Blitzkrieg Bop!
Storytelling stuff worth sharing
Got a full slate of stuff to share today, so let’s jump right in!
First, yesterday was the final meeting of my Bite-Sized Fiction class at ACE. That’s “Adult & Community Enrichment” for you acronym fans.
Next week (Thursdays, 1-3pm) I start up my Micro-Memoir class. There is literally only one slot left, so let the scramble begin!
And coming up in October I’m offering Storyteller’s Bootcamp (all of this is still at ACE), then in November/December I’ll be teaching Playwrights Playground. Those classes aren’t open for registration yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
Storytelling Tip o’ the Week
I was on a call last night with several storytellers I’m working with. During our check-in, the conversation turned in such a way that I found myself sharing the story of the best audition I ever saw.
I was directing a play (this is back in St. Louis). I’m in the middle of season audition day, sitting behind the table with the stage manager and the directors of the other shows.
An actor came in; let’s call her Mary. She gave the best audition I ever saw. It had variety. It showed off her range. It ended with a joke, and she absolutely nailed the punchline. Oh, and even though every actor was given a two-minute time slot (and most of them used all 120 seconds and often raced to squeeze in their overlong monologues before the timekeeper called “time!”), hers was a cool, calm 21 seconds long.
Tip one: always leave ‘em wanting more.
She didn’t get cast that season. I squinted at my character list every which way. There simply wasn’t anything for her.
The next season, I again was directing a play. Before auditions, going through the character list, I thought, “Oh heck yeah. Mary would be awesome in this role.” I called her and told her to skip the open call and come right to callbacks. And I cast her in the lead.
Tip two: your goal is not to get the part. Or the job. Or whatever the thing is that you’re auditioning or interviewing for. Your goal is simply this: leave an indelible impression. There’s so much beyond your control. If you base your fulfillment or success on booking the gig, you’re gonna have a really brutal time of it. But if you base your fulfillment on leaving an indelible impression? Which means practicing your thing, preparing your thing, and then just going and doing your thing?
Well heck. You can control that. You can do that every dang time. And it’ll always pay off. Maybe not in the way you thought or hoped, but in ways you could never predict.
The Blog
Got a really fun one for you this week: PLAYLISTS REMIXED.
Here’s a little preview:
Last weekend, my beloved Rebecca and I hosted a birthday pool party for our darling little niece, Lucy (everyone calls her “Lucybear.”) She had just turned two, and as part of the celebration, Rebecca motored the creation of a “Lucybear Playlist” that would provide the soundtrack for the afternoon of presents and splashing and cake and ice cream and—if I may say so—perfectly grilled homemade pizza by yours truly.
Using a a group text thread to recall videos and instances of Lucy singing or dancing to specific songs, we all crowdsourced this playlist. Here’s the thing: Lucy’s daddy (Rebecca’s older brother) is a vinyl-loving audiophile of the highest order. So Lucy, for a two-year-old, has eclectic and far-beyond-her-years sophisticated taste. Everything from Tom Petty to Billie Eilish, White Stripes to Talking Heads, and Buddy Holly to the Ramones.
Seriously, there may be nothing more hilarious and heart-warming than a sweet little girl in arm-floaties scream-singing the big dumb chant opening of “Blitzkrieg Bop”—HEY! HO! LET’S GO!
Quotable
To go along with the PLAYLISTS REMIXED story above…
Love is friendship set to music.
― Jackson Pollack
BALANCE
The newest collection of poetry from Ibis Books drops next week! Check it out…
BALANCE is the first published collection of poetry by Cedric Hameed, who is one of the most inspiring and brilliant spoken word poets you ever will meet.
There will be appearances and launch events over the next several months, but the book itself will be available over at Ibis (ebook) and Amazon (paperback) starting next Friday, August 23. I’ll share those links in next week’s newsletter!
Visiting Writers Forum
Lastly, wanted to let you know that I’m going to be the featured guest at the Visiting Writers Forum at Ringling College on Tuesday, August 27.
This is a free event, open to the public, no registration required, 7-8pm in the Goldstein Library.
I’ll be talking a bit about the journey of taking CLOWNS LIKE ME Off-Broadway, digging into living the life of the storyteller, and taking questions from the audience about writing, performing, and living an artistic life.
Would love to see you there!
Thanks as always for reading, and have a great weekend!
Jason “Hey! Ho! Let’s Go!” Cannon