...Or How I Found Myself...
My name is Tansy Mae Winters. I am 15 years old and I live in the swampy backwoods of the Louisiana Bayou with the shadowy figure of Jacques Devereaux. He has some secret past that he is hiding from, I pay no mind to this, after all don't we all have something to hide? He gives me place to live while I help run errands for him.
One day while exploring and playing in the Bayou with my bird, Marigold, I come across some outsiders. At first, I am instantly fearful of being discovered, made fun of, or worse, rescued and put into a foster home. I like my life the way it is because it is my choice to live this way, and with my past history of abuse, I'd rather make my own way. (Ultimately, I'm afraid of change and being hurt, but aren't we all?)
But then I see Jason and have a Miranda experience, a la The Tempest, "O Brave New World that have such creatures in it'---
In fact, in a very real way, I am a mixture of Miranda and Caliban. In a sense, most of the other characters see me as the latter but to Jason I am Miranda and that is all that matters. To be fully seen as beautiful and special is what changes me and helps me to accept the person I am inside and meant to become. Even, in a sense, my relationship with Jacques, albeit abusive at times, is a lot like that of Prospero and Miranda.
The other people that come into the Bayou for the trek and that I meet later on are Beau Douville, Karen Moore, Tina McCourt, and Bobby Robiere. At first, I am scared of each of them, especially Tina because I am sure she will make fun of me. Beau and Karen may decide they have this "pressing need" to rescue me, so that makes me weary. Of all of them, Bobby seems the most benign and thus the most trustworthy.
Through the meeting of each of these people, I discover my equality with others and even though I appear different I can still be one of them, am like them, and can help them 'save the day'. In the end, I find my own personal power and pursue my destiny.
After the trek comes to a close, not only do I stay together with Jason but Tina and I become friends and she helps me to fit better with society and I help her become more comfortable with her true self, not worried about the opinions or judgments of others. For example, she helps me learn about hair-care and other beautifying tips and I open her eyes to a world outside herself, a world more focused on the spiritual not the temporal.
Even though Jason and I stay in the Bayou, like he says, we still spend a lot of time in the town. We both enroll in the local high school and get part time jobs. He starts working at a garage where he learns about the trade of being a mechanic. I get a job at a drugstore and soda pop shop. In addition, I get a tutor to help bring myself up to grade level.
We stay in touch with Bobby, who with Beau's help, finally gets to be on the football and track team. Tina becomes my pen-pal and after graduation when I receive a full scholarship to NYU, the two of us become room-mates.
At NYU, I study literature and English and hope to become a writer. My first novel is about my experiences living in the Bayou, with an absent mother, and life with the infamous Jacques Devereau. Later on, I attend graduate school and receive my Ph'D in English literature.
Jason and I initially break up when I leave for college but years later while in my first year as a professor, we reunite, fall back in love, and marry. We now have one son and another on the way.
Trek of the Catahoola Kids is a radio play written and produced by Ruth Wire. It is currently in production but will aired later this year on a local Jackson County radio station. It is co-directed by Jonathan Pratt and Michael Meyer, with Joshua Hendrickson as assistant director. The play also stars Michael Meyer as Jacques Devereau, Christopher Horton as Beau Douville, Ceara Hays as Karen Moore, Tim Kee as Jason Meredith, Krystal Brewer as Tina McCourt, Jesse Lawson as Bobby Robiere, Catherine Hansen as both Mrs. Meredith and Mrs. McCourt, and Joshua Hendrickson as Mr. Robiere and my bird, Marigold.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
"Saeling" Away...
To A New Life...
I awoke uneasily, shakily looking around, my brain a mist of messy confusion. Where am I? How did I get here? And then, I remember. I remember the choice I made. The choice to seek out a new life, not just a new adventure, but a chance to finally get away and start over.
My name is June Miller, at the time of my departure from Earth I was 36, when I died. Then, was transported to New Earth.
On Old Earth, I lived in Northern California in San Francisco in the 80's. I was raised in a middle class home.
I got pregnant with my first child, by a rape from my brother's friend, when I was 16 but had a "miscarriage". I have a love for children mostly because I lost my own childhood and then wasn't able to have anymore children after the first pregnancy fail. My innocence, youth, was torn from me with the rape---so, in a very real sense, searching for the lost children is my way of trying to find and reclaim my inner child and innocence and lost youth---
To start over and be who I always wanted to be. Was meant to be.
June is a character from the upcoming film, SAEL Away, directed by Russel Lloyd and filmed in and around Grants Pass, OR.
I awoke uneasily, shakily looking around, my brain a mist of messy confusion. Where am I? How did I get here? And then, I remember. I remember the choice I made. The choice to seek out a new life, not just a new adventure, but a chance to finally get away and start over.
My name is June Miller, at the time of my departure from Earth I was 36, when I died. Then, was transported to New Earth.
On Old Earth, I lived in Northern California in San Francisco in the 80's. I was raised in a middle class home.
I got pregnant with my first child, by a rape from my brother's friend, when I was 16 but had a "miscarriage". I have a love for children mostly because I lost my own childhood and then wasn't able to have anymore children after the first pregnancy fail. My innocence, youth, was torn from me with the rape---so, in a very real sense, searching for the lost children is my way of trying to find and reclaim my inner child and innocence and lost youth---
To start over and be who I always wanted to be. Was meant to be.
June is a character from the upcoming film, SAEL Away, directed by Russel Lloyd and filmed in and around Grants Pass, OR.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
The Nature of Community Theatre...
...Or Why I Love It So Much...
I have spoken often about my love for acting in that of the development of character work and study. But, today I want to reveal the "community" aspect of it, the building of family in the process of birthing the show, this camarederie and friendship that lasts long after the final show, curtain call, and applause---especially if the show is not the best material, for in the case of the a show with a great storyline, plot, character dimension, I get lost in just that and the family dynamic takes a second place, not less important but less of a focus.
But, its in the process of rehearsals where you begin not knowing not only the script and characters but the people you are performing with, (even though sometimes you have worked with a few before its always a different flavor and feeling in a new show, a new cast, etc) are foreign to you until the building of the play begins. In that time period, an explosion of creativity takes place where cast and crew begin to meld into one and bond in a way very unique to that particular moment and time.
Long story short, community theatre puts the "common unity" back into theatre.
I have spoken often about my love for acting in that of the development of character work and study. But, today I want to reveal the "community" aspect of it, the building of family in the process of birthing the show, this camarederie and friendship that lasts long after the final show, curtain call, and applause---especially if the show is not the best material, for in the case of the a show with a great storyline, plot, character dimension, I get lost in just that and the family dynamic takes a second place, not less important but less of a focus.
But, its in the process of rehearsals where you begin not knowing not only the script and characters but the people you are performing with, (even though sometimes you have worked with a few before its always a different flavor and feeling in a new show, a new cast, etc) are foreign to you until the building of the play begins. In that time period, an explosion of creativity takes place where cast and crew begin to meld into one and bond in a way very unique to that particular moment and time.
Long story short, community theatre puts the "common unity" back into theatre.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
The Boy At The Cafe
In the midst of each season of my life, I find myself with a mocha, a cappucino, a latte, looking out the window of a cafe with life passing by, in stillness, a form of meditation, a chance to pause in reflection of memories past with boys met at cafes, that came and went with the shattering of a door, my heart broken...
I sit here in yet another coffee shop and as always there is a boy...but this time, this boy, was a friendship more successful than cafe boys past, one to last despite separation and life's changing tides; of greetings and good-byes, entrances and exits.
There will be other Barista boys and Coffee-Shop Crushes, as in days long past, each with a lesson to learn, whether pleasant or hard which will bring self-growth--
But this Barista Boy, my friend, Justin, helped bring healing and closure to a chapter of my life by his smiles and tips for life, amidst the lovely espresso drinks, which ushered me into the next great adventure, the next chapter.
So, thank you, dear Justin, and best wishes on this new chapter of your life. Keep "running" after your dreams in the "great race" that is your journey! Our lives crossed in this time, in this season, so we could both "begin again".
Always remember, you have a home not just in Ashland but in my heart.
Justin Walker is a former Barista and Coffee Boy at Rogue Valley Roasting Company and now works as a meteorologist for the National Geographic.
The Rogue Valley Roasting Company is a locally owned coffee shop in Ashland, Oregon.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Medea, Medea, I just met a girl named Medea...
...And suddenly that name will never be the same...
My name is Helena, a townswoman with 6 children at home and a husband too ill to work. Because of this, I am over-worked, worn-out, tired, and hopeless.
My one relief is my visits with Jason, Medea's husband. Indeed, some of my children might be of his lineage, but keep that between us.
I am constantly in fear of Medea's rage since I am a slave of the bed with her husband and so to perserve my life from her homicidal thoughts I seek to appease at all times.
Come see me and my fellow townswomen this weekend and next in Ashland Contemporary Theatre's 7 Shorts of Christopher Durang. The show runs March 7th - March 9th at Ashland Community Center and the following weekend, March 14th-March16th at Grizzly Peak Winery, in Ashland. Show starts at 8 pm, with two intermissions. Doors open at 7:30.
The show is directed by Evalyn Hansen. Medea stars Jeannine Grizzard as Medea, David DeMoss as Jason the argonaut, Richard Royce as the Deux Es Machina, and Krystal Brewer, Mabree Owens, and myself as the Chorus.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1381952225412994/?ref_dashboard_filter=calendar
My name is Helena, a townswoman with 6 children at home and a husband too ill to work. Because of this, I am over-worked, worn-out, tired, and hopeless.
My one relief is my visits with Jason, Medea's husband. Indeed, some of my children might be of his lineage, but keep that between us.
I am constantly in fear of Medea's rage since I am a slave of the bed with her husband and so to perserve my life from her homicidal thoughts I seek to appease at all times.
Come see me and my fellow townswomen this weekend and next in Ashland Contemporary Theatre's 7 Shorts of Christopher Durang. The show runs March 7th - March 9th at Ashland Community Center and the following weekend, March 14th-March16th at Grizzly Peak Winery, in Ashland. Show starts at 8 pm, with two intermissions. Doors open at 7:30.
The show is directed by Evalyn Hansen. Medea stars Jeannine Grizzard as Medea, David DeMoss as Jason the argonaut, Richard Royce as the Deux Es Machina, and Krystal Brewer, Mabree Owens, and myself as the Chorus.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1381952225412994/?ref_dashboard_filter=calendar
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Divert Your "Madness"
I am in my early-forties and I have never ever been in a sexually united relationship, hence the feeling of hysteria, and the now nickname, "Hysteria". My real name is Helen Burns and I live in Upper East Side New York.
My next door neighbor is Cindy Lewis, a woman attempting a life of stand-up comedy. She, like me, feels downcast and depressed. The apartment building is full of the down and out, rejects of society. About our apartment building, it has often been said, "These apartments speak for themselves."
What I really need is, a really good orgasm, something Cindy, at least, has had. However, I am too ashamed to ask for this need out of an built-in from years of Catholic upbringing sexual prudishness.
Everything in my life, due to this lack, causes fits of madness or, as mentioned before, hysteria.
Come see how my life unfolds starting next Friday, March 7th at 8 pm at the Ashland Community Center.
Diversions is part of Ashland Contemporary Theatre's 7 Shorts by Christopher Durang. The shows are directed by Evalyn Hansen. Other performers in Diversions are Krystal Brewer and Richard Royce.
My next door neighbor is Cindy Lewis, a woman attempting a life of stand-up comedy. She, like me, feels downcast and depressed. The apartment building is full of the down and out, rejects of society. About our apartment building, it has often been said, "These apartments speak for themselves."
What I really need is, a really good orgasm, something Cindy, at least, has had. However, I am too ashamed to ask for this need out of an built-in from years of Catholic upbringing sexual prudishness.
Everything in my life, due to this lack, causes fits of madness or, as mentioned before, hysteria.
Come see how my life unfolds starting next Friday, March 7th at 8 pm at the Ashland Community Center.
Diversions is part of Ashland Contemporary Theatre's 7 Shorts by Christopher Durang. The shows are directed by Evalyn Hansen. Other performers in Diversions are Krystal Brewer and Richard Royce.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
'Stand up' & Be Someone!
Hi, my name is Cindy Lewis. I am 37 years old and unmarried, well, divorced.
I have an overbearing, physically and mentally abusive, not to mention, manipulative Jewish mother (to put it mildly) who is embarrassed that I have not been successful as my debut as Jewish American Princess. She misses opportunity to let me know this.
I have tried multiple careers and multiple love affairs, so now, at the last result, I am trying my hand at stand-up comedy. My friends think I m funny, well, at least they laugh at me...
I live in New York with my grey cat, Fluffy, who isn't fluffy at all. I named him that because I thought it was ironic. He's a very old kitty but he's all I have and the only living thing who loves me unconditionally.
Maybe, you can love me that way. Maybe, I will find true love when we meet next Friday, March 7th-Sunday, March 16th at the Ashland Community Center and Grizzly Peak Winery in Ashland, Oregon, where I will be attempting my first efforts as stand-up comedienne.
Hey, its worth a shot.
Show opens March 7th at 8 pm. The first weekend shows playing at Ashland Community Center. The second weekend will be shown at Grizzly Peak Winery. The show is directed by Evalyn Hansen.
I have an overbearing, physically and mentally abusive, not to mention, manipulative Jewish mother (to put it mildly) who is embarrassed that I have not been successful as my debut as Jewish American Princess. She misses opportunity to let me know this.
I have tried multiple careers and multiple love affairs, so now, at the last result, I am trying my hand at stand-up comedy. My friends think I m funny, well, at least they laugh at me...
I live in New York with my grey cat, Fluffy, who isn't fluffy at all. I named him that because I thought it was ironic. He's a very old kitty but he's all I have and the only living thing who loves me unconditionally.
Maybe, you can love me that way. Maybe, I will find true love when we meet next Friday, March 7th-Sunday, March 16th at the Ashland Community Center and Grizzly Peak Winery in Ashland, Oregon, where I will be attempting my first efforts as stand-up comedienne.
Hey, its worth a shot.
Show opens March 7th at 8 pm. The first weekend shows playing at Ashland Community Center. The second weekend will be shown at Grizzly Peak Winery. The show is directed by Evalyn Hansen.
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