Sacred Space

Quick Visit to LJ

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:33:40 GMT

I know, I don't really visit here much anymore. I'm on the computer less often and I like facebook a bit better, simply because it feels more real-time...

But, for my own rememberance, here are a few words:

I love living in Spokane. I love having family around me--they look out for me, help me, do things for me. Driving is so easy and quick. I LOVE my house and room and yard and porch and my sister's dog. I love the sunlight here and the endless sky and the smell of pine needles.

I have work. I've had some (very yummy) loving touch. My tarot readings and Reiki treatments are gaining popularity. I make very little money and can actually live on it (at least for now).

I miss my Chicago girls, my kitty, and the ubiquitous CTA, but other than that I am...happy! I am happy! Satisfied! Content! Who knows how long it will last, but these feelings have been a looooooong time coming and I am soaking them up!

Thanks God/dess/Universe!

Happy Birthday neva_butterfly!

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:57:22 GMT

A little late, but heartfelt nonetheless. And you can celebrate any day you like!

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:28:24 GMT

I Love You

Oh, you know

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:02:53 GMT

I don't know what to write, I'm so full up. I'm alive and healing and gestating.

Happy Holidays

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 20:25:08 GMT

Happy Christmas, lj friends! And Yule! And Hanukkah! And Kwanza!

interesting

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:25:09 GMT

In 2009, birchfire resolves to...

Take evening classes in prayer.
Find a new inanna.
Give up healing.
Become a better art.
Find a better labyrinth.
Go to the isis every month.

a working definition of Sacred Theatre

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:12:20 GMT

WTA’s 2009 New Play Development Workshop will explore “Sacred Theatre.” What is Sacred Theatre? It’s theatre that you create for yourself with people who support you. It’s theatre that focuses on process, not product It’s theatre that brings you to greater Wholeness, that helps you put yourself together (or back together). It is theatre that is appreciated for what it gives, not what it lacks. It is theatre that tells your story the way you want to tell it.

Theatre peeps, I need some help...

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:04:42 GMT

So I run this organization called the Women's Theatre Alliance of Chicago. It's been around since 1992 and one of it's annual programs is the New Play Development Workshop. The NPDW pairs playwrights with directors and they work on a script and then we give them actors so they can work on the script some more. Then we usually do readings of the plays, or at least excerpts.

I'm facilitating the 2009 workshop and this of course means we won't be doing it the "regular" way. I really want to explore what I call "Sacred Theatre" for myself, but that's not a good term for the general public. I also like "Theatre as Sacrament" but again "sacrament" has too many ways to be misinterpreted. What I am basically talking about is: focusing on the process of theatre for personal growth rather than focusing on the product of theatre for commercial success.

So my first question is: got any ideas for a better label for what I'm trying to do?

And my next question is:
do you mind looking at my application outline and telling me if it makes sense?

New Play Development Workshop Information 2009

WTA’s 2009 New Play Development Workshop will explore “Theatre as Process/Sacrament/Whatever.” Participants will focus on the process of creating theatre for personal growth (as opposed to focusing on the product for a commercial audience). Some changes will be made in the Workshop format in order to accommodate this exploration. Participants will meet in January and divide into Playwright/Director teams. Over the next four months, each team will create a ten to twenty minute piece which will have the opportunity to be performed in front of an audience in June. The personal nature of this process will be taken into consideration and the performance venue may be altered to accommodate appropriately.

THE PROGRAM
1. Brings Playwrights and Directors and together to develop new work
2. Hosts peer group sessions where scenes are read for critique and feedback
3. Hosts auditions for bringing actors on board to lend their voice and opinions
4. Brings in speakers to lend their expertise
5. Creates a deadline for draft completion
6. Gives dramaturgical reading and written feedback to the Playwright
7. Offers the opportunity to have a reading for the most developed work

New Play Development Workshop (NPDW) is designed for Participants (Playwrights and Directors) who have experience in their field. This is not a class. The Participants in the workshop will be asked to assist in the administration of the workshop. The workshop is not a service but a program that is supported and administered by its Participants. The board, staff and program Directors are volunteers and members of the Womens’ Theater Alliance (WTA) and all fees involved pay for: copies of forms, the hiring of a dramaturge, space rental and basic administrative costs.

OBLIGATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS
1. Participants must be a member of WTA ($25 annual fee)
2. Participants must attend peer sessions to be considered for a staged reading. Failure to do so may disqualify you from consideration for a staged reading
3. WTA will be mentioned in the program at any future readings or productions of the play

HOW DOES IT WORK?
HOW DO I FIND A DIRECTOR OR PLAYWRIGHT TO WORK WITH?
Use the first meeting to talk about your self and interests. Call or email individuals you want to consider working with. Set up meetings with the individuals you are interested in. If you can’t find someone after doing all of the above, call the program director at least a week before the deadline.

WHAT DO WE DO ONCE WE HAVE FOUND EACH OTHER?
Discuss what you would like your piece to focus on and ways in which to bring it to life. Communication is key.

PEER GROUP SESSIONS
At each session, Playwrights bring in developed and/or new scenes. Scenes are read out loud by Participants (and/or available actors) and a discussion ensues: what is the scene about; what do we learn; how does it fit in with the bigger picture of the play . . . These sessions are the opportunities to learn more about the play.

SPEAKERS
In prior years, such individuals as playwrights, dramaturges, directors, casting directors and marketing directors have all been part of the NPDW. If desired by the Participants, the NPDW will contact and provide a guest speaker. Who do you want to hear from?

HOW DO AUDITIONS WORK?
A general audition for actors is usually scheduled; however this is not mandatory. Should Participants wish to schedule a general audition, Participants may then contact any such actors that are interested. Please note: Although Equity actors may be available; Participants would need to schedule and pay the actors via an agreement with Equity and WTA.

CRITIQUE
In prior years, a dramaturge and/or the program director read the plays and will give a written or oral critique. The dramaturge may suggest small rewrites before a reading, encourage major work or suggest that a reading would not be helpful at this time. (2-3 additional rehearsals are recommended after the critique-- during rewrites or before the reading.) Because of the 2009 theme, critique will be minimal.

STAGED READINGS
This is an opportunity to hear your script in front of an audience and solicit feedback. Although WTA will publicize for this event, note that you are also responsible for creating your audience. The NPDW asks for a $5 donation at the door from the general public. PLEASE NOTE: As joining the membership of the WTA upon acceptance into the NPDW, your membership cost covers your individual donation to this event.

REHEARSALS for STAGED READING
For the most part you are going to be sitting and reading the scripts, listening to the script and providing input with how the play sounds and works. It is very important that you use your hours wisely – people are donating their time. If a script is chosen for continued development through a staged reading, NPDW recommends 3 rehearsals of 2-3 hours in length before your allotted staged reading date. Please note: YOU ARE NOT REHEARING A PLAY FOR PRODUCTION; YOU ARE REHEARSING TO LEARN ABOUT THE SCRIPT.

The Workshop will be approximately 5 meetings in which each Team identifies an issue they wish to explore, we do exercises to open communication and share ideas, and read aloud their work.

Any suggestions? Ideas?

No worries if you don't have any :)

Note to the Universe (thanks to hssst for the idea)

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:32:22 GMT

Dear Universe,

I need a break. I am tired of learning all these hard lessons where I have to rise above the situation. I am sick of hard lessons. I want an easy one, one where something nice happens to me, where I get to experience human goodness.

I know I do good things because it is the good thing to do, not for repayment...but I'd sure like a little repayment. I feel like anything negative I do comes back to me threefold, but nice things I do are forgotten. I know this isn't true, but it's what it feels like.

I was ripped off three times last week on vacation and I did my best to detach and not get overly worked up over them. But when the bag of (expensive) fabric I bought and the antique sewing supplies my mom gave me were stolen out of my checked luggage? Too much. I am hurt and angry. I am devastated. I don't want to be--I want to detach from it all, but you know what ends up happening? Numbing. I'm starting to numb myself. I know how dangerous numbing is and I am doing my best to not do it...

So please please please, remind me how much you love me. Remind me that things will be okay. Make me feel like someday I will enjoy living life rather than just getting by. Please don't break my heart again for a little while at least. I just can't stand it.

Maybe I am as strong as you think I am. But right now I want you to treat me like I'm fragile.

I'm hurting hurting hurting and it seems like you don't care. I feel a little like Job, abused for a bet. The space between what I know to be True and what I am feeling is getting larger and larger...it's harder and harder for me to stay open and loving because I feel like I keep getting wounded.

I miss my family. I miss my not-yet-conceived child. I miss God.

Love,
Katie

Stop me if you've heard this one...

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:28:23 GMT

So I've been away for almost a week and am still catching up on my friends list...but I wanted to share my husband's internet commercial, simply because I'm bursting with pride.

It's on YouTube; search for "give the gift of cash" and select Want Cash 1 & 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCMM79yDrHs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frmCazHpwAQ

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:44:07 GMT

Jung Explorer Test
Actualized type: ENFJ
(who you are)

ENFJ - "Persuader". Outstanding leader of groups. Can be aggressive at helping others to be the best that they can be. 2.5% of total population.

Preferred type: ENFJ
(who you prefer to be)

ENFJ - "Persuader". Outstanding leader of groups. Can be aggressive at helping others to be the best that they can be. 2.5% of total population.

Attraction type: ESTJ

(who you are attracted to)

ESTJ - "Administrator". Much in touch with the external environment. Very responsible. Pillar of strength. 8.7% of total population.

Take Jung Explorer Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:35:02 GMT

ENFJ - "Persuader". Outstanding leader of groups. Can be aggressive at helping others to be the best that they can be. 2.5% of total population.

Free Jung Word Test (similar to Myers-Briggs)
personality tests by similarminds.com

Jung Word Test Results (beta version)

Extroverted (E) 64.86% Introverted (I) 35.14%
Intuitive (N) 62.5% Sensing (S) 37.5%
Feeling (F) 52.94% Thinking (T) 47.06%
Judging (J) 67.86% Perceiving (P) 32.14%

Your type is: ENFJ
Accuracy:

ENFJ - "Persuader". Outstanding leader of groups. Can be aggressive at helping others to be the best that they can be. 2.5% of total population.

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:30:52 GMT

INFJ - "Author". Strong drive and enjoyment to help others. Complex personality. 1.5% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Jung Test Results

Introverted (I) 52.38% Extroverted (E) 47.62%
Intuitive (N) 66.67% Sensing (S) 33.33%
Feeling (F) 70.59% Thinking (T) 29.41%
Judging (J) 68.57% Perceiving (P) 31.43%

Your type is: INFJ
Accuracy:

INFJ - "Author". Strong drive and enjoyment to help others. Complex personality. 1.5% of total population.

Survey says...

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:31:30 GMT

1. What is your occupation right now? nanny

2. What color are your socks? I'm wearing two pairs: white and black fuzzy ones. It's freaking cold!

3. What are you listening to right now? Faelyn not taking a nap.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? banana

5. Can you drive a stick shift? I used to be able to, but I wouldn't trust my clutch skills now.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Sara!

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Love her!

8. How old are you today? 31

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Football with my hubby.

10. What is your favorite drink? right now it's apple cider

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? No. Had to spray paint it once for a play (gross).

12. Favorite food? right now it's chicken pad thai

13. What is the last movie you watched? Iron Man

14. Favorite day of the year? My birthday.

15. How do you vent anger? Talk it out. Sometimes loudly.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My paper dolls.

17. What is your favorite season? Spring.

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries.

19. Living arrangements? Husband and kitty in little third-floor apartment.

20. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday.

21. What is on the floor of your closet? Stuff.

22. What did you do last night? Watched Dr. Who with the hubby.

23. What are you most afraid of? The list gets shorter and shorter...

24. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheeseburgers.

25. Favorite dog breed? I like the little ones that look like puppies forever. And Golden Retrievers!

26. Favorite day of the week? Saturday.

27. How many states have you lived in? 3

28. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds.

29. What is your favorite flower? Calla Lilies and Cosmos

30. What's your favorite color? Green

31. What do you like to do the most? Laugh

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:15:41 GMT

What is in my heart has been articulated already by so many.

I am so overwhelmed. Good things were accomplished and some horrible things also passed. But for the first time in my voting life the good thing was a BIG thing that can help the horrible things, not just a small consolation.

America voted for more than a person or a party or a tax law. We voted for ideals. We have ideals again! I feel like there has literally been a sunburst of light in my darkened political heart.

I send blessings of love, patience, health, peace and right relationship to Obama, his family and those who will work with him over the next years.

And also to us. I wept when Obama said the election was not the end of the battle, it simply gives us the chance to fight. This hard-fought victory merely gives us the chance to be a better people, a better country.

And what a chance! Thank you, Obama. Thank you, America.

I know what Michelle Obama meant when she made the comment about being proud of her country. Today I am proud of my country.

Except for Prop 8: REALLY???!!!!

just sharing something that was shared with me

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:58:32 GMT

"Sometimes"

Sometimes things don't go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down the frost, green thrives, the crops don't fail,
Sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war,
elect an honest man, decide they care
enough, that they can't leave a stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes, our best efforts do not go
amiss. Sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen; may it happen to you.

By Sheenagh Pugh

The Ultimate True Irish Test as ganked from sistahraven

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:36:23 GMT

Your result for The Ultimate TRUE IRISH Test...

Finn MacCool

You scored 82 Common Sense, 69 Irish Facts, and 79 Irish Soul!

I am honored to be in your presence. You know your stuff. You are Irish in your heart. You probably talk like an Irish person after a few pints. You sing the rebel songs. You drink, and probably bleed Guinness. You may have even been interned in British Prisions. You impress (or annoy) all your friends with your vast Irish knowledge. If you are a female, I am in love. If you are a

Writer's Block: Unnecessary Objects

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:26:54 GMT

Oscar Wilde, a dandy’s dandy, once said that “we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.” What unnecessary possession can you not live without?

View 500 Answers

My husband.

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:13:37 GMT

Happy birthday mrsbrewer!

Hope you have fun celebrating and that the coming year is full of prosperity for you!

Looks like I'd die a quick one...not quick enough though!

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:51:40 GMT

44 seconds

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

Happy Birthday returntoshore!!

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:40:15 GMT

I hope you have a wonderful day and a spectacular year! Someday I hope to meet all your boys!

A Very Happy Birthday to obscurepoet

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:05:22 GMT

Hope it's magical and wondrous!

quick and updatey

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:43:23 GMT

In about an hour I will be on my way to Michigan for the weekend, where I will preside over my first wedding. Two nights in a cabin. With some of my favorite people. And Blue Moon. Which I can drink because I'm not pregnant. Still.

I am in such family-mode I can hardly stand it. Love is so intense, it's overwhelming. I love my husband so much. I love my sister-in-law so much. I love Sara and Faelyn so much. So much it hurts. It hurts good. I want to be pregnant so much that it's all I can think about. So I will induce forgetting with Blue Moon.

The weather is supposed to be lovely and there will be plenty of little ones to play with. Oh, and did I mention the Blue Moon?

I will be performing in the Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins festival in a few weeks, doing a piece that is pretty much perfect for me. And then I've got school starting up. And I just have to actually attend 2 births and I'll be a Certified Doula.

And I want to take a course in herbalism and one in reflexology.

And I want to be pregnant.

That is all.

Seven Years!

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:54:49 GMT

Good work, drgovier! We did it! Seven years married...here's to seven more.

stuff and nonsense...maybe I should up my meds?

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:54:05 GMT

I had kind of a crappy morning. Most of it brought on by my own feelings of insecurity and guilt and then exacerbated by tiny little things that no one has any control over but still irritate me. And I've got a sick kiddo here who I got sick and you can imagine the level of guilt going on THERE. Ugh. How did I go from loving my life so dearly the other day to wanting to just kick it all to the curb this morning?

This afternoon is going better and I can laugh at my ridiculous attitude. Ah well, we will all get well and next week is the LAKE!!!

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (I've read some of it)
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (again, I've read some of it)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo