I'm working on that

I think there's some unwritten pleasure in the physical acting of 'posting'. It's almost a release, a letting go of some idea or a thought. Every post makes me feel a bit lighter. Its like the feeling when you finish a night at the gym. Exhausted, but emphatic.

But much like the gym, its getting here that's the hardest part. I've been restless these last few months. Many things have changed after finishing Scarborough Fair. For starters I've stopped enjoying watching plays - or so, I love theater, but I spend more time analyzing the lights and movements and am always, always wearing my skeptic critic hat. It's not nice, and I wouldn't want anyone to do it when they come to see my plays.

Now I'm feeling a bit better. A hint of a rhythm perhaps. The first trickle of sweat. So let's keep going.

I've also become incessantly restless. Adheer as my Dad loves to say. There's a constant need to do - anything, everything, something. But thats where it seems to end. A lot of ideas, a lot of energy and general enthusiasm, but unfortunately very little action. This in-turn is making me more restless. It's an endless loop, and I'm ranting. I know. It's inexcusable.

Ok, so on to brighter thoughts. Since a decent set of shows and a more than positive response (apart from one critic - I'll sort him later), many people around me have been asking about a new show. A new show? I don't have one I said - or to clarify, I don't know what to put up. Lost for content you could say, and I'm quite sure I don't want to adapt another playwrights play. It seems all selfish and indulgent, but I feel its 'his/her' play, and not mine to change/adapt or murder. So I must write a new original, and must stop using so many I's. I know. It just shows how unfit my mind is.

More push-ups, incline on the treadmill. Here we go.

Now, with this structure in mind, accompanied by my restlessness, I set out a few weeks ago to try and find an idea to write about. Anything that can interest me. Read books, watched a lot of plays, read some interesting plays, some classics, and savaged through the papers in search of the elusive 'aha!'. It's not that easy. By now, my mind is splitting at the seams with too many leads, little swarm of gems that can go in places, any script, but no overarching theme. I love this world overarching. Rolls of the tongue. Much like rambunctious, pretentious, grotesque. yummy.

Back to the point on hand. These little ideas are not all mine. They're picked up from friends, their stories, random observations, alcoholic revelations, articles, everything. Most of them ended with a "I should put this in a play" twinkle/smirk/furrowed frown.

So here they are. My Play-list. (And wow. even I know that's cheesy)

1) Minstrels in the Gallery. 2 acoustic guitars next to the wings. Sing, laugh, converse. Thing Flight of the Concords meet the Kings of Convenience.

2) Van's morning messages: My buddy van sends us Good Morning messages everyday. They're funny, witty and very easy to digest. Great way to start the day, and super fillers in-between scenes. Aha!

3) Ramesh: He's a character a bunch of created on a very drunk night. He's about everything and nothing at all. A guardian angel you could say, just a couple of whiskeys down. He's also got an evil half brother Suresh. I can't say more, but I know you're interested now.

4) Juniors: Crazy names if our kids were to become superheroes. Imagine naming your kid Crash, Storm, Microbittu, Maya, 'I don't know', 'I really don't know', Aluminum, Magnesium, Ditsy, Pork and JhonnySun. Now put them in a room, and let them beat the crap outta each other. There was even a kid that was born five years old. Just saying.

5) Talk to the bag: How a guy on his first date decides to get into a lady's bag and to his surprise discovers a world of goodies, just waiting to be explored. She calls him a mind reader for the rest of the evening. He calls it elementary.


6) Bro tips: just a blog with a lot of interesting reads about Bros talking sense to other Bros. This stuff is gender neutral, but ridiculously funny.

7) Songs that set the mood: Here's my list of songs: a) Iron and Wine - Naked as we came, Innocent Bones, b) Jethrotull - Lifes a long song, Minstrel in the gallery. c) Peter Paul and Mary - The Wedding Song.

8) We're all the same: Here's something interesting I read recently in Bill Brysons ' A short history of nearly everything' - Every atom we possess has almost certainly passed through several stars and has been part of millions of organisms on its part to becoming you. This means that a significant number of your atoms, up-to a billion belonged to Shakespeare, and a billion more to Buddha, Genghis Khan, Beethoven, Gandhiji etc.

Now that's just friggin' cool.

9) The perils of blue tac: I'd never used blue tac before. But when I did, it took a lot of different shapes and sizes. Now all thats fine. But when I did this act unintentionally in my bosses cabin, and when the shapes were long and sometimes curved balls, and when my boss might be, or most surely is gay, is when it became, lets say, slightly uncomfortable. ahem.


So that's basically it. It feels good to put this down finally. The head feels lighter, the mind exercised. Now to wait for the pain to kick in.



Live out of imagination, not out of your history. Excellent quote. Read it somewhere.