Journal
Today, April 12th, with Erin still in Spain and John and I on the way back from a gig in Springfield we came up with an idea. . .a new show…with John and Erin. And perhaps. . .here we go! I sent John a few lines of plot outline and in return I got: I love it... I really love it! I think it's brilliant. And perfect for Erin. She could really make those characters her own. And the comedy is there with her doing all the parts. Plus I think it's be fun to come up with all those stupid toilet cleaner commercial jingles..... I really really like this idea, Ken! I think there is a lot to work with too. Lots of different angles and jokes we could look at..
13 April 16. It’s 5 a.m. and this just came through from a girl in Spain: I like it! It sounds really good and really fun! Sorry! I slept in kinda late this morning..
15 April 16. John came over to my new casa last night to meet with our improv group and arriving early he recorded a bluesy-type number for the show. . maybe for the show. Heck, we still have little idea what we’re doing. When the group got here we got on Skype and chatted with our Spanish friend and Erin’s already thinking about character types. This is going to be a joint process, I think, and although such an endeavor is tricky, it’s also exciting. I really want both Erin and John to stick their toes into this world of commercial creativity.
15 April 16. So tonight I typed “Act I” at the top of a clean page. I have no idea where to go after that, but at least I’ve done something.
6 May 16. Erin’s still in Spain and John is a week away from graduation. I’ve got time today to work on the script, but I wish I had a better handle on whether the two want to do this project. Their initial reaction was enthusiastic. . .I think. . .but no one’s mentioned in in the last month. Oh well. I guess they can only handle so much on their plate at once.
8 May 16. Mothers’ Day. John and I played a gig with Brock, Elisabeth and Becky McCartney at Asbury Chapel this morning and afterwards had a few precious moments on the way back to town to talk about a dozen things, but some about the show. I outlined where I was going with it and mentioned the “hand on my shoulder” song to John. He was into the idea, and Brock told us how often he wished for a calming hand on his shoulder. I call that confirmation.
2 June 16. John stopped by today, fresh off the boat from Jamaica, and we read through the first few pages of the script…had fun doing it. Encouraging. Erin’s now back from the land of late suppers and siestas. No that my actors are back on U.S. soil we might make a little progress.
27 June 16. Four weekends of PAC under our belts. Had a little chat with John and Erin to make sure this thing is a go. John’s up for it and I’m pretty sure that Erin was. The good news: four fantastic PAC’s.
11 July 16. John, Jim and crew just finished a great run of Natucket at Petersburg yesterday and our final audience there was wild. Now. . on to the Hoogland. If plans hold up, Erin and John are stopping by this afternoon to read the first few pages. God be with us. 6 p.m. Quite a day for the play. Erin came by to join John and I and we read through the first 19 pages of the rough script. Rough as it was, Erin nailed the cold reading as John and I laughed all the way through it. Then we went into the music room for John to play his blues song then the ideas started coming. It was an explosion of ideas. . and somewhere in the conversation, Karl was born. Much talk about where to go next as I hurried to record snippets of dialogue the two were shooting back and forth. A good, good day.
23 July 16. So I leave for Alaska for ten days and return to find that Erin and John have created a file on my computer labeled, “Gold,” and there’s some very funny stuff in there. I may take another trip. The only thing more exciting than writing a good play is watching two people you love write a good play.
28 July 16. A fun morning as John and I traveled to Channel Twenty to do a very early morning TV spot to promote The Boys From Nantucket. We were like little kids sitting in the studio, eagerly taking in all the gizmos, screens, and people doing TV things. Then after a McDonald’s stop for breakfast, we came to the Sandusky studio to re-record the “Hand Upon My Shoulder” song. . and re-record, and re-record it. It got funny. . almost to the end then a mistake…erase, push record, do it again. I sent John home to sleep. He’s hitting it pretty hard with Godspell, Nantucket, and building his sister’s house.
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So Erin and John. .
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