The Lost Bird Project

Welcome to the Guild

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:21:53 -0500

I have joined the Dramatists Guild of America. It wasn't my intention, in working with the Lost Bird project, to join this guild.

The legal steps have been the most tricky in this whole process. It has literally taken months. After paying over $400 to a local lawyer, I still found his representation limited and limiting. And I was no closer to knowing whether the deal could be sealed.

I have searched to find what the industry standards might be for adapted musicals. These figures don't exist in many public areas. Search after search have ended without result, and many lawyers have been consulted - no luck.

The Dramatists Guild of America deals with this all of the time. They will soon be sending me a Model Underlying Rights contract. This should answers all of my questions, and all of the dilemmas that my author's agent has been encountering.

I only realize now that I seem exhausted from this task. It is like a marathon that you don't know you are running, until you stop to breathe. Can't wait to get the copy in the mail!

Playwrights, take note: Look into the Guild. It is the only entity that I have found that actually works for and protects playwrights.

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nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:03:38 -0500

Apologies to all those wanting to register trackbacks on this blog.

Somehow, my site has been connected to a porn-bot. I received almost 250 trackbacks from pronsites recently, and have shut that function down.

Please let me know if you would like to trackback, and I will enable it for you on a one-by-one basis.

Lawyers and losers

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:46:49 -0500

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.

I'm back

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 22:02:32 -0500

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.

To Be Human Again

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 14:10:37 -0500

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"

Possible beginning

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 23:25:59 -0500

Zintka asleep onstage, age 29, sick, ailing. Sounds of nightmare, confusion, medley of later music.

Lost Bird-child and Lost Bird-adolecent enter. They evoke with song, "Ghost, Rise Up," to recount, review, retell, renew.

This brings on the characters of the dream, each with a song to teach her. Each song is a one from her life. This gives LB the many options that can composer her song.

The show becomes a search for her song. LB can put forward the actioin at her disposal, and move backward and forward through the time of her life, as she sees fit.

After all, it's hardest to hear what you song is when there's no seeming beginning, middle and end. Definitely, these moments were extraordinary. Therefore, they shouldn't be stuck in time. The beginning of LB's story informs all the way throughout.

This also allows for a rapid change through scenes, and can more easily encompass the entirety of her story. The question is - can the ear be sustained, ort does it need to be?

How To Tell the Story

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 18:56:04 -0500

The music will be provided by piano, flute, chorus, and percussion. A four-person drum group will supplement the music and perform various roles.

There are two permanent character: LOST BIRD, ADULT. The actress also plays LOST BIRD, SPIRIT, the person she might have been were she not raised as a white girl. She appears to witness her life, searching for how it all goes together.

Acts can be introduced by two people who represent the “Spirit of the Wild West.” They are show-people story tellers, and provide a lot of exposition. They are Peter “INDIAN PETE” Culbertson and LOUDRAGS, an Indian female performer in gregarious clothes.

A placard may be placed in front and to the side of the action, to set the scenes quickly. They are written in a turn-of-the-century, flowery script.

Lost Bird also appears as two different ages: Lost Bird, Child and Lost Bird, Teenager.

These two parts, and all other roles, are performed by an ensemble, 6 to 8 people, and the drum group.

The Lights Are Out

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 23:14:43 -0400

In the dark, it is easier to feel the connections that we are often blind to in the light of day.

The electricity at my motel has just turned off. I am staying at the Lakota Prairie Ranch Resort, a motel on the Pine Ridge Rez. Somehow, it all makes sense a little more, now that it’s dark.

The reason I am hear is all focused on the plans of staying and studying on the Rez. It seems like this thought has been in my head so long. It is very strange to be making the first contacts in this part of the Project. So far, I have visited with admin at the Oglala Lakota College, which is just across the street. I also joined Renée as she visited the Wounded Knee School, where she helps raise money. Tomorrow, I meet an important lady, hopefully visit Wounded Knee, and spend the evening in the casino. Quite a lot of things to see.

And lots of time to listen. I say very little right now. And even that little seems too much sometimes. Renée is a true angel sent to guide me, at least to show me where the doors are and help open them. After that, it is my obligation to follow through, and to drive on the narrow road.

I learn a lot of rules, many of which are common sense: Speak from the heart. Shake hands. Say what you mean. Others are more complex, involved in ancient customs, roles and expectations that have been proven through so many generations. Thing about men and women. Indians and non-Indians, and those in between. So many things are connected, that there is truly no end.

So of course the lights are out. After a dinner in the restaurant tonight, by candlelight, it makes more sense that on this journey, the light go out. The talk was bright, the food was good, the humor was large.

I could talk about my meetings here, but I am full. I am overwhelmed by the connections, and at the same time, my heart is beating at a steady, much truer pace. This is a feeling to carry over into the project.

Victims

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 17:16:07 -0400

Victims fight. That’s all they can do to stay alive. But it’s not always clear what to fight against.

There is no doubt that Zintka was a victim. We are blessed that Zintka did not choose a life with alcohol. She found a way back to sanity after a world of madness attacked, several times and throughout much of her life.

This seems so noble, doesn't it? The striving injured, taking arms against a field of antagony. But there are many more way this is seen, not all as glamorous, or as valiant as a warrior's cry.

THE VICTIM SCREAMS
A man stands in the street in Northern Idaho. He is drunk, outside a bar on the Rez. He screams to the heavens, to anyone who will hear. His pain is so great, it overcomes his Soul and reaches out to the nearest Spirit that will pay attention. He is only 22 years old.

Zinkta stood on the mud streets of South Dakota in Indian Country. She shouts "Help! It's me! Zintka Lanuni! Someone, help me!" She has been turned away by her own people. She is not yet 20. And she isn't aware that she herself is pronouncing her own name incorrectly.

Continue reading "Victims"

The World of Masks

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 17:02:13 -0400

They surround us, these disguises that people wear. I more often see the masks for what they are, and beneath them are very frightened people. And ones who can never really hear the Beat of Life, for their ears are covered. When they cause pain, the mask hides their eyes. Food tastes good, but they cannot smell tears.

Peeking behind the veil reveals many surprises, too. There are diamonds inside that some people forever hide, under a thick velvet cloth that is so heavy that it cannot be lifted.

Plato's Cave
Shadows seen as the Real

Plato had the people in the cave, the fire behind them projecting shadows on the wall in front of them. That’s life, he said. What if you saw the source of your Shadow Life? And even more confounding: what if you first emerged from the cave?

I’ve started seeing a bit more that is behind me, what casts the Shadows. Because it is so different than the world I have known, it cannot be fully described. But it has to do with the Self and its battle with the Ego. The Flesh and the Spirit.

Continue reading "The World of Masks"

Ways the Story Gets Told

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 16:52:02 -0400

DREAMS
Actual dreams Zintka had. The dream worlds created in Wild West shows, vaudeville, the gentlemen’s club, Hollywood. Dreams evoked during bouts with diseases. The Dream World of Crazy Horse, and of Black Elk.

SPECIFIC MUSICAL STYLES
Ragtime. Drumming. Charm songs of vaudeville. Western excess for Buffalo Bill.

EPISODIC NARRATIVE
To be sure, establishment and repetition of theme is vital. THESE BITS NEED TO BE CREATED FIRST. Themes should be specific, and refer to a specific thought or repeating situation. And one should be able to list out these themes for composing reference.
Continue reading "Ways the Story Gets Told"

When Zintka gave up her child

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 19:20:00 -0400

Zintka really worked hard with her last husband, Dick, to make a good, decent life. Sadly, she gave up her child, Clyde, in the final years of her life.

I saw a

Beaded bag, from the High Plateau, from the Spokane Museum of Arts & Culture

The collection is in the basement, in a dust-free room with many items to keep things from decaying. Beadwork, corn husk bags, buffalo coats, bags. A drum made from a ship’s hull that sank near Vancouver Island. A bizarre collection of cigar statues. Mainly Spokane, but the range of tribes represented covered North and some of Central America.

It was all art. Truly personal items. They had been traded, maybe for money or payment. The museum receives some items from non-Native families, giving them to the museum.

Zintka gave up much more. Clyde, her own son.
Continue reading "When Zintka gave up her child"

The Language of Dreams

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 12:09:33 -0400

It comes to mind, like a flash from our mystic past, that music is the language of dreams. Simple little idea, mind-shattering potential.

We are beings, stuck in a 3-D realm of senses and desires. We must use our senses to thier optimum in order to share, request, and receive. Our spoken language reflects that imperfect existence in which we are trapped. One can glimpse the way that the mind processes, from culture to culture, in the way that thoughts are put forward - a sentence can describe a thought process. English's revolution around verbs, active or passive, and the focus on the subject (especially the word "I") are examples of this.

But no matter the place of origin, we all understand music, on a level of instinct and the Soul. Music is the language of Dreams.

Continue reading "The Language of Dreams"

Drums and Bagpipes

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 13:20:22 -0400

Last night, I dreamt of bagpipes.

This morning, it led back to Zintka, in a most amazing way.

You see, there is something inside the bagpipe that takes me to a very different place, and moves my soul with pride and sadness. I study music all the time, many different kinds. But the bagpipe's sound seems to flow with the same vibrations of my soul.

My heritage is Scottish, Clans McAlister and Campbell. My college was founded by Clan McLeod. The colors were the McLeod tartan. For many, it was a novelty that our marching band played bagpipes. A lot of the kids were annoyed every Saturday, for in the morning the band practiced. They always played "Scotland the Brave." So many people complained that the horrible squawks woke them up every weekend.

For me, it was like the sound of the rising sun. Strong. Purposeful. It was red, blazing sound that came from the East. I wish I had a band to wake me up every day.

Today, this made me think of Zintka.
Continue reading "Drums and Bagpipes"

Music & Math

nospam@example.com (Stephen Alexander) — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:55:39 -0400

Theatre people are always creating the arithmatic of a character. How often I myself have thought of Zintka in this new production as a complex formula.

If music is math, maybe we can experiment with formula. Real formula.

Traditional musical: We have song, then song, then song. Sometimes we have a reprise. So this gives us:

a + b + c + a (that's the reprise)

We also have some more complex ideas, where song themes pop up again in later songs. Like this:

a + b + c(a) + d(b) + c
where the parenthesis are themes from earlier "quanties," called songs.

Still, this is very linear. Cause and effect. That old Western idea that things occur in order. Line and square. No cycles. So how does this reflect life? How does this bring the complexities of a life alive. It's just a line.

Imaging one song, called a. It is a full, rich song, about 5 minutes in length. Imagine it describes on thing, like Clara Colby's several episodes of conflict after discovering that Leonard had impreganate Maud, the governess.

Continue reading "Music & Math"