SARK

It's near the end of my visit in the Bay. Mom decided to randomly look up online events in Hayward. Lo and behold, she found a free workshop given by SARK herself, (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy), at the Hayward Public Library. She knows I'm working on The Artist's Way, (currently on hold while I'm out and about), and she knew it would be a great Mother/Daughter Time. And so we went, and so we had a wonderful time!

And as I sat and listened, I felt energized, and renewed, and inspired, and playful, and great. I've been looking at her website, PlanetSARK.com and I feel the need to share again and to treat my blog as a tool for delightfullness. Yes, I want this to become a resource for us actor-types, but it's also supposed to be fun to do, and I was letting myself get bogged down with self-imposed, "I MUSTs." Crazy, isn't it?

SARK has her own blog: www.sarkjournal.com, and I plan on reading it as much as possible. The Artist's Way is definitely a help in finding your creative self - SARK really helps you find the joy in your creative self. I will leave you with a fanastic, delicious quote from SARK,"Remember to delight yourself first, then others can be truly delighted."

The Country Wife Gets Reviewed! -or- Chatty Patty Goes Insane!

This past Saturday, we were lucky enough to have a reviewer from LA Weekly come see the show. No, I'm not mentioned, I'm just a lowly maid - but who cares, we got a great review! Read on, pass it on, so on and so forth. We only have a week left!

NEW REVIEW GO THE COUNTRY WIFE Adapted and directed by Richard Tatum,
William Wycherley's 1675 bawdy satire is a sexual creampuff of delight. In
cahoots with Dr. Quack (Jim Hanna), Harry Horner (Darin Toonder) passes
himself off as a eunuch to polite society--all with the mind to be trusted
alone with the wives of gentlemen. His impotency is the focus of much
conversation, until the wives find out the truth and start lining up for his
services. One who doesn't trust him with his wife--or with any man for that
matter--is Jack Pinchwife (Antony Ferguson) who keeps his wife Margery
(Caroline Sharp) under lock and key. When he finally relents after her
constant pleading to see London, he dresses her as a boy, but the duplicity
doesn't fool Horner. She responds to Horner's kisses and a mix up of letters
ensues. There's a subplot involving Pinchwife's sister Althea (Tracy Eliott)
who loves the sober minded Frank Harcourt (Kenn Johnson) but has been
promised in marriage to the foolish Mr. Sparkish (Peter Ross Stephens), an
ignorant fop who yelps for wit yet can say nothing witty himself. Stephens
turns in an eye-catching performance as the foppish dullard and very nearly
steals the show. Tatum handles the ribald humor with flair, and costume
designer Denise Nakamura adds hilarity with the outrageousness of the
gentlemen's wigs. Hayworth Theatre, 2511 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Thurs.-Sat.,
8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru May 30. (323) 969-1707. An Ark Theatre Company
produciton. (Sandra Ross)

As for me, it's been a hectic couple of days. Where in the F did the time go? The Artist's Way has challenged me this week to not read. Reading is the perfect filler of time, and quite the distraction. You know what I read a lot? Facebook! Argh! So addicted. So no books, no blogs, no Facebooking, magazines, no idle time fillers. Why, you may ask? So as not to get distracted from your artistic creative side. This is good, as it will allow me to work on figuring out how to format this blog and all that I want to do. Soon enough, I might ask for some tech support as my brain starts to shut down. But that's a bridge I have yet to cross.

On top of it all, I left my nifty new phone at the theater on Sunday night. Just figured it out as I got to the car, and upon arriving back at the theater, (it had been 5, maybe 10 minutes at the most, and there were several people there as I left), it was dark, the lights were off and no one was home. I can't even get back to the theater until tonight! Facebook has been a major source of communication as well as distraction. Chatty Patty is going insane without a cell phone and without Facebook. My dad sent me an email this morning wondering what the heck I was doing. I'm asking myself the same question, I tell you. But look at me! I'm working on this epic project, I'm beginning to plot out the month ahead of time, and getting shit done. Woo. Amazingly enough, even keeping up with email correspondence can be a huge time suck. Not to mention, working! I find myself longing for the indepenance that unemployment gave me. But that's another topic.

As Jennifer Warren says, "Onwards and Sideways!" I feel a keen kinship to this phrase....

Time For Something New

The Artist's Way is going very well. Little by little I'm learning to enjoy my creative side again, and also even the art of letting go, and just playing.

I've also been doing lots of thinking. I know lots of Lovely and Talented people. They are all involved with Lovely and Talented projects. I keep wanting to make a posting about every other project I know of, every class I'm aware of, and trust me - there's a lot!

So... just to bounce the idea off of you folks, what do you think about my starting a new blog? It'd be like a resource for all my folks out here. Think about it, I can inform my friends of fellow actors, massage therapists, chefs, dancers, writers, photographers, events, performances, non-profit organizations..... That's quite amazing, isn't it?

I can't wait to get started, I just need a name for it. I'm open for ideas, it needs to have something to do connections, or a resource guide, .... Here's what I've come up with

Creative Connections
Patty Jean's List
A Resource Guide to the Pattyverse
My Lovely and Talented Friends

I dunno, they're all close, but not quite it. Let me know what you think!!! Please!!!!

Monsters Have Feelings, Too

About a week and a half ago, I began The Artist's Way. It's a self-help book, you could say. It's a way for those of us feeling a little challenged to get back in tune with our creative side. Each chapter covers a week, and you examine and explore what and who you are. In general, you set time aside to write every morning, you take yourself on artist dates, and there are different tasks, big or small, to help you get in tune with yourself.

The first week was interesting. One of the tasks was to make a list of who your Monsters were. Who gave you the idea(s) that you weren't creative enough, that you weren't good enough? You list 'em, maybe write down an example, and then change those criticisms to affirmations. Crazily enough, I was stumped.

Who told me I was no good? Because I feel an honest apprehension about pursuing an acting career. Despite how much I want it, I am a feared. And you know what? After a ton of looking back, I think the last one to insult me and my talent, were my frenemies back in elementary school. I can't recall anyone saying I wasn't good, that I should give up. So really, aside from having assholes for friends back in school, it's ME telling myself all these negatives.

How did I learn to do this? Holy crap! I'm the only one who is getting in my way of achieving my dreams. Once I soaked that in, I knew that I had to change it. This is not an easy road to go down. My self-esteem has gotten pretty far wedged down. I find myself treating me to a positive thought, only to be followed by a negative one. Nuts, isn't it? It takes practice, I guess.

On Monday, I had a lovely heart to heart talk with a friend of mine who's been studying astrology for the past 5 years. We went over my chart. And aside from the given that I need small animals in my life (yay), and a 9 to 5 job would not be in my best interest, I learned some things about myself. You lovely readers make think this is a bunch of hooey, but trust me, this is no Times Daily Horoscope. It actually led to a lot more self-examination. I need a creative lifestyle, I need strong relationships in my life, I need independence. From the way it looked, she told me I had a lot going in my favor - but I just need to find my confidence and JUST DO IT.

I have a lot of fear and self-doubt. I need to work on that. I should know that I can apply myself in the direction that I want, and I can make things happen - good things. I think I need to find and prove to myself that I am worthy of these good things to come.

My plan for this summer is to apply myself in my creative outlets. Also, it's to find my self-worth. I'm going to continue The Artist's Way - it's a 13 week, um, exploration, you could say. And I'm only in the middle of week 2. I'm digging it.

Oh, and by the way, I apparently have a strong compulsion to Save the World. And you know what? That's very true. I've always liked to help out. Maybe I can find a nice way to weave that into my creative compulsion.