I've resisted talking about the legal side of this production. To be honest, it has been consuming and daunting the process for months now. I realize that it is best to share this, especially for anyone else who is planning to journey on the road of creativity.

For many months, my largest obstacle for the Lost Bird project has been securing the license for adapting the work to the stage. This is most odd since Renee (the bio's author) and I have become good comrades. Her agent is most used to television and movie properties. So this is a learning curve for all involved.

Of late, a new wrench has been thrown into the machinery - lawyers! In December, I received notice from my attorney, saying that he was done with he representation on this matter. He had provided a draft contract, and said that in essence, he was calling it done. As I received more terms last week, I wrote him to ask if he might consider finishing the contract, once the final terms were arrived at.

Two bills came in the mail, just a couple days afterward. One was for the "preparation for final contract." Impossible, I say! How can one make a final contract when I haven't even finished the terms? Also, he never even said he would do this.

And the other invoice? $75 for the email he sent me in December, saying he was "complete." That's right, folks. In law terms, you can receive a bonus when you say "I quit."

The most aggravating thing is that the agreement still has yet to begin. Scheuduling for a concert reading, showcase, and first production all hinge upon this contract's start date. I've spoken to many agencies, and from all that I have found, no one is aware of any precendent for this contract.

Odd, and unbelievable. I know that people have licensed adaptations for stage from biographies. Perhaps it is just the other media that prevent us from seeing our way clearly.

And the lesson (always need a lesson for the show):

The world of masks is as present today as ever. The Land of Legal Loopholes is another White realm, the same inhabitants that moved to slaughter Lost Bird and her people. As we reveal the masks in the production, we understand more the masks worn by those in our current world.

The Spirit must prevail.

Remember...Colby was a lawyer...

IT IS TRUE! I have written the truth, and I seem more free.

Wow! It's been a while, blog! I've lots to tell you.

First, the overall look of the show:

Lost Bird (Adult) stays more or less visible throughout the first act. She "pieces it together," her story. She evokes her Spirit and the Spirit of the West (Loudrags) to show the story. The Spirit's contributions are the more realistic and evocative parts of the tail. Loudrags' are presentational. They vie to show Lost Bird what song in the world is truly hers.

The second act is about Lost Bird's attempt to find her own song, without help from her Spirits. She will meet the real-life Loudrags in this section.

Many roles are doubled. The scenes come at each other quite rapidly, about one every minute or two. Some scenes are nested inside others.

So it's a spilt stage to show Lost Bird's split psyche.

I will soon write an update of songs.

I've taken some "time off" from the project of late. I have missed it tremendously, and start up again today. But of course, it is important to eat, they say. I've picked a a quick gig at a local (Portland) theatre. the name shall remain anonymous to protect the innocent.

It seems to be the going rate - this trend to de-humanize theatre. This theatre is mounting a show, their biggest one ever. They swear they shall never do a production of this size again. The set it almost twice the size of the stage! The costumes, while beautiful, portray the characters as non-humans, for the most part.

With the technical side being so mammoth, a very important element has been lost in the process - the human soul. You remember that, right? The thing that makes theatre unique from all other media? I heard daily sermons about how the computers could fill the band's needs. How songs couldn't be rehearsed, due to the need to hang fabric. How actors were never given musical direction. Was it any surprise that the band that I lead did not go out for opening night drinks? Not after notes such as "Deal with it!" and "Tough luck."

How do we reassert the human on the stage? Isn't it about "raw, stinking flesh," in the words of Beckett? Continue reading "To Be Human Again"