Friday's Odds and Ends

This has been a very busy, hectic week getting ready for the opening of the play I am in at a local community theatre, The Main Street Theatre in Sulphur Springs, Texas. We are doing "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", and I play the role of Big Mama. We opened last night and will perform again tonight, tomorrow night, and next week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I am working with an amazing cast and the players doing the two lead roles, Maggie and Brick, are terrific. So is Big Daddy. When he goes on his tirade against me, I can feel all his anger and his frustration.

This picture is from one of our rehearsals where Big Daddy is yelling at me to leave him and Brick alone. The scene is from act two where Brick and Big Daddy are having their "come to Jesus" talk. Very intense scene, and it upsets me to hear them shouting at each other.

On opening night, Thursday, the audience could feel all that emotion, too, and it is that connection we always want to make with an audience or with readers.  I love being reminded of that while playing on stage.

 

Maggie "The Cat" played by Leah Conner. Image Courtesy of The Front Porch News where you can read a review and see more cast pictures.You can also get information on tickets, etc, if you happen to be in the East Texas area and would like to see this classic show.

Today I am the Friday's Featured Author at J.M. Kelley's blog and we had fun talking about high school days, favorite books, and the ultimate hamburger. Come on by if you have a chance. Like so many other authors who are generous with their time and their little corner of cyberspace to support other writers, J.M is helping me spread the word about the recent release of Stalking Season as an e-book. 

I just love the cover that artist, Dany Russell did, so I have to share it again. For those of you who may have ever been in Reunion Arena in Dallas, you may recognize the view, minus the police badge of course.

Now just a couple of groaner jokes, thanks to Jokes4Us.com

Q: What did the baby corn say to the mama corn? A: "Where’s Popcorn?"

Q: What do you call sad coffee?" A: Despresso.

Today's Literary Lesson comes from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." In act one Maggie says, "When something is festering your your memory or your imagination, laws of silence don't work. It's just like shutting a door and locking it on a house on fire in hope of forgetting that the house is burning. But not facing a fire doesn't put it out. Silence about a thing just magnifies it. It grows and festers in silence, becomes malignant."

The play is filled with such wonderful insights, which is part of the reason it has been such a joy to experience. Every rehearsal we found a new nuance of human behavior and philosophy to ponder.

What have you learned from plays or books that made you stop and really think about how it applies to your life?