the places that scare you

a new musical takes shape

it's been cold here in the northeast US, and likely where you are too. is there anything more boring than a new englander talking about the weather? well, i warned you last month i'm basic, so here's more of the same. instead of (inappropriate) "your momma" jokes, we in new england tell "my house" jokes. as in, "my house is so old it can't get above 60 degrees inside." or, "my house is so old, the mice have created intergenerational wealth." you get the picture. we're not good at jokes. and it's cold. 

i feel super lucky that at this point in my career i have my hands in lots of creative pots. i'm back to playing concerts again. i am producing records, including one by philly-based gutter punks Driftwood Soldier that arrives in June. i'm always teaching, including 2 workshops this spring. but also i am always trying to grow and stretch as a creative person. one of the ways i do that is by trying things that scare me. as in, super duper scare me.

a couple years ago, during tech for the la jolla production of Miss You Like Hell, i had a vivid dream with a strong image that turned into an idea for a musical. tech will do that to you. over the last 2 years, i have been sheltering this little seed idea and helping it get stronger, nurturing it through stops and starts. in the summer, while living in the dunes of the cape cod national seashore, i started writing hard on it. i've continued through the fall and winter, and now... i don't know why i am surprised and in shock, but... there's a draft of a new musical in the world. it's called TERRARIUM BEHAVIOUR. i wrote everything for it - book, music, lyrics - mostly i think to prove to myself that i could and to somehow process the many feelings i had as Miss You Like Hell drew to a close. i want making theater to be a one of the many things i do, so i think i figured i should plant (pun intended) a new flag as soon as possible.

throughout this early part of the process (musicals grow more slowly than plants FYI), i've had wild swings of elation and shame that have been unlike anything i've ever felt in my writing before. i've been obsessed with the musical, i have been repulsed by it, i have put it in a box and hidden it beneath my bed (for real), i have booked it for a public reading. gulp. yup, that's happening in LA this weekend. i both hope you come and hope you don't.

whatever happens, i think this whole cycle has been good for my inner creative terrarium. and it reminds me that as cold and iced over as my outer world is right now, new life is always growing, slowly below the surface. it's inevitable, spring will come!
x erin
 

¡ME GUSTA! : SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

in honor of the super bowl, a podcast about aaron hernandez
the brilliance of black women, braiding seeds into their hair for the Middle Passage
the huge influence of Native musicians on rock and roll
a comforting video on how to make a sealed terrarium
these female mariachi slay "bohemian rhapsody"