Youth Frontiers inspire Courage

Quote of the Day:  To have courage means to follow your heart. Brian, a presenter from Youth Frontiers at the Courage Retreat for the Forestview 6th graders.

I wish I had some photos of the retreat, but I don't. Their teacher, Mr. Wallace, took a bunch, but I'm not sure if they're for public, especially internet, use. So, I'll use my best writing skills to describe the day, and provide you with a photo of my guys who inspire me everyday to be the best person I can be.

Shaved heads to swim faster for sections and state.

Tootin' your own horn.

Feeling joy and love of being your authentic self.

I'm one of those moms who loves to volunteer for school, especially fieldtrips. I'll be the first to raise my hand and sign up for anything that has to do with the arts, but I've gone on other types of events, too. I hope the 8th grade teachers will let me chaperone when they go to the theatre for The Diary of Anne Frank (hint, hint). I've been to camps and picnics and overnighters at retreat centers. I told the boys that I'd signed up for this one-day event because they needed small group leaders, and I've been a small group leader for... "ever," they both said.

This is a high energy experience for both the kids and adults. I wished I had worn a t-shirt and gym shoes. They encouraged us to participate to the fullest, be the first group to run across the large group circle, jump and dance, stand up, sit down, you get the picture. It was an aerobic day. I had visions of sitting in a small circle with my 5 or 6 kids and visiting. We did that, too. But, the large group, energetic time was to help us all relax, laugh, move and have fun together, so that when we got into those smaller groups, we'd be more open to sharing our fears and hopes for building a better community.

The presenters are high energy, caring leaders who readily share their own stories of when they were feeling left out, or could have made a better decision to include or help others. They have backgrounds in performance, music, and working with youth groups. Their entire presentation gives you the sense that they truly care about the kids who are there and lifting them up to be better citizens of their schools and the world. If we all faced our fears and stopped ridiculing others for their differences or failings,  or even successes, we would have a much easier time being our authentic selves. Some of the things that my small group listed as fears are standing out too much, being different, not being in the right activities, smelling weird, dressing weird, not looking right.

They asked a few of us adults to share our own stories. A couple women talked about a time in middle school when they were singled out as different or someone to ridicule because of how they dressed or who they liked (boy-girl issues). I talked about being different, feeling different. That I was the one who liked to write stories, and that even today, I feel like I'm different because I'm the only one of my friends in this community who sits around coffee shops and writes plays. I hope my message was Dare to be Different. The presenter said, "It sounds like you're taking a risk to be your authentic self."

At the close of the day, we sat in a large group. The presenters handed out cards and asked us to write one change we could make in ourselves to improve our community. Then, they asked people to get up and share what they'd written. I was moved to tears as 6th graders got up and talked about being kinder, including those who are left out, stopping their bullying, and being nicer to siblings. Getting up and sharing is a very brave thing to do. I was inspired by those young people.

Go. Create. Inspire!

And, dare to make a difference.

Journaling Prompt:  What is one thing you can do to improve the community where you live and help those who might be hurting?

Close the Screen and Live in Real Time!

Quote of the Day:  Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human. Anthony Robbins

Inspiration is all around us. We need to wake up to the life we're intended to live. I love that Toyota commercial (above). I'm not trying to sell you a car, here. What I love about that ad is the young woman thinks that she's "living" since she has so many facebook "friends". She tried to get her parents to "live a little." When, in fact, they're already out there experiencing life. They're active and adventurous. They're meeting new people and exploring the world.

Many of the great artists and writers of the world lived interesting and complex lives. They got out there and explored new territory like Stephen Crane. They picked apples on farms like John Steinbeck. Mary Higgins Clark was a flight attendant and a mother of five, widowed while they were all still young. The brilliant playwright Oscar Wilde traveled, studied the classics, and spent time in prison for "indecent relations" with men. Mark Twain worked various jobs and traveled extensively. The great poet Mary Oliver, survivor of childhood sexual abuse, worked on a farm. Clara Wieck Schumann started touring as a concert pianist when she was 11-years-old. She toured with her husband Robert Schumann, who was supportive during their courtship, but later begrudged her success. The couple had eight children, one died in infancy, had a life filled with tragedy, and yet, she continued to perform and compose music. All this in the 1800's when it wasn't proper for a married woman to be pursuing her own talents and career.

 

We humans were not meant to live in isolation. Go out this weekend and find adventure. Do something that takes courage. Take pictures of something that looks interesting to you. Attend a live performance. Talk to the artists. See all that your community has to offer.  My plan is to visit relatives I haven't seen in a while and attend the 1940's Radio Hour up in Pequot Lakes, presented by the Greater Lakes Area Performing Arts (GLAPA).  What's on your agenda?

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Give yourself an adventure, take a vaction from who you usually are, and live. Afterwards, write about the experience. (Looking forward to hearing back from you on Monday. *grins*)

The Edge of Our Bodies Review

Quote of the Day: No play, not even a classic text that has been performed for centuries, is a static work of art...Theatre is an ephemeral art, and it can only be conjured in a moment of witness....we have created a place to focus on new work, a signature space of risk and discovery...By joining us tonight, you are a companion in the development of the next generation of stories.  Benjamin McGovern, Associate Director of Studio Programming and director of The Edge of Our Bodies, writing about the Dowling Studio at The Guthrie theatre in Minneapolis, where I watched The Edge of Our Bodies last night.

The correct answer is "Yes!" That's what I learned from The National Players on Monday during our improv workshop. Whatever your scene partner throws at you, the answer is, "Yes!" Then, you go for it. To be succussful in your art, the correct answer to opportunities and requests is always, "Yes!"

I "Like" The Guthrie on facebook, because I like the The Guthrie, and I'm embarassed to say that I hadn't been there in so long, I didn't even know where they built the new theatre - five years ago! (Among other excuses, I thought I lived too far away.) One day last August, they posted via facebook that they were "Calling all Bloggers" to come watch shows at The Guthrie then write a review on their blogs. Without hesitation, I said, "Yes!" clicked on over and signed up. Low and behold, they invited me and a guest to attend first, The Burial at Thebes, which I had to turn down, then The Edge of Our Bodies, which I was determined to go see. If I lived in the cities, I would have gone to it, easily, even without the invitation. So, I started asking around for a travel/theatre companion. Dawn, singer-songwriter-theatre major-writer-friend, said, "Yes!"

Cheers, Dawn, to a daring, new adventure!

A quick dinner at The Level 5 Cafe'

Cheeseburger, fish cakes, fresh bread, and wine.

The Edge of Our Bodies by Adam Rapp is a one character play, with a brief appearance of a maintenance man. Bernadette sits on the set of The Maids as we enter and take our seats. When the play starts, she holds her journal and reads to us her journey. I didn't realize that the set was for the play within a play until a little ways into the show. Bernadette tells us that she needs to talk to her boyfriend. We learn of her feelings of isolation and abandonment, and her fears and frustrations. Her parents are so wrapped up in their own coping lifestyle, that they leave her to stumble around, a teen thrust into an adult world. Ali Rose Dachis plays the part superbly. She comes to life when she describes conversations she has along her journey, her boyfriend's dying father, her mixed-up mother, a bartender, and a lonely man. She also acts out bits of The Maids, a show she auditioned for in her prep school. At one point the Maintenance Man says, "Tomorrow, this will all be gone."  It was fascinating to watch a single actor bring the story to life in an hour and 20 minutes, non-stop. I feel like I need to watch it again to catch more of the details. Did she take her journal with her as she exits the final scene?

The use of lighting kept us focused. They threw us a few surprises, and told the story in raw, graphic language. I would not bring my young sons to this show. It has adult themes about someone who isn't quite ready to be an adult. It brings to light the darkness of life, the difficult choices, and the way people get trapped inside their own lives. The Edge of Our Bodies are those moments when we step outside ourselves and take a hard look. Who is that person, and how could she (he) be me? 

If you look closely, you can see the edge of my body in this photo.

The lighting in the lobby was tricky.

Beautiful, but hard to photograph.

Next time I go to The Guthrie, I'll plan to get there earlier so I can look around. It is an amazing place. Huge. They have three stages and shows going on at the same time. The Dowling Studio is on the 9th floor. The windows along the wall offer a fabulous view of the Mississippi River, the city lights, and - watch your step! - a window in the floor where you can look all the way down to the bottom floor. I didn't dare stand on it.

Dawn and I were funny "farm" girls. We were exploring and discovering the theatre with wide-eyed wonder. We laughed as we went the wrong direction, rode the longest escalator, and found our way in and out of the theatre, and in and out of the city, which was somehow easier to get in to that out of. I-94 in, 394 to north 494 out!  We live over two hours away from The Guthrie, Blogger Night invitations are for week nights, I have four busy boys at home, and I don't drive in the city. And, yet, I said, "Yes!" to the invitation to be a guest at The Guthrie and write this review for you today...And, it was worth it.

Look how happy I am to be saying, "Yes!"

All I need is a hat to throw into the air, and I could do my Mary Tyler Moore impression.

Go. Create. Inspire!

And, say "Yes!" to the next artistic opportunity.

I think I'll check out Adam Rapp's movie, Winter Passing, this weekend, a 2005 drama starring Zoey Deschanel, Will Ferrell, and Ed Harris.

Journaling Prompt:  When is the last time you said, "Yes!" to an opportunity? Any regrets from a no?

No Fear of Falling/Failing

Quote of the Day:  Just what makes that little old ant, think he can move that rubber tree plant?  Anyone knows an ant - can't - move a rubber tree plant, but he's got high hopes.  He's got high hopes.  He's got high apple pie in the sky hopes.  So, any time you're gettin' low, stead of lettin' go, just remember that ant.  Oops! There goes another rubber tree plant.  from The Rubber Tree Plant Song (remember this was Shirley's theme song from the Laverne and Shirley show?)  The skating show I saw this weekend had an old-time TV show theme.  (Yes, my friends, the shows we watched as kids are now the old-time shows.)

{Sorry there are no photos.  Very unusual for me.  I sat next to a local professional photographer at the show and I'll link to her blog when the photos are available.  They will be worth the wait.}
My best writer-mama-pal, Roxane at Peace Garden Writer, sent me this article from The Urban Muse.  The writer challenges those of us who create to dare to take risks.  We need to write, create, paint, dream, and put ourselves out there with the same fearlessness whether we succeed or fail.  As I was reading that, I thought, it's not really whether or not that creation succeeds or fails.  To me, failure only exists when we allow those fears to keep us from trying, or to quit because of perceived roadblocks, feeling not good enough, or being rejected.  Any given work can be accepted or rejected, and even the rejection could be temporary.  All we can do is create what we are led to do, the rest is up to God and the creative universe.

I watched the local figure skating club's annual show this weekend.  I was a proud piano teacher.  Several of my students skated, and I loved watching them.  They have great rhythm, naturally! 

I feel a metaphor coming on...

We watched skaters from beginners to pro.  The beginners were so cute, I could hardly stand it!  They shuffled along, showed off their forward motion, and skating backwards.  They wiggled their hips to the song and did a few hand actions.  I whistled and cheered.  A few fell, but they all got right back up and into formation, and continued the routine.  I thought, maybe one of the first things they're taught is how to fall gracefully without getting hurt and feeling like failures, thus leaving the ice in tears.  No one cried.  No one quit.  Sometimes you leap and spin and land solidly and glide on into the applause.  Other times, you wipe out. The audience holds their breath and wishes you success, every time you try! Just like our creative work, folks.  Sometimes, we nail it.  Sometimes, we have to pick ourselves back up, and try all over again.

Go. Create. Inspire!  And, dare to risk the fall.

Journaling Prompt:  Name your fears, purge them out, then go boldly in the direction of your dreams!

Taking Risks

Quote of the Day:  It's a very excruciating life facing that blank piece of paper every day and having to reach up somewhere into the clouds and bring something down out of them. - Truman Capote

What if the caterpillar said, "Nope, I don't want to change.  This is good enough for me.  I've got the ground and this nice, dry leaf.  I know what to expect every day.  I mean, yes, I do look up at the sky sometimes and wonder what it's like to soar above the ground.  I admire those butterflies with their beautiful wings.  But, well, I'd rather stick to what I know than go through a metamorphosis.  That sounds a little scary."

Kind of like taking risks, isn't it?  What if your intuition is telling you to make a change, but your logical mind gets scared?  What if you dared?

Are you holding back and avoiding facing a challenge? 

I find myself blocked sometimes.  I haven't written one word on my novel since I returned from the Highlights workshop.  I've been assessing what my story is.  I have thought about my play, but need to take the time to reread it and write the final scene.  Then what?  Well, then it's time to release it to the world.  Let it fly out into the sky and see where it lands. 

I have written two short pieces.  One that I plan to submit to the Highlights for Children fiction contest, and a rebus story for regular submissions.  When we were on our tour, the editors mentioned that was a need, so I came home and wrote one.

Hey, you out there, sitting on your dried up leaf, maybe it's time for you to take a risk and make a change.  I'll be here for you, and maybe we can fly away together.

Come back and let me know what happens!

Journaling Prompt:  Write about the times when you come alive.  Where are you?  Who is with you?  What are you doing?  Did you take a risk?