Fall is a feminist

It's already November.
The leaves are changing. As much as they do here.
I've got about 3 batches of Drunken Fig Jam made from the tree and persimmons from the neighbor's tree soaking in vermouth. (Supposed to be quite the fall cocktail. We shall see.)

In theater land: I just had the first reading of a new piece called "Heart-Shaped Cloud" or "Cloud-Shaped Heart." Haven't decided yet.
Need to work on it more.
But...it's new and that's exciting. It's been a while.

I took the fall off from teaching and this has proved great for my writing mind. I'll start again in January directing "Legally Blonde the Musical" with middle school students. You have to laugh. I'm actually looking forward to it. I've got a new feminist take on "Bend and Snap" that I'm excited to put into action.

And about that...funny this resurgence in the word (or fear of the word or defense of the word or just the IDEA of the word) feminism. Beyonce, the Harry Potter actress, bell hooks...everyone offering their take. I'm glad it's being discussed. I'm a bit sad it still needs to be discussed. I'm also a bit sad that everyone thought it was so revolutionary that the Harry Potter actress (shoot...what's her name??) specified that feminist does not mean "man hater." And that women's liberation equals everyone's liberation. I sometimes like to forget there are people out there who feel that way. Sigh.

Speaking of inadequate feminist discussions, I saw the production of "Party People" at Berkeley Rep last week. Overall I thought it was an invigorating performance that examined many angles to a complex historical moment. Very late in the play they brought up the issue of feminism and how women affected the party. Some in-your-face choreography ramped up and some great beats and then...stopped and wasn't discussed any more. Um....ok. Kudos to them for including it in the piece, but was it just so hard to figure out how to fully examine/include it? There were a couple moments like that for me in the piece, but overall, like I said, a piece I really appreciated and made me feel something. I wonder what it would be like to see it in a less stuffy venue...?

I've been meeting again with the 6NP playwrights. And we did photo-booth photos for our website. That's mine posted here. Can you guess the theme?

And finally, I'm working on a comic strip with a friend. Don't want to give away too much about the subject matter, but it should be premiering on KQED Pop sometime soon.

Here's to snuggling in and staying warm and creative through the winter months.
And to California getting some RAIN!
Let's all start dancing!