published in Achieving Your Dreams, Clarity, Collaboration, Creativity, Dreams/Goals, Playwriting, Saviour Play, Writing by Maryanne | January 8, 2019 | 10 Comments
Shaping Our Lives – Lessons Learned from Eyebrows & Play Scripts
“The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.”
― Joshua Becker
What do eyebrows have to do with a play script…and more importantly, what do they have to do with you?
I was looking in the mirror the other day and it occurred to me (not for the first time) that I scarcely have any eyebrows left.
I’m not the only who has noticed this. In the summer, a friend (after one too many drinks, mind you) commented that I looked “rather like an egg.” With such candid friends, who need adversaries?
Anyhoo…last week I paid a visit to my hairdresser and she offered to wax my brows.
“NO!” I cried. “I have nothing left to wax. I already look like an EGG!”
“Trust me,” she said.
So I did. A few strips and several plucks later, she leaned back from her handiwork and smiled. “Voila!”
I looked in the mirror and low and behold, I had eyebrows again.
By removing the “peach fuzz” (her words not mine; 14-year-old boys have peach fuzz, not 50-year-old women) from around the actual brow, she’d given shape and clarity to my eyebrows. They were still thin but at least you could SEE them.
Maryanne in Saviour play workshop, Jan 2019
Fast forward a couple of days and I found myself in yet another workshopping of my play script, Saviour, throught the Alberta Playwrights Network. The last time my Big Fat Greek Play Script had been workshopped by professional actors, it was a whopping 143 pages. That bad boy sized script would translate to more than two and a half hours performance-time.
Ugh.
This time around, however, I was heading into the workshop with a 119-page script…better but it still needed a good trim. My goal is to get the script to about 100 pages (which would translate to approximately one hour and forty-five minutes performance time).
Thankfully, this workshop was only 3 hours – versus the 8-hour workshop I had in 2017. This meant that after the actors had read the script out loud, there was limited time left for discussion. So what little discussion we had was very focused and succinct…and therefore extremely helpful to me, the playwright.
L to R: Col Cseke, Kathryn Kerbes & Trevor Rueger in Saviour workshop at APN, Jan 2019
Kathryn Kerbes reading the part of Virginia Woolf
L to R: Trevor Rueger & Val Lieske reading Saviour at APN, Jan 2019
I left the workshop with a very clear idea of what had to be cut and what sections needed clarification. I went home and, while it was still fresh in my mind, immediately made the rough changes on the actual printed copy of the script. The next morning, I sat down at my computer and started making the changes in the word doc.
And voila! My Pleasantly Plump Play began to shrink even further…and low and behold, the essence of the play emerged.
Just like the brow trimming, it was only by removing the extraneous bits in my script (that I had been unable to see) that my play began to take shape.
My challenge to you (and me) for 2019
What extraneous bits could you trim from your life? Are there any habits, behaviours, attitudes, beliefs, thought-patterns, relationships or activities that you could delete (or at least cut back on) that might help give you more clarity about your purpose?
Just as it can be difficult to see the forest for the trees (or the eyebrows for the peach fuzz), so too can it be difficult to live up to our potential when we are being pulled in a dozen different directions…many of which are likely NOT helping get us where we want to go.
If the shape of your life is not quite as you’d like it, I challenge you to trim a component (or two) that is no longer serving you. And I shall do the same 😊
Related blog by Maryanne
Perilous Playwriting – Let’s Air Some Dirty Laundry Shall We?
Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. If you would like to receive her regular weekly blog, please sign up here. As a thank you, you’ll receive a short but saucy e-book entitled, Dive into this Chicago Deep Dish – Ten Bite-Sized Steps for a Yummier Slice of Life.
published in Achieving Your Dreams, Dreams/Goals, Inspiration, Intuition, Spirituality by Maryanne | August 14, 2018 | 6 Comments
Awakening the Divine Feminine – Villa Eyrie Photo Shoot
Women in white, taking a break between events
“It’s a perfect moment to quietly meditate on the cosmic Great Mother who can inspire us all; the divine feminine Spirit of nurturance, known as The Goddess, so revered in ancient times and being rediscovered by women today.”
– Sarah Ban Breathnach
You just never know where you’re going to end up on a Friday afternoon
A couple of weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Barbara Edie (I have blogged about Barb before). She was wondering if I would be interested in participating in an afternoon photo shoot at the oh-so-lovely Villa Eyrie Resort (near Mill Bay) where she and her colleague, Mischelle vanTheil, would be hosting an afternoon workshop – prior to their upcoming 4-day retreat, Awakening Your Feminine Divine (Aug 27 to 30).
The purpose of the afternoon would be to lead the participants in several mini-workshops (a sampling of the retreat) – and while we were partaking in these activities, professional photographers would be snapping photos, to use for promoting the retreat.
I e-mailed Barb back immediately with a resounding, “Yes!”
The afternoon was a delight. I had the opportunity to reconnect with some friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, as well as to get to know a few new fabulous women – all the while participating in some very creative workshops that really got me thinking about what it means to ‘awaken one’s Divine Feminine.’
I suspect this means different things to to different people but I must say the timing of the photo shoot – a month before the release of my book, A Widow’s Awakening, as a novel by BHC Press – was interesting. As you may know, my story is very much about the spiritual awakening I experienced after John’s sudden death, including strong links to the Divine Feminine.
I would love to hear what ‘awakening the Divine Feminine’ means to you.
At the end of the photo shoot, we were all treated to an exquisite dinner at the hotel. The view was stunning!
Here are a few more photos from our delightfully Divine afternoon:
Splash of colour with Juan de Fuca strait in background
Maryanne & Jantina
Maryanne & Susan
The stunning view from the dining room, of the Juan de Fuca strait
About the Retreat
If you are interested in learning more about the Awakening Your Divine Feminine Retreat at Villa Eyrie, from Aug 27th to Aug 30th, 2018, here is the link for further information. I wish I could attend myself but I have previous commitments.
“Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.”
– Anon
Other blogs by Maryanne about Barb Edie
Teaching Kids & Touching Lives – Mothering in the Broader Perspective
Impossible Dreams – Bringing Your Vision to Life
Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. If you would like to receive her regular weekly blog, please sign up here. As a thank you, you’ll receive a short but saucy e-book entitled, Dive into this Chicago Deep Dish – Ten Bite-Sized Steps for a Yummier Slice of Life.
A Widow’s Awakening Novel Coming Sept 13th…pre-order at BHC Press
published in Beauty, Dreams/Goals, Gratitude, Inspiration, Writing by Maryanne | June 19, 2018 | 9 Comments
Mill Bay Bonanza – Writer’s Paradise Found
The view out my front door in Mill Bay
“Each life needs its own quiet place.”
– Melody Beattie
Well, I sure hit the jackpot on this rental!
Wowsa woo…I have landed in a writer’s paradise, my friends. My temporary home in the retirement community (50+ so I just squeaked in!) of Arbutus Ridge in Mill Bay is not only beautiful, it is beyond quiet. Hooray!
Mill Bay is 40 minutes north of Victoria, BC (on Vancouver Island).
I suspect I am one of the younger residents and that suits me & Sadie just fine for a summer of writing.
My backyard backs onto the 7th hole of the golf course:
We arrived on Friday morning and within 30 seconds of getting out of the car, Sadie vanished from the back yard…gone. I raced around, calling her name and wondering where the heck a senior retriever could have disappeared to – so fast. Silly me. A moment later, Sadie saunters back into the yard – from the golf course, of course – stolen golf ball in mouth. Proud as a peacock, she drops the ball at my feet. Oh boy.
Sadie not nearly as impressed with her stuffie as a golf ball
On a happier note, there is a pool in the Village Centre!
I am thankful to be able to stay here for three & a half months – which is a record for me, of late 🙂
How is your summer shaping up?
I will be focusing on getting some larger writing projects finished over the summer, so you may not hear from me as often. But I will whip up a WWOW blog every now & then.
Take care, stay safe and have a wonderful summer!
“Gratitude is the wine for the soul. Go on. Get drunk.”
– Rumi
Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening, the playwright of Saviour and the screenwriter of God’s Country. Maryanne is CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. If you would like to receive her regular weekly blog, please sign up here. As a thank you, you’ll receive a short but saucy e-book entitled, Dive into this Chicago Deep Dish – Ten Bite-Sized Steps for a Yummier Slice of Life.