#PlayIn19Days

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I’m 8 days into my self-proclaimed #PlayIn19Days challenge and… I’m doing okay. In terms of my own guidelines, I’m actually a little behind. But I have a great idea/approach that I’ve never done before so I think that earns me a little leeway. Anyway, I wanted to blog a little bit about what I’m writing, to document my process and articulate the story. So here you go:

The play I’m writing is entitled Waiting for Villa. It’s about a Nicaraguan community that is uprooted by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Specifically (as I have written so far), it follows a man and a woman facing employment and relationship issues all while the storm rages Central America.

My idea is to tell the story through several short scenes (1-3 pages long) and this is how I’m approaching the 19 days part. Each day, my goal is to write at least 1 scene that moves the story forward. I think it’s neat and somewhat easy. This approach also lends to the fact that I did not live this experience, living in Nicaragua, escaping a hurricane. The short scenes allow me to write very little, while also opening a window to the truth.

This story is inspired by the small village of Villa Catalina, in Chinandega, Nicaragua. I was privileged to have visited the village through Teatro Catalina and Amigos for Christ last March. I got to see this poor community and meet some of the families and play with a lot of the children. We got to learn about the history of Villa, from before Hurricane Mitch all the way to the present. Many people don’t realize that the effects of a hurricane can be detrimental and life-changing. What’s worse is that some governments ignore the state of living of their people, making it difficult for families to prosper and children to get an education. Teatro Catalina is a company that advocates for theatre education for kids in Villa Catalina. A lot of people in the states (and everywhere) underestimate the power of theatre, but for a kid in Nicaragua, it can mean confidence and leadership and hope for the future. So I’m using my theatre education and my privilege to write a play, to enlighten the world on the horrific hurricane and the hope that followed.

I hope to finish in 19 days mostly to just finish it but also to give me time to edit it. I will reach out and do some more research to make sure that the story is realistic and factual. And I may want to submit it to some contests because why not? I really want this story to be shared, one way or another. If you have any insights, please share. 🙂 

On another note, writing every day is helping me, emotionally. I knew that it would help me feel more whole, more purposeful. Creating is good for my soul!

To follow my writing and life on a more daily/140-character basis, you can follow me on Twitter @marissamaym .

August 1st

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I think know I am becoming restless. I graduated college eight weeks ago, found a townhouse and moved out of my parents’ house four weeks ago, and told myself to start writing a play two weeks ago.

Welp, here I am. Trying to muster up enough creative spirit/muse/motivation/anything to start writing while at the same time doing my best to HUSTLE for my first job post-college. Not sure how to do either of those things, but they’re probably not unrelated.

My restlessness comes from frustration and stress in both my creative and professional goals. But I think it comes from my personal happenings. I mean, I did just graduate from college and I did just move out of my parents’ house. That’s huge, no matter who you are. I’ve gone through this enormous transition, impressing my parents that I found a townhouse and pushing myself to land a job. I’m putting pressure on myself to be the best. To be perfect. I know that’s not how it is… maybe I’m naive.

Anyway. Maybe putting my goals on the internet will help me to both keep myself accountable and to clear my head:

Creative: Write a play (first draft) by August 19th.
Professional: Get a job by the end of the month.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Lessons Learned from SCU, a poem

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In Spring Quarter 2016, I stepped onto the Love Jones stage for the second and last time in front of my peers and potential SCU first-years. I was extremely excited and extremely nervous… and I wrote my poem two days before the performance and barely finished it hours before. AND… I memorized it! I was so pleased with myself because that was the first time I had memorized it and it was probably the biggest crowd I had ever performed for. Here’s the piece for you to read:

  1. Don’t waste time on magical wishes. You know the drill, rubbing your golden lamp for good grades, good food, good friends, and no embarrassing trips down the stairs of your freshman dorm. You’ll wish and wish and wish, but maybe tripping on the stairs is better than tripping over your first college kiss–because he won’t answer your wishes or even your text messages.
  2. I don’t need those wishes–I have all the wit in the world right here. From growing up in East Side San Jose, walking home from Quimby Oak Middle School, and learning how to college almost completely on my own, a magic genie has nothing on me.
  3. That being said… college will kick your butt all the way back to your public/private/boarding/what-have-you school. So WORK HARD. Shoulder your backpack with notebooks and pens, social anxieties and career aspirations–wake up for your 8am and do all the reading. It pays off.
  4. Be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was Palm Drive or McLaughlin-Walsh or the new art building. If you wait long enough for anything, something beautiful might just happen.
  5. While I try to be as nice as I can… some people just aren’t nice. Some people intend well, but they tend to their feelings more–they end up dropping prejudice about your race, your gender, your major–they tend to drop and shatter your optimistic worldview. So I keep my guard up.
  6. I am a woman and women are looked at a little bit differently… I am strong and confident and all of that jazz, but do not try to jazz me up. Just because I’m smiling–I love to smile, but it’s also a social expectation–just because I’m smiling does not mean I want your body pressed against mine, hold on sorry, my roommate’s calling me, she’s telling me to PRESS NO for do not mistake a woman’s “niceness” for her consent.
  7. Remember when I said to be patient? I meant in regards to your sophomore year crush –he’ll come around and around and around and around 8 months, he’ll hold your heart in his hands and you will have never felt safer.
  8. My major is not my end-all, be-all
  9. And neither is the color of my skin. Because as much as I am PRIVILEGED to be studying English, to communicate my thoughts clearly, and to be studying THEATRE, to create art with a purpose–Because as much as I am PROUD to be brown-skinned and brown-eyed, to be MEXICAN and FILIPINO in one body–I would hope that you pay attention to not what I look like, but what I do– I hope you will not pay attention to what my degree will say but what I say. And what I say is:
  10. Don’t give up. You DESERVE to be here. I believe in you and you and you and you and I made it this far for a reason and that reason is making our parents proud, making our grandmas proud, making our aunties proud, making way for our 11-year-old cousins so that they too can see what they are made of.

Tips From a First Time Stage Manager

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Over the Winter Quarter 2016, I was lucky to have stage managed SCU’s production of The Good Doctor. This was the first time I had stage managed since… high school. I was really nervous, but even though there were some bumps, everything smoothed out in the end. Here are some things I learned over the last 9 weeks:

In order to stage manage a theatrical production, there are three essential things that you need: patience, patience, and more patience. (A sense of humor is also helpful). In complete seriousness, you need a lot of things to stage manage, but patience is a huge component of it all. Here are some things I learned over the course of rehearsal and performance of The Good Doctor:

  1. Organization – At any given point during a rehearsal or performance, there could be at least three or four things happening at the same time. You have to know when to call Go for the lights, sound, set, and curtain and being organized REALLY helps. Pencils, erasers, highlighters help. But setting up your workspace thirty minutes before call/go time is probably the biggest hand you could ever give yourself. Stay on top of your stuff.
  2. Flexibility – Someone in your cast and/or crew will be late one day. And on another day, someone else will be late. Or someone will be sick and will have to leave early. You gotta be flexible! Additionally, sometimes you don’t know how things are gonna go, so you just gotta go with the flow and facilitate as best as you can.
  3. Confidence – This is so important. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing–fake it til you make it. Or, alternatively, ask questions. Stick to your word and know that one or another, it will work out.

It was an absolute joy to have worked on such a fun and funny show with such amazing, talented individuals. I learned a lot about being a stage manager, but I also learned a lot about theatre and story and listening. As a creative writer and playwright, this experience was invaluable. I loved witnessing discoveries within the script and looking at it from different perspective. The possibilities are endless with theatre and a great group of people. 🙂

Post-Forum Thought

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(*I originally posted this on my personal Facebook in hopes of reaching my peers.)

Hi, me again with another post-forum post:

It’s awesome (AWESOME) that the SCU administration has engaged in the dialogue Unity 4 started last spring. It’s awesome how much they have listened and how much thought they have put into this student effort. (Note, I’m not saying that I’m necessarily happy or content with the progress or responses.)

HOWEVER, I’d just like to reiterate that as students of Santa Clara University and citizens of the world, it is also OUR responsibility to engage in the dialogue too. Not enough students showed up to the forum and not enough students SHOW UP, period. We all have to care about creating an inclusive environment. We all must have compassion, competence, and conscience (ring a bell?)–not just the students who are affected by racial injustice and not just the students who are “required” to go.

I’m not saying that you have to attend every single forum or every single discussion, I’m just saying you need to care. And sometimes showing up for your fellow classmates is one way to show it.