tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851751193228313502011-04-21T18:50:13.527-07:00a play by sharon otoosharonnoreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-62024464084794629172007-11-19T01:22:00.000-08:002007-11-19T01:27:03.114-08:00

You may have noticed, I have been suffering a little from writer's block.But as the time approches when the Christmas madness will be over and school isn't yet back in, when the boys will be visiting relatives and I will have a little time on my hands, I look forward to having another go at the draft of 'otherpleasespecify'.The break has been good.I still have no idea about how to make the plot

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-64157290196933191622007-03-26T03:03:00.000-07:002007-03-26T03:14:24.137-07:00

i've just returned home from spending way too much money in karstadt (local department store). i'm spending the day with tyrell today - he has *ahem* a sore throat and is off school.so, i told tyrell about my experience at the checkout:the assistant was going to serve an elderly white man, but he - quite rightly - indicated that i was next in line. however, he ruins the gesture by adding "wow

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-82079479036500604312007-03-25T22:49:00.000-07:002007-03-25T23:05:56.073-07:00

short recap: i received feedback after the first public reading of 'otherpleasespecify'. the characterisation of christie, was criticised. in particular, she was deemed to be 'the biggest racist of all'. christie - a 33 year old black single parent - is not so dissimilar to me in terms of her views and behaviour.so... ouch!however, i find this point of view interesting, because i would like to

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-57684834488116427472007-03-19T07:01:00.000-07:002007-03-19T07:07:00.744-07:00

Watch this episode of South Park - I especially loved Randy's performance poetry & launch of scholarship for African Americans.Let me know what you think....

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-25589706961333669742007-03-16T02:34:00.000-07:002007-03-16T02:51:40.332-07:00

apparently.i had a very long conversation with someone this week, who was kind enough to spend a good 3 and a half hours with me, providing feedback on the reading (march 4th in english theatre berlin)she said many things, mostly challenging and highly critical as far as the plot and themes raised in the play are concerned. right now, i would like to discuss one of them: christie is the biggest

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-48901092905271397002007-03-10T03:16:00.000-08:002007-03-10T03:20:47.556-08:00

i needed to react quickly to this email that amy r. forwarded to me:Arts Management student at Dartington College of Arts is offering an opportunity for new playwrights to have their work produced:I’m seeking previously un-produced scripts of contemporary plays, from which one will be selected for development and production with my fellow students, leading to a public performance this May.

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-76478263370752036982007-03-06T00:44:00.000-08:002007-03-06T00:50:17.737-08:00

i keep having flashbacks of the reading on sunday. one thing that came to me as i was walking home today was the question i posed to the white members of the audience. the words were something to the effect of 'how did it feel to be othered by me?'did i really say that?there was a bit of a stunned silence.i don't remember anyone answering the question directly, and the discussion moved on in a

sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-24494350202221988342007-03-05T02:47:00.000-08:002008-12-09T10:50:33.236-08:00

tyrell did an excellent job of reading k.b. - i was afraid he would steal the show just because he was so cute. he didn't. he was cute, but he stole the show because he was so talented. damn!katharina & kristian played various random - sometimes not very flattering - white people in the play. two very talented actors. i'm very proud to have worked with them.our leading man and lady: benedikt as

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-32114849207080822992007-03-04T14:25:00.000-08:002007-03-04T14:46:58.782-08:00

the play was read in front of a small audience this evening and went down very well.i received strong feedback and constructive comments on how i can develop the play further.i was really pleased that the audience was mixed in terms of ethnicity - it was also a small enough group for people for everyone to be able to contribute if they wished to.anyway - the next steps.tonight i received some

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-24088895534878833982007-03-01T14:30:00.000-08:002007-03-01T04:52:33.577-08:00

...to a reading of my first playotherpleasespecifysunday march 4th, 8pmenglish theatre berlinfidicinstr. 40, 10965 berlin-kreuzbergtel: 030 - 693 5692tickets: 030 - 691 1211the play is being read as part of 'the lab' series, which means audience feedback is strongly encouraged during the question and answer session following the reading.tickets are 5 € (3 € conc.)i really hope to see you there.

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-15033658101317985782007-03-01T04:45:00.000-08:002007-03-01T04:52:01.913-08:00

a reading of otherpleasespecify, starringchristie - allyson otoodirk - benedict bindewaldrita - meryl prettymank.b. - tyrell otoochorus & other characters - kristian bruun & katharina lehmannstage directions & question and answer session - sarah lewisdirector - sharon otoosharon says:thank you all for agreeing to help me out on thiswhen i'm rich and famous y'all get a limosine each, ok?

sharonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-82697205981298981082007-02-21T06:27:00.000-08:002007-02-21T06:32:08.584-08:00

first in-depth feedback - the play has gone down well with the english language theatre.i had a meeting with sarah, the curator, three hours ago and i've been offered a space in the lab on march 4th.ridiculously short notice. i didn't tell her that i'm going to england tomorrow and back on 27th feb (good job she doesn't read this blog...or does she?!)anyways, ally (my sister) has agreed to read

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-18127427510970183892007-02-19T02:32:00.000-08:002007-02-19T02:59:55.671-08:00

dirk is a friendly white german guy, who nobody can really have anything against.sure, he has his weaknesses, and in the play a couple of hefty ones are revealed, but great efforts have been made to show that he is a human fallible person who tries very hard to improve his ways. and he's in love with christie, a black lone parent. this is positive, right? hmm....now, when i was creating dirk, i

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-58775275472888045402007-02-18T09:00:00.000-08:002007-02-18T09:26:26.703-08:00

early this morning i fell awake - a very strange thing.rarely for me i had had a lot of sleep in the previous 48 hours, so at 4am i woke up and stayed awake for about two hours.i began to do a bit of research for the play and for this blog.hmm.....i actually had to stop in the end because what i found was so distressing.the result of my research is to be found in the 'links' section - all the

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-3717390999779244702007-02-16T06:12:00.000-08:002007-02-17T02:32:00.821-08:00

i have wanted to write about jean charles for quite some time.his story has been going round my head since i first found out about his death.in fact, when news first broke that he had been killed (22 july 2005) i was pretty shocked about people's attitude to his death.otherpleasespecify is set during this time.who was this man? and why did his death affect me so much?there is a lot of information

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-80588687395574160232007-02-14T03:35:00.000-08:002007-02-14T03:39:40.645-08:00

those of you who know me well will not be surprised to learn that a key theme of the play is identity - how the main character views 'race'. there is a scene in the play where the main character discusses the issue as a three year old. the scene might seem a bit far fetched to some ("i don't think children see skin colour")well, a couple of days ago, a friend of mine sent me this link:http://

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-685175119322831350.post-67230614548804918592007-02-12T00:16:00.000-08:002007-02-12T00:16:30.196-08:00

now that i have completed the first draft of 'otherpleasespecify' i feel able to start a blog about it. it's almost certainly going to be a long road from this first draft to seeing it on stage.to be honest, i'm just happy i've stuck at it this long - i've never completed a play before.actually that's not entirely true - i once wrote a soliloquy (or is that a monologue?) which is kind of a play

sharonnoreply@blogger.com0