To Gather, Together
LifeLabNotes
We’ve already been gathered together for months. It hasn’t been easy turning home into school, office, gym, toilet paper storage facility. We’ve had to bob and weave more than usual to make things work, and this year, the holidays will be more of the same, so we present a fun little audio fiction episode that won't spoil your dinner.
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The Backyard
LifeLabNotes
Just a few thoughts about how connected we all are, and how hard that is to see sometimes.
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Some When
LifeLabNotes
"What do you mean by this haunting of me?" Othello IV.i.14
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Eleven O'Clock
LifeLabNotes
A brief story about true things that happened in my household and down the street from us. Tabs opened while writing this: bell ringing, bell towers, lightning strikes, ancient prayers, aliens.
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The Twelve Days of Christmas - Regifted! (Day 12)
LifeLabNotes
Day 12: “Twelve Drummers Drumming” by Silvie Zamora, was performed by Alexis DeLaRosa, featuring Mel Collins. With the voices of Sandra Kinder, Farrah Kiyomura, Jack T. Musgrave, and Jason Yorrick.
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The Twelve Days of Christmas - Regifted! (Day 11)
LifeLabNotes
Listen to what is surely the earliest recorded standup set, in Day 11's “Eleven Pipers Piping” by Tom Clark and Silvie Zamora. Performed by Tom Clark, featuring Zheryk Badugu, Sarah Parga, Michael Santell, and Rick Steadman.
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The Twelve Days of Christmas - Regifted! (Day 10)
LifeLabNotes
Day 10: “Ten Lords a-Leaping” by Susan C. Hunter. Performed by Wes Weddell, Nick Droz, and Ailisa Newhall. Recorded at The Spare Room, Seattle, Washington.
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The Twelve Days of Christmas - Regifted! (Day 9)
LifeLabNotes
Day 9: “Nine Ladies Dancing” by Silvie Zamora, and performed by Kelley Hazen. Whatever light you have, let it shine.
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The Twelve Days of Christmas - Regifted! (Day 8)
LifeLabNotes
Day 8: “Eight Maids a-Milking” An engaging poem of perfectly eerie exploits. Written by Denny Siegel and performed by Alysha Brady.
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The Twelve Days of Christmas - Regifted! (Day 7)
LifeLabNotes
Day 7: “Seven Swans a-Swimming” by Alina Phelan Ballou and Phil Ward, and performed by Phil Ward.
info_outlineEach spring, Theatre of NOTE in Hollywood has a mini season of five 10-minute, one-act plays, produced by a professional team of actors and directors. And written by high school kids.
The Young Writers Project has been around for over fifteen years, which means hundreds of students have been coached by professional writers from Theatre of NOTE (in addition to working with their high school drama or English teachers) and hundreds of short plays have been submitted. But only five can be produced each year.
The choosing of which plays to produce is challenging and poignant. All of the plays submitted represent hours of creative work, and some of that work results in a deeply thoughtful and/or surprising piece for these students.
To honour these young writers and Theatre of NOTE and the Young Writers Project, I interviewed some students from a participating school. Ten plays were submitted from their school, one was chosen to be produced. I met with five of these kids to talk about writing, their voice, and not being chosen.