"Dear Diary" by Dick Moft

Dear Diary

I will no longer sit idly by allowing Lollie to spew her commie propaganda regarding foie gras, veal and all things delicious through the uncensored concourses of the world wide web!

It is my God given right as an citizen of this great nation to eat whatever I please regardless of whom or what is being tortured!

Besides, torture is the new oral: neither constitutes what it used to and we no longer agree on what it is. Is it sex, is it torture or is it just yummy?

I think Lollie hates freedom and I am sure she has never had Unicorn soup.

Sincerely,


Dick Moft

P.S. I am finding shoplifting and pushing people into traffic surprisingly calmative.

"Dear Diary" by Dick Moft

Dear Diary,

Today was a rough one. The stress was unbearable. I am ever so grateful to have found my happy place for I needed its sweet embrace several times during the days inane proceedings. As directed, I allowed the vessels of my youthful memories to circumnavigate the tumultuous oceans of my discontent. Once in calm waters, I was enraptured in visions of summers spent with my chums; all of us gaily glistening in the mercilessly beating sun by the old concrete pond. It was as if I had experienced the same release from my everyday cares which until now had only been marked by the secrecy sworn to by young boys in misty woods.

Sincerely,


Dick Moft

P.S. I purchased a six-pack of Vaseline and a spatula today and I don't know why.

Working Title " The Little Temp that Could"

It'll be a one woman show.

More later, have to draft that memo for Dick.

"Dear Diary" by Dick Moft

Dear Diary,

Lots and lots of work ahead. I'm no good at work really. It's always been enigmatic to me. A wondrous curiosity of the billions of little people that seem to inhabit this rock of a planet as it spins once every 24 hours around its slightly irregular axis. I'm overwhelmed.

I haven't had a temper tantrum in 23 1/2 hours. Great progress. I spent the most of the morning smelling bicycle seats around the city which brought me great relief. I hope today's fandango with Lollie, Lyle and Amy isn't completely unbearable. They leave so much to be desired. They are one more example of why this notion of a "Middle-Class" was a bad, bad idea.

Sincerely,


Dick Moft

P.S. When I read a JC Penny catalog I get a funny feeling in my danger zone.

"Dear Diary" by Dick Moft

Dear Diary,

I often sit on a pile of pebbles pondering the mysteries of the known as well as the unknown universe as it relates to the fact that I absolutely love to wear women's undergarments. I like the way they feel against my skin. I like the way they make me feel inside. I like to know that I know what no one else knows. It is my own private little treasure; my own little oasis in an otherwise deserted wasteland of incompetence.

Sincerely,

Dick Moft

P.S. I'm still patiently waiting for my breasts to arrive.

tweaking

tweaking this week, in order to get a final draft to the office to print for first rehearsal next tuesday. the cast and I and staff have been e-mailing back and forth, re: rehearsal schedule, usually or sometimes that can stress me out, wanting everyone to have their needs met, and mine, but i wasn't stressed this time, i knew it would be fine, and i was calm, i think this is me growing up, which feels so good. paula pizzi was the original director for this play in the earlier days of readings and workshops, she is now the dramaturg. she was very helpful with catching things i couldn't see or was too lazy to see. she suggested we meet once more, I was like, "no, it's fine." she said i think you might be missing an opportunity for the script to be really ready, and instead of being in denial mode or I'm not in the mood to be a perfectionist mode which is where i could have gone or have in the past, i got off my arse, and said okay, thanks, lets read it again, wow, it was really helpful. so now i've been tweaking; commas, changing too many mother fuc....to other exciting useful, expletives, but most importantly making sure that i am including small moments to connect the dots of everyone's individual storyline. i like when small changes make big differences. i have a lot of dishes to do, dishes never really stop, they just keep going like laundry- my relationship to dishes and laundry is usually indicative to my relationship with my life at the moment. right now i really don't want to do the dishes, but i am also fine with that it has to get done. and listening to bob dylan while doing dishes is actually really exciting, so that will help. i will have more coffee. peace, rebecca p.s. Obama 08!

first blog ever in my life

This feels a little dangerous. I could write things that are indiscreet, or constitute information delivered too early to the actors, or are thoughts I haven't sufficiently prepared. Or I could write nothing of significance and waste the time of the reader. But then, this is all new to me and my leeriness is based on no less than that I don't know what is expected of me as a blogger. But why should I?

I'll say this (even though it's some thing I haven't yet figured out, but since I'm going to address it at the first rehearsal I'll say it now:) I don't know yet how to prepare the audience to witness a show that's only been rehearsed for two weeks. Since they are automatically accustomed to a certain quality of work that's in front of them, I feel that I have to protect the process, the show, the production, and the work from over-expectation. This is what I worry about today. But is it okay to let the actors know how much the director worries? These days I don't sleep well. I worry.

I didn't sleep last night. I worried. I was at a lovely room in an Inn, a beautiful, lovely old rambling inn, and I couldn't sleep. Worried about my ideas for this play. When I was an actor I assumed the Director knew everything. It's not true. I learned that lesson the first day I directed.

Design meetings tomorrow and the next day. They'll have ideas. Then I'll sleep. Now it's getting late and I should try to sleep. I'll try.

I don't know yet.... But I'll know then.

coffee, the play and my daughter

next day, another glorious coffee morning, things might turn to shit later, but for now, ahh...

i meant to say yesterday that in addition to liz as carol Burnett, puzzo as Tim conway, Yetta Gottesman is my very own Vicky Lawrence, and Julian my Harvey Korman. I recently discovered that the carol burnett show is on you tube- go to youtube.com and punch in carol burnett, they have a lot of the best skits - her show was on from 1973-1977 I believe. anyway, if you see the show, you might not see the carol burnett influence, but it was just inspired by. It is also about loneliness, the choices we make for survival, and other things that I was struggling with at the time. I love working with John Rubin, the director, he is a man who does everything at 200%, I always feel so communicated with and fully responded to, he is also a bit manic and a bit of a genius. Manic is said in a good way, here. I am supposed to talk about process; the first scene came out pretty whole, I wrote the first scene then the last, and they have had very little editing, the middle is always the hardest for me. I have to get my child ready for school, if i don't say "brush hair, teeth, pick out clothes" in a very involved way, it doesn't happen, I can't say it here from the computer, she doesn't take me seriously. best, rebecca

May 15th

i don't particularly like this picture of me, not b/c of the picture, b/c I think Jinn Kim takes great photo's, but of course, b/c it's me, and how many people like a picture of themselves. One eye is sort of bulgy and I look forlorn. anyway, I just had to say that, but it does look like me, and I like Jinn's photos. I am very excited to have Penalties & Interest going up with my beloved theater co. Labyrinth at the Public (a magical place). It is 7:15 a.m. I am drinking coffee, this is my favorite time of day, when the world is quiet. My cats lay, licking themselves peacefully. This play was somewhat inspired by the Carol Burnett Show, i kept seeing Puzzo, and Liz (lab members) as a carol burnett/tim conway team. After many autobiographical pieces I was so enthused to write something beyond my usual fare of diabetes, divorce, depression. so what better escape and change than theater of the absurd, or theater of the absurdish. it has been nothing but fun writing this piece. and writing for specific actors, which i have never done before, was all the more joyful, as I can hear how they would say stuff. i feel like puzzo, yetta, liz, and then a bit later julian acosta and more recently Mums, have been happily spending time with me in my small upper-west side apartment, they make me laugh all the time. The cats don't mind when I talk to myself while writing, they really don't mind much. i always wanted to blog, b/c i like to write stream of consciousness- but i felt too old for myspace and facebook, ha! i am an old 39 in some ways, and young in others. maybe that is how everyone or many people feel. I did 3 units of insulin about an hour ago, so i need to get food in me quick before i up, up there it is, hand starts shaking. i'll be back. bowl of kashi cereal in almond milk, i know, i know, i am so crunchy! see you, rebecca