Hi folks
Tonight’s the night (Sat. 11/19) for our latest script in the New Play Reading Series - “Leviathan” written by Bethany Dickens Assaf. If you’re in the Twin Cities metro, come join us at 7pm at The Black Hart of Saint Paul ($10 at the door) - 1415 University Avenue West in St. Paul - masks encouraged.
Synopsis: Greer has taken her girlfriend Heather - a fully in denial alcoholic - on a ‘relaxing’ trip to a Midwestern lake cabin. Tensions build when it becomes obvious sobering up Heather won’t be an easy task. Making things even more awkward is the unexpected arrival of Greer’s bisexual conservative Christian cousin, with his boyfriend in tow.
I’ve got some fun questions from the playwright to toss into the post-show discussion with the audience and actors. We’re trying, like so many theater companies, to dip our toes back in the “live theater in front of an audience” world again as we all learn to live with risk in order to start gathering together again.
Prior to the reading tonight, I’m off to another weekend shift at the second day job, and then doing some quick clean up around the house for the writing group that’s meeting at my house on Monday (we, too, are playing around with meeting in person again, with a hybrid option for others more comfortable joining online for now - might also be a handy option for winter anyway, pandemic or no pandemic). But if anyone does show up in person, the place needs to be ready for guests.
So, before anything else distracts me, let’s get you that writing prompt…
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Challenge #20 - Regional Slang
Due: Monday, November 21st, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
The first time I referred to something as a “parking ramp” on the phone with my brother and he asked, “What the hell are you talking about?” I realized I’d crossed some kind of Minneapolis language barrier.
Out east, they are “parking garages”
But if someone from Boston mentioned a “bubbler” and I asked them to explain themselves, they’d point to something I grew up calling a “water fountain”
And we’ve all heard ad infinitum about the different ways people in different parts of the country refer to soda, or pop, or Coke.
For a writing challenge for our writing group once the host included the instruction that we should include at least one word or phrase from the regional vocabulary of Pennsylvania known as “Pittsburghese”
Bonus points for including more than one.
Here’s a few handy links if, like me before that challenge, you had never heard of such a thing:
A website to translate any sentence into Pittsburghese
A couple of handy articles from the Pittsburgh press corps on the topic
And of course Wikipedia also has something to say on the subject.
Does this prompt you to think of any other weird regional slang that’s crossed your path.
Somehow use a regionalism in language as an inspiration for something you write today (it needn’t be Pittsburgh-based, I just found it colorful, and I’m from southeast PA originally near Philly so I was strangely drawn to this - your own region of the country may hold something equally compelling. Go with that.)
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If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can try 2021’s challenge #20:
Your Favorite Story
Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)
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Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)
Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play
Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt
No. Really. I Mean It. Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt
Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)
Don’t Stress About Thanksgiving
Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”
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How to submit your work for Challenge #20
You have options. They are:
Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and send as an attachment to an email sent to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com
OR
Copy and paste your script in the body of an email and send it to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com
OR
Post your script online (as a Google doc, or in a blog post, on your own personal website, etc.) - email a link to this script to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com
(If you’re going to Google doc route, just make sure to have the document public, or give permissions to our email address to open it)
When emailing us, make the subject line of your email - Challenge #20
(That just helps us sort through the email more quickly)
(Or, you know, just reply to this email if you want :)
OR
Post the link for the online document option above in the comments
section on this very blog post for this very challenge on the writing
challenge blog below
Again, this is: Due: Monday, November 21st, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
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And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.
Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 12 noon Central Time on Monday to write if you need it. When you’re done, you’re done.
Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)
Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. You have 10 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it make sense to you.
It just needs to be something.
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And that something can be:
Lights up.
A person running a November writing challenge says, “Ignore the challenge and just write what you want.”
Their Pittsburgh translator says to the residents of Pittsburgh, “Ignore da challenge and jest write wah yinz want.”
Lights down.
The End
That’s always your escape hatch, every day.
That’s your base line.
Build on it.
Have fun.
Don’t stress.
Make an impulsive decision and run with it.
Breathe.
You’ve got the day.
Just write.
Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his)
Coming Up:
Threshold Theater’s New Play Reading Series
A reading of “Leviathan” by Bethany Dickens Assaf
Saturday, November 19, 2022 - 7pm - TONIGHT!
The Black Hart of Saint Paul - 1415 University Avenue West in St. Paul
Our video recording of our third live play reading in the New Play Reading series, Sam Walsh's "The Visible," is up on our YouTube channel (available to stream through the end of November)
Coming Up:
Threshold Theater’s New Play Reading Series
A reading of “Zero State” by Allison Moon
Monday, March 13, 2023 - 7pm
The Black Hart of Saint Paul - 1415 University Avenue West in St. Paul
"Write. Find a way to keep alive and write. There is nothing else to say."
- James Baldwin
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