Big Ideas, Little Fiction

So I've been saying a lot about some rather unpleasant issues in Southeast DC, so I'd like to highlight at least on fairly event on this side of town--

DC Microfiction Performances in Anacostia and Dupont this Weekend

The Ramayana: Behind the Scenes (or Sound the Alarm)


I wrote a blog post for Examiner.com about The Ramayana, the Constellation Theatre Company's latest production. But what I didn't mention was that at one point we had to evacuate the theater...

One of the characters, a monkey, had just said something about 'being late for school,' when an alarm bell rang. Considering that it started just after that line, for a nanosecond I thought it might have been some strange, anachronistic sound effect. Sure, the play take place in Asia in ancient times, but since monkeys were talking, anything was fair game, right?

The actors looked hesitant, but in true "the show must go on" fashion, they did not stop. My eye darted to where I knew the director was sitting. She had a strange look on her face and she too looked hesitant. The alarm continued to ring and the director stood up and told us we all had to leave.

Once the fire department cleared us, we re-entered and watched the rest of the show. The same thing happened while I was watching a movie once. For some reason it was must easier to get back into the play than it was to get back into the movie...I'm not sure why.

The movie theater gave us nothing for our trouble, while Constellation did provide us with an easy-to-remember discount code to reduced-price tickets to their first show of the next season.

Turning Up the Heat

I'm taking a writing workshop and last week's workshop hit very close to home.

Our instructor led us through making things much worse for our character. Asking us to consider:

What are some things you could do to make it even more difficult for your character to reach his/her goals?

Now think of even more obstacles.

What if your character does not achieve their dream, can you still wrangle some happiness out of that?

As for me, real life feels a little like someone has been turning up the heat. Every time I turn around, there is something else. And yes, it could always be worse, but that doesn't mean it is not bad enough as it is.

Disturbing the Peace

As you may have read in other posts, my neighbors and I oppose the Peacoholics' plan to open up an "apartment"/independent living facility/non-group home with a computer lab for the community/would-be condos for qualified youth.

They have popped up a lot in the news lately. Just today,I've seen them in 3 articles--

Group sues SE D.C. neighborhood commissioner over libel (This was the first Peacoholics' article o' the day. The deny plans to house 16-year-olds, but then the article says they will house 16-21 year olds.)

Gray's making mayoral race about ethics seen as big risk (In this article the Peacoholics' founder makes a guest appearance as a Mayor Fenty's heavy.)

Peaceoholics Took Betts Suspects on Retreat (If you are not in DC, you should know that the murder of beloved middle school principal Brian Betts has sent shockwaves through the city. While they did not harbor the suspect after Betts' murder, they did take one of the suspects on a retreat while he was being sought because he ran away from a juvenile detention center.)

Related posts:

Peacoholics at War
Properly Valued

No Peace, No Progress