Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of On the Road (see earlier post), the local jazz station is playing music in tribute to the Beats, bringing back tons of memories. Listening on my way to the post office to mail DVDs, I had to grab a Pepsi and cruise a spell, getting in the groove. Nostalgia, of course, but maybe something more than this as well. A highlight of my essay about Portland's 1978 theater season was getting Bob Hicks, the senior critic at the paper, who has been observing the theater scene here for 30 years, to go on record that, yes, this era was special in our regional theatrical history. We old farts aren't just sailing down memory lane -- we were actively a part of something very special here.
So with the Beats. A very special era -- the jazz/poetry collaborations so common, the coffee houses, the new voices in literature.
The jazz tribute is hosted by a regular DJ at the station, who sounds just like another regular, both of whom sound just like my friend Jeff, a DJ now in San Jose, whom I met 30+ years ago on Maryland's Eastern Shore, who directed me as Peter in Albee's Zoo Story, at Pemberton Free Theater, a company I founded to do outdoor summer plays for free. Jeff's a good man, now working on a one-man show for himself.
This morning I got some good writing done on "Like Mother, Like Daughter," an adaptation of my play Waitresses that I hope to shoot in October. I have it pre-cast if everyone accepts their roles. I'm less than 5 pages from the end, I think, so maybe I can finish the draft this week and distribute it next. I think I have my three locations as well.
I want to write something that takes place in the rain and shoot it in the winter. I like the ambiance of rain.
I'm also still thinking of a feature for next summer. I have an adaptation in mind, something in the public domain.
I need to spend some time on the piano this afternoon. Important! We have a harder-than-usual piece to learn this week.
No comments:
Post a Comment