I’m lucky enough to have really talented actors bring my imaginary friends to life.

Did you study theater/writing? Where?
I graduated from Northwestern University where I majored in Theater and Performance Studies. I also did a summer program at The Royal Court Theater in London and have studied here in New York as well.

What are you working on right now?
I’m almost done with my second play, Wake. I’m also messing around with some ideas for a third.

What playwrights inspire you?
These aren’t all playwrights but: Miller, Chekov, Lanford Wilson, Tom Stoppard, Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, Neil LaBute, Pinter, Caryl Churchill, David Lindsay-Abaire, Sarah Ruel, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Richard Greenberg, Mary Zimmerman, Jane Austen, Alan Ball, Joss Whedon, George Lucas, J K Rowling, Greek mythology, Shakespeare…

If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one play, one magazine, and received one newspaper what would they be?
I really can’t answer this one. I haven’t a clue. I mean, I wouldn’t want to bring a favorite book because I’d probably hate the book after years and years of reading only that so…no idea. Maybe a blank notebook so I could document my slow decent into insanity that no one would ever read? As long as I had Wilson…But the paper would be USA Today. That’s probably all my mushy brain would be able to digest after years of baking in the sun and the seaweed diet. I’m over-thinking this one, aren’t I? What did Henry finally say in The Real Thing for Desert Island Discs? I’ll go with his answer.

Who are your favorite directors?
Joe Mantello, Mary Zimmerman, Mike Nichols, Mike Leigh, Leigh Silverman, Stephen Daldry, Guy Sanville, Scot Reese.

What is the best play you have ever seen?
Street of Crocodiles in London and Angels in America (Both parts in one day). And Arabian Nights directed by Mary Zimmerman. Incredible. I was in my early twenties when I saw these productions and had no idea that theater could be like that, do that, move me like that. It changed everything for me. I’ve probably seen plays that were that good since then, but those are the ones I’ll never forget. Then, years later, I saw a production of The Tempest in a tiny little hole in the wall theater in Detroit with a woman named Gilian Eaton in the role of Prospero. I understood that play in a way I never had before.

How do you see American and International theater changing and growing in the 21st Century?
What I love most about theater is the part that doesn’t change. It can be a gorgeous million dollar, multi-media production, but really, all you need is a person, perhaps a chair, a stage and a story to tell.

Write Club Dissects Itself (Part IV)

2007-03-26T12:12:00.000-04:00

In this installment, we'll hear from the founding father of Write Club NYC, Ben Scott.

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Benjamin T. Scott
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Where are you from?
I grew up in a small town in rural Pennsylvania called Bellwood.

How do you think your upbringing shaped you artistically?
My role models growing up were coal miners and factory workers. As I got older the local economy took a downturn and a lot of these hard working men and women lost their jobs.
As a result I often find myself drawn to stories about people who are trying to reconcile the American dream with harsh reality.

Did you study theater/writing? Where?
I was an English major at Penn State University and I later studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

What are you working on right now?
I’m trying to finish a full length play entitled Walter Vs. The Water Authority.

What playwrights inspire you?
That could be a very long list. But I would say the big three are Albee, Odets, & Bogosian. I draw a lot of inspiration from popular music as well. The lyrics of Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, and Johnny Cash have all helped shape me as a writer.

If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one play, one magazine, and received one newspaper what would they be?
Well, Boat Building for Dummies would definitely be the book.

Who are your favorite directors?
There are a lot of great directors working right now. I enjoy Joe Mantello’s work. Jo Bonney is terrific. Moises Kaufman always impresses. I could go on and on.

What is the best play you have ever seen?
It was a production of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I didn’t know it at the time, but the woman who will soon be my wife was playing one of the leads. It was the first time I saw her work.

How do you see American and International theater changing and growing in the 21st Century?
Hopefully for the better. With the tools and technology at our disposal today there’s no reason theater artists can’t find a way to reach previously untapped audiences.

Write Club Dissects Itself (Part III)

2007-03-03T15:10:00.000-05:00

Here is an interview with the resident actor of our group, the lovely Carrie Yaeger.

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Carrie Yaeger
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Where are you from?
The suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio

How do you think your upbringing shaped you artistically?
I think growing up as an only child, and being raised by a single mom definitely contributed to my need for expression. Also, my mom started exposing me to dance, theater, and music at a very early age. ...both as an audience member, and as a student. It was what we did...and still do together.

Did you study theater/writing? Where?
I studied theater at John Carroll University. Acting: The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, The Actors Center, and Steppenwolf.

What are you working on right now?
I am excited to begin work on "In for the Duration" by fellow Write Club NYC member, Carey Crim.

What playwrights inspire you?
Shakespere, Greenberg, Chekhov, Pinter, Silver, and Forness to name a few.

If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one play, one magazine, and received one newspaper what would they be?
Book..."How to survive being stranded on a desert island", Play.."Twelfth Night", Mag..."Traveler", Newspaper..."Sunday New York Times"...(it's big...good for fires)

Who are your favorite directors?
Joe Mantello, Tina Landau, James Lapine, Jeff Perry

What is the best play you have ever seen?
Take Me Out is definitely up there.

How do you see American and International theater changing and growing in the 21st Century?
I don't know how I see it changing...but I HOPE it allows more and more new artists into a bigger, riskier world than it is now...

Write Club Dissects Itself (Part II)

2007-01-03T19:22:00.000-05:00

Part II of our series is an interview with Mr. Peter Macklin. Enjoy!

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Peter Macklin
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Where are you from?
Brooklyn, N.Y.

How do you think your upbringing shaped you artistically?
Growing up in New York City provided me with fantastic outlets to really concentrate on my passions from an early age. I also grew up in an artistic family whose love supported me in my artistic and personal endeavors.

Did you study theater/writing? Where?
I went to Performing Arts H.S., Carnegie Mellon University and Hunter College (where I studied playwriting with Tina Howe) for my BA, and The Alabama Shakespeare Festival for my MFA in Acting.

What are you working on right now?
I recently finished my new play, A Different Time, and am starting to write my next play. And as an actor the next thing up is the screening of a film I did called Horizon.

What playwrights inspire you?
Without a doubt Shakespeare, I adore Arthur Miller, Tony Kushner, John Leguizamo, Martin McDonagh and Carey Crim. There are many more.

If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one play, one magazine, and received one newspaper what would they be?
Ok, I'm going to cheat here, so sue me. The one book would be The Complete Works of Shakespeare. In the play category (because the first was a book!) I'll take Death of a Salesman. For newspaper and magazine I'll take The New York Times and the obvious choice would be American Theatre but I don't want to be THAT much of a theatre nerd so I'll take O ;-)

Who are your favorite directors?
Joe Mantello, Trevor Nunn, John Crowley, Leigh Silverman, Kent Thompson, Jane Page,etc.

What is the best play have ever seen?
Not About Nightingales at Circle in the Square in 1999.

How do you see American and International theater changing and growing in the 21st Century?
Well, with growing technologies and humanity getting more and more distant from themselves and each other my hope is that theater can bring people back to themselves and to realize the value of the other instead of demonizing anything different. What I see happening, at least in this early part of the 21st century, is that we as people tend to think we are very advanced but, I think in actuality, we are stuck in a cyclical pattern of moving ahead and then taking steps back. What I want theatre to do is to help us move on past the steps taken back due to fear and march on with open hearts into the future--because theater is, at its essence, a celebration of humanity.

Write Club Dissects Itself (Part I)

2006-12-13T16:13:00.000-05:00

In keeping with the spirit of using this blog as a way for y'all to get to know us on a more personal level, founding member Jeffrey James Keyes has devised a little questionnaire for us company members. So to kick it off, why not hear from Jeffrey himself?

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Jeffrey James Keyes
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Where are you from?
I'm from Bay View, which is a southern neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

How do you think your upbringing shaped you artistically?
Milwaukee is an extremely industrial town with a really interesting artistic community. My family is very artistic and supportive, but faced many hardships so I found a refuge in expressing myself creatively. I also had the fortune of really being surrounded by nature and wildlife as a child. We spent a lot of time camping and exploring forests and bodies of water. This really gave me a foundation to work from.

Did you study theater/writing? Where?
I studied theater at Fordham University College at the Lincoln Center under the guidance of the late Lawrence Sacharow. Larry took me to Italy with his Orvieto Institute and I started working with autobiographical theater as well as studying physical action and poor theater under Thomas Richards at the Work Center of Jerzy Grotowski. Since graduating I have studied at the Ensemble Studio Theater, the LAByrinth Theater, with Wynn Handeman at Carnegie Hall, and at Cherry Lane.

What are you working on right now?
I'm writing a new play called "Helen" and starting to compile research for a new piece on early 20th Century Balkan immigration focusing on Croatia, Yugoslavia, and Montenegro. I'm also writing a book and a compilation of short stories.

What playwrights inspire you?
Many. Jose Rivera, Moises Kaufman, Sarah Ruhl, Arthur Miller, Beckett, Euripides, Tony Kushner, Charles Mee, Jr., and Tennessee Williams are some of my favorites.

If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one play, one magazine, and received one newspaper, what would they be?
The Great Gatsby, The Odyssey, Time Magazine, and the Daily News in that order.

Who are your favorite directors?
Anne Bogart, Peter and Edward Hall, Ivo von Hove, Daniel Fish, Will Pomerantz, Moises Kaufman, and Jo Bonney

What is the best play you have ever seen?
I saw Tantalus in Nottingham in 2001 and loved it. There was a British Fringe production of the Red Shoes some years ago that I was really moved by. I loved the Fifty of July at the Signature a few years ago, and was blown away by the Laramie Project.

How do you see American and International theater changing and growing in the 21st Century?

I see it changing and modifying to people's attention spans, shifting to be more cinematic. I hope to see more reinvented and deconstructed productions of classical and traditional plays that change and expand the way we think. I see daring artists like Anne Bogart, Ivo von Hove, and Moises Kaufman paving the way for a highly collaborative and dynamic period of theater.

Party!!!!!

2006-11-19T15:29:00.000-05:00

Here's a big THANK YOU to everyone who came out to our first benefit this past week. It was a big success and we were able to raise a nice amount of money which we will put towards our first production. Special thanks to Peter Castellotti and everyone at John's Pizzeria for allowing us to have the benefit at their Times Square location. We all had a lot of fun and hope you did as well!

See you at the next 5x5 reading at MTC Studios!

Much love,

Ben, Geoff, Peter, Carrie, Carey, and Jeffrey James

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Holla back, y'all!

2006-10-18T11:12:00.000-04:00

A big thank you to all of the actors and playwrights who came out to our open gym last night. Good writing, good reading, good feedback.

In short, good times!

Looking forward to hearing some more great work the next time around.

Cheers!

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But Are They REALLY Writers?

2006-10-09T14:08:00.000-04:00

In her memoir The Writing Life, the novelist Annie Dillard (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Pilgrim at Tinker Creek) recounts a conversation she once had with a painter of her acquaintance. At one point, she asked this man a very simple question - how did he come to be a painter? The answer she got was even simpler.

"I liked the smell of paint," he replied.

The answer is instructive. Ms. Dillard asserts that if one wishes to devote their life to a certain endeavor (especially an artistic endeavor), they must love it on more than just an intellectual level. It must be elemental. So while her painter friend surely found deeper things to explore as he developed his craft, it was that most basic sense of smell that served as the launching pad and foundation of his artistic pursuits.

Ms. Dillard goes on to extend the analogy to writing. She advises that if you want to be a writer, you need to have more than just a desire to express your thoughts or tell stories - you have to truly love words. I was thinking about this the other day while working on a play of mine, and it led me to a thorny question. If a playwright's first love is for (and loyalty is to) the theatre, does he need to have the same love of words and devotion to the craft of writing as the novelist? Or, put another way, are playwrights really writers?

Being a playwright myself, my knee-jerk reaction is to say, "Well, of course we're really writers! We're every bit the wordsmiths that novelists are!" But the questions bear investigating.

Clearly, a novelist (or journalist, or poet, or essayist) has to have a firm grasp of the fundamentals of writing - grammar, syntax, punctuation, etc. It would be difficult to take a New York Times op-ed piece seriously if it flouted the basic principles of sentence structure. (Granted, there are a number of safeguards in place such as proofreaders, copywriters and the like to ensure the work gets published with as few errors as possible, but you have to assume that no editor is going to buy a piece that is simply riddled with grammatical problems.) But people don't speak the way that they write, and playwrights are always trying to stay true to the rhythms and language of every day speech. Even when writing in a heightened or stylized language - such as iambic pentameter - the starting point is still a person's natural speaking pattern.

So if I come on to the theatre scene and I say that I am writing plays about poorly educated, working class people with limited vocabularies, can I get away with having writing skills that are no better than the characters who inhabit my stories? After all, who would know better than me how to make these people sound authentic?

I don't know how to come up with a definitive answer to that question, but my impression is ... well, yeah. You could get away with it, for a while. But what about the next play, and the play after that? Even if you continued to write for this same class of people, language is so full of subtlety and nuance that a gifted and dedicated writer could always find something new to explore (and thereby continually enthrall his audience). But the writer who's just "getting away with it"? I'd like to think - or is it hope? - that the cracks would eventually begin to show and expose him for the Johnny-one-note hack he is.

Take another look at painting. (Works great as an analogy, doesn't it? I guess it's because it's so, well, visual.) Picasso spent the last part of his career trying to get back to a childlike state of making art. If you were to take a cursory glance at his later work, you might say to yourself, "Oh, those are just a bunch of stick figures. Anybody can do that!" But when you take a closer look, you see the subtle mix of colors, the spatial relations, the depth of thought that went into the work that produce a feeling in the observer that no child's drawing hanging on the refrigerator could (unless, of course, you are the proud parent of said child). This was possible (as was cubism, as was the "Blue Period") only because Picasso had mastered the mechanics of painting, and mastered them at an early age. In other words, you can't go off the beaten path without a good set of walking legs.

To me, the biggest difference between playwriting and other forms of writing (yes, even blogging) is that there are actually more rules that need to be followed, not fewer. While working on a new piece, we have to keep in mind that we are not only writing for a mass audience, but for actors, directors and designers who are going to bring that work to the audience. We have to have a grasp of dramatic structure. We have to have a flair for rhythm. We have to paint as many pictures with words as the novelist, but do it in such a way that the actor has something to actively do while they're onstage (or else it becomes performance art). A playwright who is ignorant of these rules or takes a lazy approach to his writing shows great disrespect to all of those people who must work together to bring the play to life, not to mention the poor audience that must sit through what will undoubtedly be a deadly night of theatre.

I think that to be a playwright, you have to love words and theatre. What's more, you have to master the fundamentals of both. It's not an either or proposition. Good drama is hard, and it's hard earned. But history has surely shown that it can be done.

Who says you can't serve two masters?

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Why You Should Never EVER Let Your Kids Go Into Theatre

2006-09-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year, I had the honor of being published - for the very first time, mind you - by Samuel French in an anthology titled Off-Off Broadway Festival Plays, Thirtieth Series (it's an honor I share, by the way, with fellow Write Clubber Peter Macklin, who appears in their 28th Series). I consider it a major stepping stone and a direct factor in my helping to form Write Club NYC. In fact, I was so proud of this achievement that it took me a good four months before I was able to respond to any congratulatory remarks with my usual self depracation. Even now, seeing the name Geoffrey Scheer in the by-line is enough to make me rub my eyes, squint a little bit and ask myself, "Is that really me?" But it is. I did it. And I'm proud.

And just as broke as ever.

If you think theatre actors get paid diddly, allow me to introduce you to the world of the published playwright. In terms of royalties for the sale of the manuscript, the contract stipulates that it shall pay an "authors' royalty of ten percent (10%) of the catalogue (retail) price". Doesn't sound too bad, right? That's until you take into account that "authors' royalty" (note the plural possesive) refers to all six of the playwrights whose work appears in this book. This means that each individual author receives one-sixth of ten percent of each sale. At $8.95 a copy, this breaks down to roughly 15 cents per manuscript sold. Needless to say, I won't be quitting my survival job any time soon (see previous entry).

"But, Geoff," you say. "This is Samuel French. They're a major publisher of plays. Surely this anthology will sell many, many copies which, when added together, will make you some money." Hmm. Yeah, about that ... At this point, I've spotted the book in only one store, the Drama Book Shop in Manhattan. A couple of weeks ago, two co-workers of mine (wuddup, Spirit peeps?!) tried to purchase it there, but it was sold out. Again, sounds like a good thing, until you realize that they only stocked a handful of copies to begin with. Assuming it sold ten copies there (and I'm being generous - it was probably half that), it still wouldn't be enough money for me to hop on the subway so I could go down there and demand that they re-stock me.

All of which is to state the blatantly obvious - there is no money in theatre. Anyone looking to go into this who has even a hint of materialism in their nature, I beg you to please, please, please find something else to do with your life. Through this door lies nothing but sadness.

As for the rest of us ... well, of course it's not about money, is it? Like I said, getting published is a stepping stone. It's a little something to put in a cover letter that says, "Look! Samuel French thought my work was worthy of their stamp. You should check me out, too!"

And actually, I've already noticed a difference: my rejection letters are now personalized!

(By the way, if anyone is interested in putting that big 15 cents into the pockets of either Peter or myself, there's a link to Samuel French on the main website. Because we're all about the pimpage.)

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Odd Jobs

2006-08-28T11:48:00.000-04:00

I sing at a church. I do this for money. It's a job I've had for two years now, making it - sadly - the most consistent job I've had since graduating college in '98 (this is Geoff again, by the way). During the course of an average week, I attend no fewer than four Catholic masses. In "high volume" times (holiday seasons, a spike in funerals), I've been known to sing at up to ten.

While I was sitting through my third sermon on the day's scripture readings - which dealt, incidentally, with how a wife must be subordinate to her husband - my mind started to drift toward memories of other jobs I've held. The list is as long as it is bizarre.

In no particular order, these jobs have included:

Delivering pizzas
Delivering newspapers
Cleaning carpets
Drug store clerk
Liquor store clerk
Record store clerk
Luggage store clerk
Delivering student mail
Office assistant
Box office assistant
Toy demonstrator (I swear I'm not making that up)
Fitness center staff
Store greeter
Restaurant host
Waiter
Bartender
Caterer
Concessoinaire
Telemarketer
Ice cream truck driver
Door-to-door knife salesman

Okay, that last one is sort of a half-truth. I was trained as a door-to-door knife salesman. Luckily, better judgement took over before I actually went out and brandished a bunch of sharp knives in front of total strangers.

This, friends, is part of the glory of chasing a career in the arts - the survival job. That thing we do to pay rent while pursuing work in the theatre (sometimes, depending on the gig, it's that thing we do while also working in the theatre). These tend to be jobs that any brain dead monkey could do, but that allow us the flexibility to go out on auditions, take classes and - should we be lucky enough - accept theatre jobs that may take us out of the city for weeks or months at a time. I don't know of a single actor/writer/etc. who doesn't feel that this work is inherently beneath them, but it's a part of the life we've chosen. So we suck it up, strap on our aprons/nametags/hairnets, and go on.

Hi-diddle-dee-dee. An actor's life for me.

And yet, there is an upside. An artist has nothing to draw on save their own experience. If that experience were limited to merely hanging out with other artists, they would find themselves with limited material. So, while plodding away at menial jobs can be frustrating and depressing, the artist does have the opportunity - nay, the responsibility - to open their eyes and ears to the world around them in these times of soul-crushing, ego-shattering "employment".

Now, this is not to glamorize working in the ranks of the unskilled labor force. And for the record, I would like it known that I have absolutely despised every survival job that I have ever been forced to work. But it is to say that opportunities surround us at every stage of our lives, whether we're immediately aware of them or not. We are then presented with a choice - take advantage of the down time, or let it sink us.

As I reflected over that long list of very odd jobs, I can't say that the passage of time has made me nostalgic for "the good old days". I currently make my living in what I like to call "theatre-related" jobs, which means that, while I'm not currently in an actual show, I do work jobs that require me to utilize the skills and training I have as an actor and singer. And that's fine with me for the moment. However, the time may come (and that right soon!) when I'll once again have to suck it up and add a new entry to my ever expanding list of things I've done for a buck.

But here's the kicker.

None of those jobs - either individually or taken as a whole - are nearly as bizarre as the job that all of us in the performing arts are striving for: to don a funny costume, step out in front of a large group of strangers and - against all common sense - bare our souls to them.

Anyone who says artists aren't crazy is kidding themselves.

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Greetings, friends!

2006-08-18T10:58:00.000-04:00

Howdy. Geoff here. Welcome to "The Write Minds" - the official blog of Write Club NYC. Whereas the main pages of our website will serve to - as the kids say - "pimp" our theatre company, this page will be a chance for us to voice our opinions on a wide variety of topics. Of course, us being theatre folk, you can imagine that most of our rantings will have to do with the current state of our chosen profession. Yet we reserve the right to spout off about pretty much anything whenever the mood strikes us.

To kick this party off, I'll begin with a confession: I never wanted to start a theatre company in New York. I moved here from college (Boston Conservatory rules!!) in 1998 with the hopes of building a career as an actor. The whole, "Hey, guys! Let's start a theatre company and do it for ourselves!" thing struck me as a bit naive and - dare I say it - desperate. There's a system already in place. Instead of trying to buck that system, why not concentrate on becoming a part of it and moving up the ladder?

Eight years later, I have the answer to that question. (No, I'm not going to go off on a rant about how biased the system is or how much it sucks or some other bitter thread like that. I got my bitterness out of the way in my twenties.) The truth of the matter is (and this is far more terrifying), there is no system. No system, no logic and certainly no ladder upon which to climb. I've known people who shot to success very quickly with work on Broadway and in television who, after their brief run was over, couldn't get cast as an extra on a reality show. I've known enormously talented people who have spent years on the fringes of success doing work as understudies, bit players on T.V. and in smaller theatre venues who should by all rights be reaping the benefits of that work, only to find that they are still, inexplicably, "paying their dues". I myself have been involved in a couple of high profile projects that I hoped would launch me to the next level, only to see all my hard work and high hopes go up in smoke.

But I don't blame the system. There is no system.

So, while the launching of a company may seem somewhat Quixotic, it also makes a certain amount of sense. If there's no real order to the chaos, why not try to create a little order for ourselves? And with no actual system in place, then there's really nothing to stop us from forming our own company, is there? And even if the venture fails (as most ventures of this nature do), we can still look back one day and say, "Yeah. We made that."

So here's to the start of ... something (I'm raising my mug of coffee right now). On behalf of my fellow Write Club members, I hereby welcome you all to the party.

Cheers!

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