We took ourselves into Manhattan yesterday for a dose of the hurried life, complete with angst about finding a free parking spot. We strategized to start on the upper East side and wind up at the Gertrude Stein Collection exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and then at a jazz/dinner club, "Smoke" on 105th and Broadway. The gods of parking were with us when we easily slid into a street spot at 91st and Fifth. A nice walk on a day that unexpectedly turned out to be beautiful.
Great signage on the Frick Museum undergoing a renovation and cordoned off with mesh and yellow banners. "Like everyone else living on Fifth Avenue, we are having 'a little work done.'" As we made our way toward the Stein collections, we lingered briefly in the Egyptian hallway to read some of the stories on the Egyptian murals---centuries of agricultural tales illustrated on papyrus. Was it true that the slave who scattered the grain was taller than the slave who tamped the soil down over it? Did the goddess who received the urn after the gods of rain invoked the opening of the heavens truly tower over all of the smaller people around her? That was ancient storytelling---pictures of reality they shared for historical reasons and personal communication.
Onward to the Stein collections. Now, I have a feeling I wouldn't have liked Gertrude. While I appreciate many of the artists she supported and nurtured, the collection is wonderfully annotated, and the writers have cautiously depicted the vicious feuds and killer ambitions of both the collectors and their chattel, the starving artists, ex patriots. Storytelling for me as a non-visual artist who has listened in personally on the "making" or "breaking" of a career in the fine arts (I had a boyfriend who was a powerful art critic) felt all too venal and self aggrandizing. The Steins were intellectuals and didn't have to work for the bread on their tables. If you didn't interest Gertrude, you may as well have become a shoemaker in Paris in the early 1900s. As you read between the lines near each grouping of paintings, see what you think. The paintings become so alive with the story, but so does their not so passionate motivation for each painting. Long live commercial value!

Yes, after riding around for a half an hour toward our jazz club we found a street parking spot on 108th and West End. Great teeny club, a jewel. Sat close to our neighbors on both sides. Ate like a queen. Listened to "Jimmy Cobb" recreate Miles Davis "Kind of Blue." Blue periods for painters and musicians, but for us, it was a rosy day.

Leave Town & Country for an Evening

Repost with addendum. We have been playing to capacity at TWO BOOTS of BRIDGEPORT. Now, coming, other programs using real life experiences as their core. http://thebijoutheatre.com/blog/

MAY 23, 2012

Today is an important day for Mousemuse. We are hitting the streets of Bridgeport's ambitious revival district at Bijou Square. Once upon a time, Manhattanhites winced about attending cutting edge arts events in what was called "alphabet city." Now, they have to lineup for tickets to cutting edge entertainment or theater that doesn't cost $175 a ticket like Broadway, but is just as thought provoking.

Yes, in Westport we've embraced the arts. But the emerging artists have little or no center to simply gather. Restaurants are sprouting again in Westport. Gorgeous women and magazine men. Good hype and vibe at the Spotted Horse late at night. Then where to? A rock band at the Duck? Maybe. A little upstairs music at a couple of places. Jazz Jam at WAC in folding chairs with a plastic glass of wine? No ambience, but sometimes exciting if you could walk there and feel the "club" vibe.

But how about a little culture? Are the art galleries planning to stay open. Is our town Madison Avenue? Is Westport ever going to properly develop a venue with a stage. Town Hall has the auditorium, and a black box theater that's privately run, but budget constraints are real as Westport focuses in on our gem of an educational system.

How did Brooklyn and SoHo and Alphabet City develop into vibrant places? Cheap real estate and someone with vision. Lots of someones. Youth could afford to live there and work there. Later they'd move out to the burbs and wonder why they felt "dead."

We are so insular we've forgotten to look a few (metaphoric) blocks up the road. That's where Bridgeport has, for the past ten years, been quietly putting its future in the hands of artistic visionaries like Phil Kuchma. The Kuchma Corporation has put its money and passion behind the redevelopment of Bijou Square. Kuchma and MouseMuse are meeting on Friday, May 25th. MouseMuse and Kuchma's team are heading into a momentous time. If you stop thinking of Bridgeport as if it is Hell's Kitchen, (and you know that Hell's Kitchen is now unaffordable) you will realize that it's a city much closer to you than New York, some of the best places like Two Boots and the Bijou were recruited by Kuchma to start up a quality arts community. It's an opportunity for our fans to not only dine out with the swells, but an opportunity to get real, and to generate ideas.

Our Vibrant Group Makes In-Roads to Support Writers Working in Solitude

Last Wednesday's Writers' Cafe was a blast, as always. Ina presented the critiques without the writing, and the writers she and Margaret had paired up using the anonymous forms.

For those who don't know about this... writers  who are members of the non-fee based group, but who communicate with us and/or attend some meetings are invited to submit up to 1500 words as a blind submission for a critique by another writer, not necessarily in the same genre. It was valuable to hear the critiques, which gave each writer something to think about vis a vis our own writing, and our writers agreed that this was what they were looking for. These critiques stood alone from the writing and were handed out to the writer afterwards.

• Quite a bit of bragging, which we encourage,  went on - I think we even made enough to pay for the coffee and cookies...Each step forward means donating a dollar if you want to feel good about your own progress.

The MouseMuse storytelling program, Stories on the Green, (which branched of the original writers artists cafe)  has been picked up for another winter season at the Fairfield Museum and History center. Finalizing all of next season's dates at various venues and posting them is the challenge for the next two months. A writing contest is in the works. Stay tuned.

We bought stage lights  for our multiple venues which make all the storytellers look wonderful. (These are also available to rent at fabulously inexpensive rates, if you need them. Get in touch with Ina@mousemuse or Rozannegates@optonline.net.  Rozanne is the tech expert should you need one.

Check our mousmuse programs page for updates as they are added www.mousemuse.com

And finally, MouseMuse Storytelling has its own n radio program at WPKN (89.5FM). The show airs Monday, February 27 at 11:00 pm. Bill Bosch and Ina will be hosting live to introduce the programs and the best of our years worth of Storytelling culled from  recordings. MouseMuse will be airing the storytelling recordings and as we progress we will develop on-air readings by writers. Stay tuned as we find our way around this one. We have programming freedom, but planning this requires much attention.

MORE BRAGS

Elsie Ferrara has been asked to contribute to a booklet of Lenten Reflections by her church.

Jane Sherman is working hard on her memoir. An excerpt from it will be published in the next issue of the Weston Magazine (and in all its associated magazines, 8 in total).

Valerie Austin gave us her new favorite word: sesquipedelian, explaining that it means characterized by long words, or long-winded. She's determined to avoid this in her writing.

Dee Andrian will be joining some 20 other actors/writers to read from her memoir at the Westport country Playhouse in a performance entitled, provocatively, Under the Covers. The performance will take place on may 4 and 5.

Lisa Calderonewas set to launch her new website Mahjongg Memoirs yesterday (Sunday). Designed as a tribute to Lisa's mother on her birthday, Lisa is now looking fro other memoirs of Mahjong, to publish on the site. She asked writers to look at the site and give her any feedback/suggestions they could. (I've seen it; it's fascinating and I think Lisa could give us all some tips on how to produce a really professional site.)

Sophie Barnes read two minutes of her first ever fiction writing. Until now she's been writing memoir.

Leslie Chess Feller joined the group and asked who would be interested in starting a grandmother's writing group. Most of us declined but since Leslie is a new grandmother, we applaud her. If we forgot your brag, please contact us. It's a voluble group. Fun, vibrant and full of ideas.

Among the more general announcements:

The Fairfield Museum and History Center is presenting Thinking Outside the Box: original 10 Minute Play Fest on March 4 and 11. organized by Jeanine DeFalco, founder of the Falcon Repertory Company these short plays have been written by Connecticut writers. Ina wondered whether our writers might like to stretch their play-writing muscles by trying to write a 10 minute play too.

In addition, Lisa is Founding and Executive Editor of Mason's Road, the literary magazine of Fairfield University, and announced their new reading period. Submissions have to be in by May 15.

Among the more general information:

Here's the link to find out more about Poets & Writers submissions database
http://writeconnexion.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/looking-for-somewhere-to-submit/

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 14. See you there 🙂

HOW TO BE PART OF THE BLIND CRITiQUE PROCESS : At this particular point we welcome all writers who have attended one or more of our monthly meetings and whose participation within a group has been felt to be positive and adherent to professional standards.

Submission Dates for Writers Artists Collaborative Blind Submission Process:

The Writers Artists Collaborative provides a monthly opportunity to get blind feedback on pieces we’re writing. We submit a piece or work-in-progress anonymously, and that piece is matched with a reviewer who briefly describes what hit the target, was missed or didn't grab them. Pieces are also rated with a number between 1 and 10 (with 1 being "needs a rewrite" and 10 being "will win a Pulitzer" -- well, at least we can dream!) and discussed, time permitting, at our Writers' Cafe.  Please visit www.mousemuse.com for more details.

March Deadlines:

• Submit pieces: By midnight on Thursday, 3/1/12

• Anonymous pieces sent to reviewers: Tuesday, 3/6

• Reviewer comments due electronically: by Tuesday, 3/13, 5pm

• Discussion: Wednesday, 3/14, during our March Writers' Cafe

April Deadlines:

• Submit pieces: By midnight on Friday, 3/30/12

• Anonymous pieces sent to reviewers: Tuesday, 4/3

• Reviewer comments due electronically: by Tuesday, 4/10, 5pm

• Discussion: Wednesday, 4/11, during our April Writers' Cafe

May Deadlines:

• Submit pieces: By midnight on Friday, 5/4/12

• Anonymous pieces sent to reviewers: Tuesday, 5/8

• Reviewer comments due electronically: by Tuesday, 5/15, 5pm

• Discussion: Wednesday, 5/16, during our May Writers' Cafe

We are homing in on our agenda for our Writers' Cafe meetings which have become wonderful sharing points, but many people don't have the time in the middle of the day. In all fairness to them, we are trying to stick to an agenda that takes the best of the best and helps you all stay in touch at other times.

• 12:30pm to 12:40pm: Arrivals and Making Tea (10 minutes?)

• 12:40pm to 12:50pm/1:00pm: Introductions and Brags... what writing success have you had during the last month (could be about 30 seconds to 1 minute/person, so 10 to 20 minutes?)

• 1:00pm to 1:10pm: Writers Artists Collaborative and Mouse Muse Updates/News (5 to 10 minutes?)

• 1:10pm to 1:40pm: Blind Submissions Discussion (30 minutes?)

• 1:40pm to 1:50pm/1:55pm: Two-Minute Readings (10 to 15 minutes, figure about 5 to 7 people per meeting?)

• 1:55pm to 2:00pm:

Email: Margaret H. Wagner <margaret_wagner@hotmail.com> for submission forms and any other information.

Thanks to all, Ina@mousemuse

 

 

Margaret Wagner was kind enough to take notes at the last Writers' Cafe since I couldn't be there. Here's what she wrote:

We had a small but mighty Writers' Cafe on 12/14/11 before the holidays – seven people attended. Here are some of the highlights:

TWO-MINUTE READINGS

We continued reading something we’ve written for two minutes, in an effort to get to know each other better and start the conversation about having people writing in similar genres pair up and work with each other.

We also talked about doing a survey, so we’re clear about everyone’s intentions for being in the group. It should also provide an opportunity for suggestions and determine how to best serve our collaboration.  Look for a short online survey in the new year.

BLIND FEEDBACK

No, Mouse Muse is not producing Three Blind Mice!  Rather, the group thought it would be helpful to provide a monthly way to get blind feedback on pieces we’re writing.  So, for anyone who would like to participate, here’s the process:

• Written piece length: 1,500 words maximum as a Word document (please use .doc only).
• Use the attached cover sheet to identify your piece.  No identification beyond the piece title and page numbers should be on the body of the piece.
• Email piece and cover sheet to ina@mousemuse.com no later than Tuesday, 1/3/12, midnight.
• Although it may be possible to have comments back to you by our next meeting on Wednesday, 1/11/12, we’ll see what everyone can do.
• If you submit a piece, we’ll assume you will also volunteer to be a reviewer.
• If you’d like to be a reviewer, but don’t have a piece to submit, please email Ina no later than Tuesday, 1/3/12, midnight at ina@mousemuse.com

We’re excited to offer this, so let’s see how it goes for the first month, and we’ll make refinements from there.

BRAGGING RIGHTS

• Linda Clearwater illustrated four flipbooks for Zonder Kids.
• Jane Sherman will have the first chapter of her memoir excerpted by the Weston Magazine Group.
• Catherine Onyemelukwe, whose birthday was that day, finished the first chapter of her memoir.
• Sophie Barnes won a first prize gold coin and will be printed in the World Poetry Collective.
• Ina Chadwick had “Daddy’s Gunslinging Daughter, JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Me” published by the Weston Magazine Group (check out page 182 of their Fall issue: http://twurl.nl/25lnjk)
• Margaret Wagner organized a writing/dance workshop for 12/30/11.

FUTURE 2012 MEETINGS

Location: Future Writers’ Cafes will be held at Ina Chadwick’s home, 2 Redcoat Lane in Westport, CT (near Exit 41 on the Merritt/Route 15).  For directions, please email Ina at: Ina@mousemuse.com.  (NOTE: We are no longer meeting at the Westport Arts Center.)

Parking: Please park as neatly as possible in the driveway, and use the second door on the side of the house (the first side door is the entrance to the dentist’s office; the second door is the one at the beginning of the walkway).Time: 12:30pm to 2pm

Options to bring:

• A piece or portion of a piece to read – we’ll cut you off at the two-minute mark.
• $1.00 for bragging dollars, if you have any news to share!

Save these dates for future Writers’ Cafes in 2012:

• January 11
• February 15
• March 14
• April 11
• May 16

 

Our storytelling evening at Landmark Academy in Westport saw 80 audience members and seven storytellers connecting, laughing and sharing. Her are some of Larry Untermeyer's photos of a fabulous evening: