Suzan-Lori Parks's Watch Me Work - A Playwriting Masterclass

Hey everybody, it's 5 o'clock. It's time for Watch Me Work. I'm SLP. We're helped by the new work development department at the public theater. We've been doing this show uh for like 16 17 years. It's been a long time. Um it started as an idea of mine. We used to do it live in in the lobby of the public theater and then when COVID came we went on Zoom which is better because we can just reach you where you're at as they say. So um hey and we're going to do what we do every time we get together. We're going to work together for 20 minutes and then we're going to open it up for questions from you about your work and your creative process. And Zoe is going to tell us how to get in touch if you have a question about your work and your creative process. Go Zoe. >> Yeah. Hi everyone. Welcome back to Watch Me Work. Um, as you may already be familiar with the process, after the 20 minute quiet work session, we'll go ahead and start getting a queue of questions. If you would like to ask a question to SLP, please do so by raising your hand. That function can be found in the react button at the bottom of your screen. If you click react, there's a button to raise hand and that way um I will know who to call on next to ask the question. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you, Zoe. Thank you, New Work Development Department. And here we go. All right. All right. It's time for the questions. If you have a question about your work in your creative process, feel free to ask. And friendly reminder to raise your hand like Lauren. What a great example. Thank you, Lauren. Please ask your question. >> Okay, I should put my hearing aids in because I'm old, but never mind. I could hear I think I can hear this. Okay. Uh, what do you do as a writer when you get off your wagon? Something happens and you get off your float, you get off the eb and the tide, but then you're able to get back on the the tie, the eb and flow, you know, the wagon. >> So, go ahead, keep talking. >> Uh, h, a couple of things. I got shingles. >> Oh. which I don't recommend to anybody, but I caught it at time. I'm on these heavy duty antiviral medications which are healing it. I caught it. She was so It's a good thing you came. She said, "It's a good thing you came. You caught it early. That means these medications will really work." So, it's it's much better. But like, you know, it's like I don't want anything to interrupt the flow. And it interrupted the flow. I'm like other things this summer. Not been a great summer, but it's it's okay. I'm so sorry. >> What do you do? Do you just give yourself some words of encouragement? Do you just force yourself to sit at the at the computer or at a pad if you write that way? Whatever way, you know, it's saying, "Okay, I'm going to just try to do a little something today." >> Well, yeah. I mean, first of all, Lauren, I'm sorry that you're not feeling well. I mean, that's >> Oh, I'm actually doing fine. So, >> Well, well, but you know, you you I'm sorry that your flow has been interrupted momentarily. >> Yeah. Um, and I I I I'm glad you went to the doctor early and I'm glad it's working really really well. >> Oh, they it's amazing. You know, I want like an idiot. I realized of all the vac I get every vaccine, okay? I believe in science. I'm not cuckoo, you know, like I have, you know, enough smarts to realize that they work. And so I got, but I did not get the singles vaccine. And I for the life of me, I don't know why. I'm like, is it because I didn't want to think I I would get it or that I'm older and that, you know, as you get older, you are more likely to get it. But I don't get it. But it's done now. So, >> well, the good thing is that you're showing up here, you I mean the question about get back in your flow, you know, what do you do when you fall off the wagon or, >> you know, you get out of your flow or the tide goes out and you feel like, ah, my boat, >> what's going on my boat? I mean, I think you you you inch toward the wagon, the boat, you know, you wait for the tide, you know what I mean? Um, >> yeah, exactly. >> And you you you just stay ready for it to come back. And I think compassion and some some kindness toward yourself is essential in times when the flow isn't flowing, you know. >> Um, >> yeah, >> I I think it's I I think just, you know, like I mean, not that you're doing this, but the extreme would be to, you know, be hitting your head against a brick wall, you know, >> right? >> And we wouldn't want anybody to do that. It's it's just not uh wouldn't be helpful, I don't think. Um, staring at a wall might be helpful like uh, Eel Dotoro, you know, stared at a wall and that's how how he started writing his beautiful novel Rag Time. >> Oh, okay. Okay. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a great story. He was kind of at his at his, you know, like what am I going to do kind of thing. I'm drunk naturally and uh, >> he sat in his house and stared at the wall and started writing rag time. >> So, >> oh, I'm sorry. No, no. So, so, but I think that's a very gentle thing to do. He was not hitting his head against the wall. You know what I'm saying? >> He was just kind of >> contemplating the what is. >> And if you can just be gentle about contemplating the what is and know that every day is going to be different and maybe not every day is going to be a banner day. And if you have a banner day, oh my god, I did so great yesterday. I wrote, you know, 20 pages or whatever. And the day that follows, you might only write two or you might it might be just a trickle, >> right? >> And be cool with that. Kind of roll with it, you know, go with the flow. >> But I wrote a I wrote a little yesterday and today and I noticed that I feel it's very odd. I think this was like a something's a wakeup call. You know what I really want to do is sue the government a class action suit with all of us for intentional affliction of emotional distress because those you don't want gave me shingles. >> Okay. I'm like you gave me shingles. Okay. You should pay >> all of us for this anyway. But I don't I feel less inhibited. It's weird. It's really odd. I'm like ah just go for it >> if you know just do it. >> That sounds like a good thing. >> It is a good thing. Oh, like, you know, I was writing a little today, you know, and I'm like, okay, okay, I can do this, you know, as long as I'm I can sleep better, you know, which is good. So, I'm happy for you. >> Yeah. So, you know, like like you have to take something good out of everything, you know, you have to find something learnable. Learnable. Learn from our mistakes, you know, or whatever. >> Yeah. is that wonderful phrase, my tormentor is my mentor. You know, I love that. My tormentor is my mentor. >> And if you think of it Yeah. And if you I mean I mean in English it's tormentor mentor. And if you think of the word to like uh the gate gate it the word is the word gate I think in German to you know. So the gate the gatekeeper >> um the tormentor is the gatekeeper. >> Um so it's interesting how you know my my tormentor is my mentor. So >> yeah exactly >> it helps you know grab grab whatever you know I mean yeah I wouldn't say you know overmedicate but um I would say >> yeah do what helps. Do what helps. Yeah. Know they they've been it was really interesting because I it renewed my faith in the health care system. >> Oh, right on. >> Because the woman was really very good and was like right it just was very good at it and I'm like okay all right this is good and you know I was a I was able to get the medication and uh and take it right away and it works. It's great. It's like miracle. So that's good. >> Yay. Happy for you. Yeah, because there's nothing like an artist off their game, you know. >> You don't want to be an artist off your game. >> You want to be an artist on your game as best as you can given everything that we do every day, you know. >> Or have to do every day. All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Byebye. >> Thank you, Lauren. >> Byebye. >> Hi, Bill. Please unmute and ask your question. >> Hi, everybody. Um, happy to be here. I'm working on a new collaboration with dancers and that makes me really happy. That was my early training and I want to put words either their words into movement and write something from that or provide them with a story and see how that inspires their movement. So, we're knocking out a lot of ideas. Do you have any suggestions of how to collaborate in a way where the dancers will really feel supported and not sort of like I'm directing a show and telling them what to focus on, >> right? It's it's great, Bill, that you're collaborating with dancers and that dancing or or choreography is where you got your start. Excuse me. I'm just gonna move the cat. Don't step on the key. Um, so it it's it's great that that that's something you're familiar with, you know, because oftentimes it's hard to collaborate with people whose process we don't have any understanding of like I don't know what these people do, but it's great that you understand what a dancer needs and what they what they how they can feel supported. Um, I I I mean it depends on what kind of collaboration you want. If you want to be the sort of lead generative artist, take the lead. If you have something that you really want to see, throw it out there, you know, and then and then open it up for ideas. Um, but if you have you don't really have much of an idea, um, then go in there and say, "Well, I'm thinking of this or this or this." You know, >> be more open. >> Sort of. You don't have to come in there with one idea. you can come in there with a couple of things that you you think they might enjoy. Um it also different dancers are different. You know, if they feel they might feel supported by you asking them a lot of questions and getting their input, they might feel more supported if you kind of tell them what you want. I mean, I work with a lot of musicians and I have a I work with a great drummer and every time I turn to him and say, "Hey, you know, what do you think?" He's like, "I'm not here to think. I'm just here to lay it down." You know, so it's, you know, it's different. You know what I mean? So, so to support him, I'm not going to ask him too often, what do you think? You know, that's not helpful to him. That's not supporting him. So, different different artists need different things. you you can find out just by asking them and and sorting it out that way >> just to be open. How long is the process? >> Um it'll basically be the year because they're emerging artists at Liberty Station which is an arts community created out of a table base here in San Diego. >> Uhhuh. >> And there's four dancers who are part of this new emerging artist group. >> Um and I've worked with one extensively and her piece was on connection. >> She's in Tijana. that she's doing cross-cultural and a lot of really interesting connections. And then the piece last night was forgiveness. And I think hope would be a nice kind of like ending, you know, piece for that. And so we have ideas. It's just I don't want to tell them my vision. I want it to be their vision. >> Great. Great. Then then get their vision. Maybe it would help. That's great. So you want to hear their vision. So start with that. Maybe it's helpful to give them some sort of like game plan or timeline, you know, like these x number of weeks we're going to be doing this, two months we're going to be doing that. Then, you know, so and by this month we're going to be in rehearsal, you know, sort of give them a little bit of a game plan so they know um the structure of the the workflow, you know, that that is is sometimes helpful to artists. Um, you know, >> yeah, I appreciate what you said, especially about the musician because I think a lot of times artists, they >> want to know what they're asked to do, not like, >> yeah, >> just free associate and then you start going into a weird direction that you didn't really want. >> Yeah. And they're they're not sure what they're doing because they like some drummers like you to tell them, you know, here it is. Here it is. Here it is. Okay. You you you work your magic with that, you know. Uh, but then some like to find it themselves. So, what a fun project though. What a fun. >> Yeah, I can't wait. I'll keep you up to date and thank you for your magic. Appreciate you. >> Thank you, darling. Thank you, Bill. >> Thank you. Hi, Chaz. Please unmute and ask your question. >> Hi, everybody. Aloha. >> Am I unmuted? >> You sure are. Well, I would just like to start by uh uh saying that it helps me uh when we share our real situations as we begin talking about what we're working on because uh one of the things that I still struggle with is how what's happening in my life in in real time affects the flow of what's happening in a play. Hm. Huh. Okay. >> Um, you know, I write poetry too and I write songs and usually they're shorter things and u >> I can stick with it from start to finish usually, you know. But when it comes to a play and more than one voice, um, I I was thinking about how was it Lauren that was on earlier? I'm I'm sorry I'm I'm not seeing everybody's name >> and I'm so glad you're feeling better, Lauren. Um, but what I wanted to say that is interesting to me that in her illness was the sense of something broken, a whole health system. And what a major theme that is. And for me, brokenness is is a lot of times the characters I'm dealing with are like humans. We're all broken. We're all flawed. And so what I'm wondering and this is my question uh is that uh how to interact and respond to what's outside of a person. Sort of like when I first saw Angels in America. Um you know AIDS was still happening >> you know big time and it still is today. But what that play did is showed me real people and on stage and also addressed a huge broken system. It was universal. It was specific. I'm wondering um do you find in your writing that your characters will grow as you are growing in life as you are dealing with things differently? And how can real life be included moment to moment? Uh do we avoid being influenced in what we're doing or do we say yes to the distraction? What do you find are methods that keep you focused on where you know you're starting and where you know something's going to end? In this case, a play. >> Right. Right. Right. That what a great question. And the idea of distractions. Yeah. You you I mean I guess and and Lauren, that's a great question. In retrospect, what take what do you do when you get off your game? And maybe you're never off your game. You're just >> Yes. >> You know, maybe you're never off your game. Maybe you're just like having a a day. Maybe you're having a Monday, you know, or or maybe you're having this Monday today and you're not off your game. And maybe the thought that you're off your game is the what makes it difficult. Um, so yeah. So maybe Chaz, it's like the distractions. I mean, it depends what you're always I mean, in my experience, the work is informed by what's going on with the writer, >> you know? I mean, even if it's a historical thing or even if it's a a character that's not like them, >> you know, it's it's always has something to do with the writer. >> So, I would say let let it in. >> You know, >> that's what happened yesterday to me. I was on my way to see a new premiere of a play here in Honolulu. >> It's a wonderful play. Actually, it turned out it was just amazing by the playwright Shan Ali. He's local >> and it's called The Queen's Will about a little known princess in Hawaiian royalty >> and her life, but it's not boring history at all. >> And I was so excited by the play. But what happened to me is by going and I went to volunteer usher and then watched the play. And it's a theater where I've been on stage before myself. And what I found myself having was a moment in which I looked at all the corruption around the fall of the monarchy and the United States taking over. But to briefly come back to the point, I found that one of my characters that in my play is evil or affected by evil. >> Right. Right. >> I I woke up to something on that stage piece that woke up something in me. And I've been working with this particular character for more than 20 years. >> And now the cat's out of the bag. But >> right. >> Yeah. And that's where I got so excited and I thought, well, shall I let this distraction come in and change this character? And I thought, well, you're not really changing him or her. You're taking a deeper look into the humanity of that character. That's what I felt. And I thought maybe I need to go with this new direction of how the conflict is going to get stronger. It's not just going to be surface. It's sort of like Amadeos the uh >> uh when Salaryi starts being evil >> from being a a fellow creative >> and then destroys someone as far and then destroys himself. I think that tragic idea doesn't always necessarily go to its end, but it shows the damage humans do to one another. >> Definitely. And and if you're feeling that your character is evil or evil, you know, bad things. Um >> Yeah, it does bad things. >> I would say go with it. You know, >> I would say >> go with it. Follow them. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, definitely. I'm just going to get up and let the cat out of the room. Who's next? And what helps me keep going, I would say, is this gathering right now in my life. Being a part of the real life that as you, as Zoe said, we can reach out and connect here. Think about one another's work as we listen and be artists with this great distances between us. And I don't even feel as far apart from you guys when we're in this meeting than I do when I walk on the street in Honolulu and feel distant from people on the street. I feel close in this gathering of artists watching each other work. It's a a phenomenal um structure for closeness, don't you think? And closeness to what we're writing and being. So I wanted to say thank you to be because you keep me focused on the flow. Oh, right on. Thank you, Chaz. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Chaz. Hey, Heather. Please unmute and ask a question. >> Hey, Heather. >> Hello. How are you? >> Where in the world are you now? >> I know. It looks like I just got out of the bath. I have not gotten out of the bath. I was swimming several hours ago and I've been writing for several hours and I lost track of time. But I have a swimsuit on over which I'm wearing the towel. Everything is proper. I'm on Long Island. Oh, >> okay. Very nice. >> Um, so I have a lot of dumb questions. I have questions like, "Why does everything take so long?" And questions that I wouldn't expect you to be able to answer. Um, but I have finished um, my screenplay. >> Um, so this is the second thing I finished since starting Watch Me Work. The first thing was this huge adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. >> And um, I actually like the screenplay. Great. >> Um, one of the dumb questions I was going to ask is, "How do you know when something's done?" But then I was like, "Because I like it. I don't have any problems with it. I don't know if you have another answer to it." >> No, that's an excellent answer. That's an excellent answer. >> Yeah, because you like when you like it, you're you're satisfied. You know, someone might give you notes that bring up other things to the surface, but you're satisfied. Yeah. >> Yeah, I am. >> Yeah. I'm actually quite happy with it, which I don't usually get to say. >> Um, >> congratulations. >> Thank you. So, I, you know, now I'm like up to next steps. I'm I'm going to register it today. >> Um, and I'm, you know, doing the last formatting and I, you know, I'm not going to ask you questions about formatting, but we all know it's a bit of a bear no matter how you do it. Um, so my next question is sort of like next steps and obviously I know it's not easy to get it read by anyone. Um, I know you're supposed to like send it to the screenplay competitions and so on, even though that's like such a shot in the dark. Are there other things that can be done that other than putting it in a drawer? Um, >> yeah. Yeah, great question, Heather. Yeah. Well, you've already got part of the answer. Like, don't put it in a drawer. That's good. So, that's good. So, it's not going to go in a drawer. Uh, so where else can it go? Who um are the people um who you're working on your your Austin adaptation with? Who are those? Yeah, I do have um a couple of well the adaptation for Jane Austin is the one that's like in schools around the world and >> I do have um some film making people um who I can show it to but I always feel like I really hate um you know because they're colleagues friends and I don't I really hate the idea that I would be taking advantage of anyone's friendship you know I don't know if that's the wrong way to think of it. No, no, no, no, no. You don't want to impose. Am I hearing you correctly? >> That's right. >> You don't want to impose. Right. Um, yeah. So, okay. So, what if you ask one of your colleagues friends, would you mind reading? You know, definitely you don't want to show up at a lunchon with a script. Here, read this. You know what I mean? That would, I think, be imposing. But I think um I mean a a lot of like you know friends of mine ask would you read this kind of thing. So while it sure it is asking a colleague friend to read something um they're a colleague friend and they've read things of mine and I read things of theirs. So >> So do you have anyone who whose scripts you've read? Not really because I've been sort of working in the children's theater space and you know um not really but I mean I do I do have a couple of people who are film people um who you know we're genuine friends um >> is there just is there one of them that you could ask? I I do. I guess I just feel so hor I would just feel so horrible if they read it and thought it was terrible and then were like, "Oh my god, how do I let her know?" >> I see. I understand. Okay, so maybe um you want I mean I I I Yeah, it's tricky. You want You can roll the dice with a friend and risk, you know, jeopardize the friendship. You can roll the dice with the strangers, send it off to one of those competitions, or do you have um you you have a network of people who are helping you with these plays, these Austin adaptations? Do you have an agent? >> I have a literary agent for publishing, not for >> theater. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. But so, so publishing. So, do they have in their I mean >> Oh, that's a good idea. >> Yeah. A lot of agencies have, you know, they have a literary wing, they have a theater wing, they have a film wing. Do they have anybody a colleague? I mean, they they represent John Gisham. So, obviously, they have to have some sort of I I don't think they do. I'm sure they do the film rights for the books, but they don't literally work on the production of the film. So, they probably do have some clue. >> Yeah, I I would think they do have some clue. >> Okay. >> Most agencies do. And nowadays when all the agencies are just becoming like one agency you know they have there there are there are there's a lot of connectivity there's a lot of you know so ask me your literary agent you don't have to give it to them to read or you could you know that's your agent that's a business you know you could give it to them to read or you could just say I have a screenplay do you have in your you know contacts someone who could who could give this a read and and give me some feedback or whatever you need. >> Okay. >> A screenwriting person or a film person. >> Yeah. I mean it's I guess the good thing is the um screenplay has to do with Jane Austin. >> Um and she is very hot. She is a very very hot property. >> Okay. >> It's not a Jane Austin book, but it is a Jane Austin adjacent. >> Great. >> She's in the she's in the screenplay. >> Great. So, I maybe I can also sort of search who's producing all of the Jane Austin various properties and their agents. >> Sure. Sure. Sure. I mean, but I I think going with the someone who's already on your team. >> Yeah. and and and and maybe you can suggest to the the literary agent on your team, maybe this is who if do you know any of these people, >> okay, >> who are already producing Jane Austin or Jane Austin adjacent material, you know, >> okay, >> like that. And then they could say, oh, I don't, you know, they're not in my company, but they're in the company over there, so I could bounce over there and and and and connect you to them. That's it's a great way to go with with someone who you're already connected with. >> Okay. >> Because you're building on your success. >> Yep. >> Yeah. And you have a lot of success, so you want to build on it. Um I think right now, you know, sending it to a a competition where you know, you don't know the folks and they don't know you. I mean, sure, that works fine. Um, but if you can build on your success or build on all your hard work already and you have a lot of it, I think that's a great way to go and that's sort of respecting yourself and respecting all the wonderful things that you've already done. >> Okay, thank you so much. >> You're welcome so much. Happy >> Thank you. >> Hi Lori, please unmute and ask your question. >> Hey SLP. Hey everybody. >> Hi. >> Great to see everybody again. Thanks. I love this group as you know. I love your advice. I love hearing everybody else's process. So, thank you. Um, my question is, um, I have a piece and I have a theater in Cincinnati who is going to pick it up and take it to next year's fringe. >> Congratulations. >> I'm really excited about it. They just got back from this fringe and and um I'm kind of where Heather's at. I like the piece the way it is, but they have asked me to cut um they've got to have it at 60 minutes. They go every year. they kind of know what works at the fringe, so they they want me to look at it and see if I can get it down. Right now, through their workshops, we know it's about 90 minutes. My question is, um, and the, you know, I'm just going to say I love the play because I had some good awards this year. It made it to the finalist for the Echo. It made it to the semi-finalist for the O'Neal. Um, I'm pretty excited about the play. So, I kind of love the play. So, I'm going to be honest, I am having a heck of a time. thinking where I'm going to take that magnitude out. So my question is do I try it and and try and do it? Do I work with the theater or do I I'm also a member of MLDDA. Do I hire would you can think I should hire like an objective drama to take a look at it and you know just pay someone to to take a pass through. So that's my question. Ah, no. Sorry. Sorry. You know WHAT I MEAN? I MEAN, YES, THAT'S I MEAN, NOT TO dis not to disrespect no disrespect for the awesome professional drama Turks OUT THERE DOING AMAZING WORK. No disrespect to but I made that face because I've been, you know, >> looking at these these these issues and when we some things are great to delegate. >> Yeah. Okay. And some things when we delegate we lose the skill. We get the work done fast but we lose the skill. So I want you to retain your skill and I want you to build and and accumulate skills, >> right? Okay. And there is it's a it's a it's it's I mean it's one thing to work with a a theater company and an editor and all this kind of stuff to help you, but to just, you know, hand it to a drama Turk and let them take a pass at it, I would say you would then lose the skill, >> okay, >> of being able to cut your own work. >> So, >> yeah, this is new for me, so that's why I'm asking. >> Okay, so you have an A script and you have a B script. And the B script is going to be whichever one. It's going to be the 90 minute one. >> Okay. >> Right. >> Or you can call it the A script. A script is 90 minutes. >> Okay. >> So you So you your header for the A script is called name of play 90minute version full version full length. Right. >> Name of the B script is name of play B version or plan B or 60 minute version. Right. >> Just it's it's it's an art form and you're going to get very good at it. >> Okay. >> Go have you've had you've had readings of it. Read it to print it out. >> Okay. >> Stand up. Close the door. Keep the cat out door. >> Read it aloud to yourself. Anything that you can do without, not forever, but just for the festival. >> Okay? >> If there's a character you don't need, if they have five speeches that you don't really need, you don't really really need in this 60-minute version. >> Just circle them. Circle them. >> Okay. Okay. >> Give it a try. You be that person who can cut her own work. And I'm not saying it's going to be forever. It's just for this fringe. >> Okay. Okay. >> It's just for this festival. You're going to This is a flex. It's a great flex. You're going to be like, "Yeah, you know, you see I have a teenage child. He comes around doing this, you know, you know, showing me his, you know, musculature, you know." Okay. Okay. Great. You know, he goes and he does his calisthenics on the floor. He doesn't delegate that to somebody. >> Okay. No, he plays the violin. He does all this I don't know how he does all this but he doesn't delegate it to somebody. We want to build skills, >> okay? >> Right. But there's joy in the building of skills like this. >> Okay? >> It it sounds like a job, >> but you just take the last letter and change the B into a Y. It's actually your joy. >> Okay. >> That's why we do watch me work. It's where our joy lies. >> Yeah. Okay. And you can always know you always have your other your 60 minute your 90-minute script. No one's going to cut that. No one's going to take it away from you. You're just going to do a little exercise. >> Could I do like maybe a couple of 60 minutes, you know, and kind of work with it? >> Well, sure. You can have 60 minute. Hey, 60, you know, you could sure if you want. If you want, you could have you could have that. Okay. I mean, I figure I got probably like seven months now, so I could, you know, I that might make me feel a little better having it be my first time and then run it through the company and see what they're Oh, I see what you mean. Yeah. Yeah. So, you Yeah. So, you do you keep the 90 minutes kind of like as it is and then you start working on your 60 minutes. Sure. You might have draft number one and your 60-minute version. Run it by the company. Oh, they they they like it, but they missed, you know, when when Joan had that really cool speech about going to the supermarket. Okay. Okay. Okay. I'm gonna put that back in, but I'm going to take out this P. Cool. Cool. Okay. See you. So, that's your next draft of it, you know. >> Yeah. Have fun with it. It's it's your that's and you will you will have built some great chops. This is this is your flex here. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. because I've been nervous as I think you can tell. >> So, okay, >> it's exciting. >> All right. Thanks. Thanks very much. >> Keep us posted. Please keep us posted. We want to hear how it goes. >> Thanks. I will. >> All right, Hector, let's get you in here in the last four minutes. >> All right. Come on, brother. >> Um, hi, Susan and everyone. >> Hello, >> Susan. It's so good to see you always. >> Likewise. >> Uh, I am have four minutes. Okay. Uh, Susan, so I wonder if you would speak to maybe a prerequisite of I think Lauren's question. I think it was Lauren and Chaz as well. Um, something that I I I struggle with. Um, I love how you just said change the letter from a B to a Y. Uh, I like to I like to make this my my joy and it is, but sometimes I can't get to it. So, I wonder if you would speak to the writer's life uh and that the writer's discipline a little bit. How um what do you do? I mean, like uh your your um Susan, I told you this before and I'll tell you again. I know I have four minutes so I'll be fast. I I took a Shakespeare professor. I took a class with a Shakespeare um scholar uh in Texas where I met you who who referred to you as the second coming. >> I told you this before. Yes. I think I blanked it but anyway. >> Yes. So I mean you you have this ability to write a play called 365 plays 365 days. Write a play a day. I think that's how you did it. So um how did you do that? I um I have this large ambition to be a type of Susan Lori. Um that's one part of my question. But the second part is uh I'm working on a piece u that I mentioned to you last time I was here. Um it's kind of like a historic his well cultural I would say cultural rather than his um his history. Um my question is a a famous writer I I think it was Nadin Gordon from South Africa >> uh who uh she said um writers don't research because once you research it becomes journalism and it's no longer um fiction. So do you I sometimes I want to research about what I'm working on to learn more. Do you think it's a good idea or should you just go with your gut? >> Okay. Huh. Okay. Um, in the time we have, Hector, and we can keep talking about this next week if you want. >> Um, I have a couple things I do. I lower the bar. You know, sometimes we think we have to have high standards and a very high bar to do excellent work. It's true. But to get to the high bar, you have to lower the bar. So I keep the bar most days very low. So it's like I just want to show up and do a little something so that I can feel a feeling of success. Or if I have the bar high and I don't get over it, I just keep lowering it till I feel like I've accomplished something. So we talked about being kind to yourself, you know, if you have children or you know anybody with the with children, you know, and they learn to they learn to walk, you know, and you I mean anyway, as a parent, I never yelled at my kid, "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG. OH MY GOD, WHAT'S GOING TO BECOME OF YOU, you know, when they were trying to walk across the floor, it was always, "Come on, you can do it. Yay, look at you holding on to the furniture." Right? It's the And not to infantilize the writer or the artist. We're not calling you a baby. What I'm saying is that kindness, that love you show to a small creature like the cat, my cat running around. I didn't pick it up and throw it out the room. I said, "Come on, little girl. Let's go out to that." Right? The kindness, the compassion you have toward yourself as an artist is very important. We are taught um maybe by our teachers, some of our wonderful teachers, no disrespect, but that we got to be hard, you know, like this. U we're taught that empathy is out of fashion. No, empathy is where it's at. Empathy is a flex. Empathy, kindness is a flex. That's why we do watch me work. This is where we can manifest love and kindness as we encourage each other to get our work done and show up for ourselves and show up for each other. That's what we're demonstrating right here. So, that's one thing I do. I try to be as kind and generous to myself as possible. Yay. You know, come on, let's go. I do all kinds of little silly things and I do a little something. And I know from the practice because I've been doing it a long time. I know that it's going to come through that the and it's if it comes through for me, it comes through for you and it comes through for all of us. The spirit will never fail you. The spirit will never fail you. Keep showing up for yourself. Keep showing up for your work. The spirit will never fail you. If it worked for me and I was right. I've been writing since like, you know, a long time back there, right? It'll work for you because that's how it works. We just keep showing up. We do word by word. We do scene by scene. We do chapter by chapter, novel by novel, screenplay by screenplay, whatever. Um, the people we need come through, come to us. You know, Heather's like, "Where can I send my screenplay?" I'm like, "Heather?" Oh, she's like, "I have a literary agent." I'm like, well, maybe your literary agent knows some people. You can build on what you've already done. You've got cards behind you. You, Ector, you you show up to this. You're present. You know, give yourself some love. Give yourself a hug. Tell yourself, "Brother, you've got this." You know, instead of saying like, "I don't know. I can't. I I'm done. Oh, darn. I should be here." You know, just start doing this. You got this. Come on. We're here. You know what I mean? And this is why we show up for watch me work and job joy. The funny thing is like jo be be like be here now. Be why. It's kind of a joke, right? It's like be and why why be why B. Those kinds of games I play all day just to keep myself able to show up for one more day. That's all that I do every day. Today I took a long nap. I wanted to write a million pages, but I didn't. I took a nap instead. It's okay. I'll be back tomorrow. Right. Okay. But we can keep talking about this uh next week. Are we back next week, Zoe? >> We sure are back next week. So, see you all right here. Same time, same good stuff, you know. >> You know. Okay, darling. Okay, Hector. Have a great week, everybody. >> Bye, everyone. >> You. Bye. Bye.