No, my voice isn’t completely gone, but I have been struggling with what is called an “Abortive Attack” of Periodic Paralysis and it has affected my breathing and my singing. Anyway, I’m starting to get my voice back. For a long while, I couldn’t even hold up my end of a conversation.

For those of you who don’t sing well, let me just say, give it time. Your voice will get stronger. Mine has been bad before, and I’m pretty sure it will bounce back this time too. My plan is to gently, very gently, sing a bit more whenever the mood hits me. No rush. I’m not a professional singer. I don’t have a show coming up. All I need to do is give myself time and not get discouraged. I think if I just keep after it a little at a time, my voice will get stronger, the notes truer and the tone clearer.

Remember, when you sing, make it a point to always have a howling good time.

You show your hero doing something nice right off the bat.

Here is a poem from my upcoming kids cartoon poetry book that explains what I’m driving at.

Sympathetic Characters

by Rodney Robbins

Save a kitten from a fate worse than death.
Give directions to a lost boy named Seth.
Rob a bank without firing a shot–
give the money to those who have not.

Help a blind man cross the street.
Help a bass player find her beat.
Be kind to your mother on the day that’s all hers.
Give an old lady back her purse.

Make life harder for someone who’s mean.
Buy a big lunch for the orphan’s of Breen.
Stub your toe without making a fuss.
Take your trash with you when you exit the bus.

It’s the little things we remember most,
when reading a story and eating toast.
What makes a hero from an ordinary man?
He has time for the little things and a grandiose plan.

Today, I decided to write. It worked fine. Better than fine. For a half hour at least, I felt okay. I knew the scene I wanted to write. All I had to do to be “successful” was type one page from my scene. I ended up editing a few pages, then typing two more and finishing the scene. Granted, it’s still a crappy day, but so far, my writing has been the high point.

What do you do when you feel like flattened elephant vomit? Do you go ahead and do your pages, or do you give it a rest and come back fresh tomorrow? I’ll give ten Bonus Points for the best answer.

In my new Katie-Lynne Vaughn mystery, my original opening was a home auction that takes place just before Katie takes off to lead a class at a physic retreat. I was trying to create drama, but writing about an auction was tough, and what beginner mistake did I make next? I had a stranger come in at the end and offer Katie a small fortune for her home. Great for her. Terrible for my story. Why? Trouble, and how we face it, reveals character. Standing around an auction, hoping it goes well doesn’t reveal a whole lot about a person. Sure, I can put in a lot of internal dialog, but there is no external force driving my character. What to do? Wander around the story.

In this case, I tried wandering around in the same time and spotted Katie’s grand daughter having a fight with her mom, and the killer heading out on a secret mission. Good. Good. But my Main character was in the middle of snooze fest. So I decided to wander around a little in time. I discovered my main character’s car had recently broken down, on her way back from buying food for her Going Away Party. Poor Katie was in tears at the side of the road: worried about the food, worried about the upcoming home auction, worried about saying goodbye to all her friends, struggling to get a signal on her cell phone, talking to strange men who might offer to help. It was a nightmare for her, and revealed a lot about how our heroine faces terrible pressure. Now THAT’s an interesting opening that makes you demand to know more!

What did I do? Some would say I took Artistic License and made some changes in the story. I like to use the term Jerry Cleaver uses, I took Sadistic License. I looked for Katie at her worst, and wrote about that. If Katie was a real person, that would be harsh and unfair, but she’s not a real person. She’s a made up character, and pushing her buttons pushes the audience’s buttons, and that’s what they’re paying me to do. Something bad happens to Katie-Lynne, she handles it, and the audience wonders how They might have handled it. “Oh, yes, Katie did good there. That’s exactly what I would have done.”

So, if your story is stuck, or if it just sucks, take the time to wander around in your story world–geographically and in time–and look for something that really pushes your character. If you write That scene, you’ll write faster and better, and it will happen almost automatically.

Try it yourself, and use the comment function to tell if getting lost in your story worked for you.

1. Does it have at least two women with names?
2. Do they talk to each other?
3. Do they talk about something besides a man?

Lots and LOTS of scripts fail this test. I’m happy to say that “Big Feet, Big Love,” my sexy, musical romp about a reluctant porn star PASSES the test. One of the very first scenes has the female lead, Nevada Jones, talking to one of her pole dancers, Jade, about a new routine. Then Nevada talks to her good friend, Nidia, about her hopes and dreams for a new dance-school/tourist-trap.

On the other hand, my dramedy “House of Many Rooms” fails, or passes, the test depending on the casting. I have plenty of named female characters, but Corinthia, Cookie and Jill barely acknowledge each other. Their lack of communication is the central problem ruining the life of our hero, Jeffery, who struggles with Dissociative Identity Disorder. However, if you cast a female therapist (specifically allowed with this play), the female characters do talk about a young girl who remains unnamed until the last few seconds of the play when Corinthia reveals how to learn the name of the murdered child. It’s all very sad and funny and terrible and uplifting, but I’m not sure it passes the Bechdel Test. So, I guess I’m batting 500. How are you doing with the plays you write or produce?

Here is a funny breakdown on the test from the folks at FeministFrequency.

I don’t completely believe the old adage that “if it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage.” I don’t believe it because I’ve seen actors take my lines and get so much more out of them than even I dared to imagine. At the same time, there are certain gestures, movements and actions that I include in the script because they MUST be on the stage.

• I NEED Jeffery to struggle with putting cream or no cream in his coffee because I’m about to give him a line about how much trouble it is being aware of his alternate personalities.
• I NEED my reluctant porn star Richard Bigalow (Dick Big) to stumble while dancing with Nevada Jones (his love interest) because he sees the show producer and is about to ask for more rehearsal time.

The goal is to make the audience identify with the characters. So, the audience needs to be able to look in on and experience the thoughts and emotions of the characters. Sometimes that means addressing the audience directly, and sometimes it means actors taking those few MUST have moments and using that knowledge to light up their entire performance. Then, then the audience gets it and that’s the best feeling ever.

The good news is that I’ve found a new migraine doctor–a neurologist who specializes in migraine headache patients. I saw her about a month ago, and she talked with me for about an hour. How often does THAT happen? Anyway, she put me on two new migraine preventive drugs, plus two new rescue meds. This combination has done nothing to reduce the frequency of the migraines–it’s still 2-3 per week–but the symptoms are waaaaay less severe. Finally, I’m able to finish editing “House of Many Rooms,” and start getting the website ready to do some radio publicity. Writing plays doesn’t cause migraines, but having my life back sure makes writing plays easier!

For now, remember what Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, said, “Alas, poor Yorick. He made us laugh, but his migraines did him in.”

New Play Strong Points

Thanks to some wonderful cold readings by Charlotte’s talented actors, the overwhelming comment from this sophisticated group was that they were “Entranced!” Other positive comments included:

• Fun script
• Skillful and cleaver dialog
• Good clues and foreshadowing
• Nice “family” relationships between characters
• Sympathetic POV character (Dr. Branson)

“House of Many Rooms” Areas to Improve

Of course, the whole point of “workshopping” a play is to find and correct weak areas. The audience had the same primary concern I had–the character introductions dragged a little in Act I, especially the monologues by Cookie, the motherly personality. This was a valid point, and one I was concerned about myself. Of course, I didn’t spot that Cookie was the worst offender so thanks for that everyone! Having only read Act I, the audience also wondered how, even IF, I would be able to tie it all together in Act II. Since I wrote the whole thing, I know the story will come together beautifully in the second half.

Genre

I also specifically asked the group what genre they would put this story in. My thought was that “House of Many Rooms” was a psychological drama or a mystery with some funny bits. However, the actors took my material and got a lot more laughs from it than I imagined. Everyone else said it was a definitely a dramedy. Okay. I’d rather promote a dramedy than a tragedy any day.

Future Productions

So, what’s next for “House of Many Rooms”? A few easy corrections and a hopefully a full, concert style reading at a local college or a full production at a local playhouse. For more information, go to: MyNewPlay.com. You can also contact Rodney Robbins via e-mail.

It ain’t about you or me. It’s about THEM.

Ouch!

I’m a playwright who lives with three chronic illnesses. Wah-wah-wah! Nobody cares. I know three keys to holding down a full time job while living with three chronic illnesses. These secrets can help anyone who is crunched for time or energy. Interesting.

I write plays and ride a motorcycle. Big freakin’ woop! I’ve crashed so many times that I finally learned the secrets that every parent must teach their new driver. Interesting.

What? You say–these topic aren’t anything to do with my new play! No, they are useful topics that benefit the audience, while informing them that Rodney Robbins is a new playwright with something to say.

Try it yourself. What do you do every day, that is super easy for you, but that would be really useful for a wide range of people? Organizing? Managing people? Getting meals made in a snap? Think of serving the audience first, and promoting yourself second, and I believe you’ll get the media coverage you need.