Memorization

When I first started to memorize the Algeria story, it seemed it would never get into my head. Even though I wrote it myself, the words stayed caught in the stratosphere. I had to keep repeating everything countless times.

Finally, by using keywords, it started to stick. Even a brain with shockingly little recall will eventually remember something 1) if it's constantaly repeated and 2) if there are little tricks to guide the memory along.

I know, for example, that in the second paragraph there is the word "Mediterranean." This is the cue for my brain to be ready in the third paragraph to refer to that word again. It seems as though the first page was the hardest -- I'm doing much better on the second. I don't feel that clutch at my heart when I begin to recite. So maybe I am making progress.

The next audition is Sept. 16. After that I signed up to tell the story at another gathering on Oct. 13. This will provide a structure to keep doing it every day until the performance on Nov. 21 (assuming I am selected to do it). It would be really wonderful if my memory could start to work better. Maybe this will be a kind of workout for it!

In the meantime I haven't even thought of touching that beach poem which I had planned to have three parts and only did the first. But there is a full moon tonight, which is always an inspiration. I will go out to see it before I go to bed.

August 27, 2009: Algeria (cont.) and the beach

I have rewritten the script because I realize that people aren't familiar with geography or history. Now that it's more clear, maybe I will be able to make the opening more dramatic -- if I need to!

My friend Deborah, who heads Theater Ariel, may be able to help me prepare. I realize that I have to create a schematic of the script with sections, so I know the internal logic. Then I will be able to memorize it. It's shocking how much worse my memory is now but since I am the writer, and with enough time as well as feeling calmer about the whole thing, I hope I can do it.

On another note, yesterday I took the afternoon off and went to the beach. It's really too bad that it takes 1 1/2 hours to drive there, but a good part of it is through the Pinelands, so it's very soothing. I like to go to Island Beach State Park since it costs only $6 to get in and the ladies rooms are near the beach. It was hot and windy but worth it just the same. I didn't have the right equipment to put up my beach umbrella (a heavy mallet) but I will the next time!

I started a poem while I was there and plan to continue it now that I am home. I can still smell the salt of the ocean. One day I would love to have a place near the beach. But that's for the future!

August 24, 2009: Algerian Story!

Tonight was my first meeting with the Patchwork Storytellers. I became interested in storytelling as part of my own work with our family stories. However, I have only done limited storytelling as a performance.

In preparation for a local event in November, they announced auditions. The first evening of auditions was tonight, so I signed up. I wanted to tell my story of November 8, 1942 when the American military landed in Oran.

I had already published it in my book, Stories We Can't Forget, but I felt it needed more of an introduction. I asked Jean-Marc lots of questions about Oran. With his answers, I was able to write an introduction to make the town at that time come to life.

Deep down I knew that I needed to memorize the story in order to present it without reading from a script, but this was just impossible in the short time after the wedding when my brain was overflowing. At the last minute, my friend Deborah, a theater professional, suggested I use a music stand, and even offered to lend me one. This gave me a feeling of comfort, so I was able to complete the preparations for the audition with an easy mind.

Tonight was the audition at the East Falls Library. I had just time after a busy day to have a light dinner and collect all my things. I was afraid the traffic would be very bad, but happily I arrived just in time.

The people of Patchwork are very friendly, and were glad to meet me. I gave my story first. Then I gave it again after one of the key members arrived a bit late. I felt I did it with the spirit I was seeking. Afterwards, they made suggestions of ways I could clarify it for an audience that is not familiar with the historical or geographic context. And, of course, I do have to do it without a script if I want to be in the November event.

So here is the creative reflection. I feel compelled to share this story with others. It needs to be told as a performance, and I did it convincingly. But I have to see if I can get it all in my head --without the script-- by the evening of the next set of auditions, Sept. 16. I think that I will first do the revisions to the story, then see what kind of "study guide" I can make for myself to help remember it. Perhaps now that I have met the people and seen how others tell their stories, I will have more mental space in which to work. On the face of it, it seems like a thing worth trying, even if it is hard. The reward would be so wonderful!

So at some point before Sept. 16 I will know which route I am taking. It remains to be seen!

August 22, 2009

I had decided not to have a blog because I am a solitary kind of person. I did get a lot of pleasure from my daughter Sylvie's blog, "Mexico Adventures," but I still thought blogging wasn't for me.

Then, recently, I did a number of creative projects: I wrote a wedding ceremony for my nephew Ben and his wife, Leng (and solemnized their wedding, which was incredible); I created a Story Montage for them incorporating a Chinese wedding poem that we used in the ceremony; I worked up my story "Le 8 novembre 1942" to use as an audition for a storytelling event; and I submitted my book of family stories, "Stories We Can't Forget," to a memoir festival for consideration for an event.

I suddenly realized how happy the process of doing these projects made me. The conventional wisdom is that when you are a creative person, the next step is to sell your work -- make a lot of money, publish lots of books. Have the world beat a path to your door.

But I have tried this with my former business, Sandy Story Montage, and now I realize that what I love is the thinking, the ideas, the joy of actually doing the work. Afterwards, I love to share it with others who appreciate it. But doing it for them or persuading them to buy it -- this is not what I want to do.

I also realized that I have completed many projects. My family and friends enjoy them and recognize their value. However, once they are done, there's not much more to talk about. So this blog will focus on the new projects I take on. If people in the outside world read it, that's fine. If they don't, that's fine too. Perhaps I will encounter like-minded souls. In the meantime I have to figure out how to post my photo, some of the work and the other things that seem to be part of blogging. I like the idea of doing something new. And I have been stuck not writing in my journal for a long time.

So, welcome to my blog! Who knows what will emerge?