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zebee-nyx · 5 months

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CalmWriMo Day 18

[11/18/2023]

Update!

Cozy day at home. Feels like it's been forever since I've had a light day like this to just chill out. Honestly spent more time than I prob should've just listening to youtube and playing minecraft for the first time in awhile. ('0.0) But also worked on writing stuff! So the day wasn't entirely lost to my gaming addiction lol. Did some more character interview things, cause at this point it's fun and helps me figure out the characters! Also did some work on the prologue, but agh, def not getting it done this weekend. It is mostly drafted aside from one weird gap in the middle that I need to plug with a paragraph. (-.-) Going to do that tmr then take a break from that for a week to freshen the mind a touch before going back and doing editing and what not. In the mean time gonna start the drafting for the first part of the story! Which is a mix of exciting and harrowing. [got no idea what I'm doing aside from a vaguely outlined plan lol, way more adjusted to worldbuilding and characters than I am on plot stuff…. Something I need to work on but know the most common way of learning is to completely flub it and I really don’t want to flub it lol… rambling, sorry!]

Progress:

2 Hour Writing Goal: ✅

Blurb: [see below]

Self Care:

Food: ✅

Hydration: ✅

Sleep: ❌[somehow managed to fall asleep while reading a webtoon... half woke up about an hour later to finish reading before actually getting to sleep lol]

Reading: ✅

Blurb: The Undercity

The "Undercity" is the term used to describe the more densely populated and neglected sectors of Neocago City. These regions are mostly located around the southern and outer western parts of the city. Aside from a few scattered and walled off corporate run neighborhoods surrounding factories and other corporate properties the undercity is a lawless place. Buildings are fused as they were haphazardly built atop one another in a completely unplanned way to accommodate rapid unfettered urbanization over the last few decades. Many of these buildings have prefabricated rooms at their core that have been buried by whatever construction materials were available.

Roofed alleyways are covered in trash that will never be collected. The pathways between buildings are almost always wet from a mix of rainwater and water from leaky pipes draining through the various layers of buildings above. Random cables feeding down from rooftop solar panels hang above the streets, following along the paths in thick bundles. People often simply splice into the cables to syphon off power for their businesses or homes as they need forming webs of wires chaotically stretching around over streets and alleys. Many narrow ground level streets are lined with neon signs advertising small local businesses. Some streets have become de facto "retrofitted" into public markets that have street vendor carts. While not necessarily on every surface possible, graffiti isn't uncommon.

Most places around the undercity fall with in the territories of one gang or another who for their credit often try to maintain some level of order and basic essential public services. Services such as shifting garbage away from the local area, "protection", and extinguishing the occasional fire. For the most part security firms [basically privately owned cops for hire, more on this some other time] are absent so nearly everyone in the undercity is armed in some way in the likely event they need to defend themselves. Although typically if one just keeps there head down and doesn't start anything they are relatively safe.

As one travels nearer toward the edge of Neocago the undercity becomes less developed, less populated, and less livable overall with some sections being more or less abandoned. In these places the borders between what is the undercity and the junkyards surrounding the city begin to blur. Sparsely hidden away in the more abandoned areas are indoor gardens that grow food kept away from prying eyes that may attempt to steal meals as well as valuable plants. Some places in these border areas have become mysterious dead zones where few who enter are ever seen nor heard from again.

The population of the undercity is mostly laborers, service industry workers, "service" workers, or unemployed with some small local shop owners sprinkled around. Near universally however, everyone has their vice. This part of the city has also become somewhat attractive to lower level runners, who often thrive in the absence of security firms and high need for people to do odd jobs.

In more developed regions of the undercity buildings are even built over roads which causes an intresting little phenomenon. These areas don't get sunlight and as a result have become immune to the fact that the sun is indeed a deadly laser. Following this little quirk these portions of the undercity usually never sleep and are always a bustling place of foot traffic and commerce.

In essence the undercity is nearly around sixteen million minds all working in their own interests, often intersecting and conflicting with others as there is little overall organized coordination. The aesthetics of this region are heavily governed by that as millions of little self serving adjustments are made to the environment each day.

[WOOOO!!! Love me some worldbuilding! lol (>v<) For the next week the blurbs will be about different areas in and around Neocago and honestly I'm going to have an absolute blast writing about it all! (^.^) Anyways and always, hope you are having a lovely day, peace (^V^)v]

#writeblr #writing #worldbuilding #writing community #cyberpunk #digitally dead #calmwrimo #nanowrimo

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yegarts · 1 year

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I Am YEG Arts: Andrew Ritchie

Photo by Mat Simpson

Andrew Ritchie is seemingly everywhere all at once in Edmonton's theatre scene. His versatility as a theatre artist, whether he is directing or performing onstage, has taken Andrew across the country, but it is his ability to “build it yourself” here in Edmonton that has always brought him back. As Artistic Director of Thou Art Here Theatre and co-founder of the Found Festival (under Common Ground Arts), that DIY mentality has allowed Andrew to tell relevant and exciting stories in unexpected places while focusing on how space and the role of the audience can be explored in any theatre show. Director, theatre maker, improviser, program coordinator, teacher, producer – this week’s I Am YEG Arts feature focuses on Andrew Ritchie.

Tell us about your connection to Edmonton and what keeps you living and working here.

I was born and raised in Edmonton or amiskwacîwâskahikan on Treaty 6, and I am a third-generation settler of Scottish, Irish, Welsh and Polish heritage. My family originally immigrated to Winnipeg and rural Alberta, but we've kind of been in Edmonton since the 1980s or the 1950s, depending on what side of the family. And I've had the privilege to work across the whole country, including spending many years in Toronto, ON, but also in Regina, SK. But I've always been pulled back to Edmonton because this is where my community is. A lot of my personal family actually doesn't live here anymore, so it definitely is a place where my chosen family is. It's where my closest friends are, it’s where I've just found community among the people that practice theatre here, and I think -- especially after living in Toronto, which is a much larger city than Edmonton, then also in Regina, which is a much smaller city than Edmonton -- Edmonton feels kind of like the perfect size in between, and I feel like I can have a large impact in the city with my art. And there's also an ability to be DIY and to build it yourself here, which is kind of why I want to keep living and working here. Currently I work as the Program Coordinator with Theatre Alberta, I am the Artistic Director of Thou Art Here Theatre, I'm an ensemble member with Rapid Fire Theatre, and I'm also a freelance theatre artist.

How did you get started in theatre? Was it always plan A?

No, it was definitely not plan A, or B, or C, or D. My parents loved attending theatre. They were always patrons of the arts, so I think I was very lucky as someone growing up in Edmonton that I got the opportunity to see shows at the Citadel or at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre, or at the University of Alberta. And we'd go to the Fringe sometimes, or to the Street Performers Festival. But I was never really an artsy kid. It wasn't really until high school where I came across a lunchtime improv club, and through that I heard about improv that happened at 11:00 o'clock at night off Whyte Ave, which was Rapid Fire Theatre. I'd never heard of something like that before, and it was the coolest thing. This was in 2003 and I just fell in love with theatre. From that I did the Bachelor of Arts in Drama at the U of A, which eventually led me to graduate with my degree in theatre, kind of focusing on directing but kind of getting a handle on a little bit of everything from the BA program. And right after graduating, in 2011 I was part of a group that founded Thou Art Here Theatre, and also, I was part of a group of individuals that created the Found Festival under Common Ground Arts, and those two things happened roughly around the same time. And I think those kind of solidified my ongoing career in theatre.

What was one of the biggest professional risks that you've taken and how did it influence where you are today?

This was a tough one to think about. I think the biggest show risk I've ever taken was that in 2019 I directed and produced a production of Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play by Anne Washburn, who's an American playwright. And at the time, I wasn't living in Edmonton and that show was just so large in scale. I think the artistic risks we took to transform the Westbury Theatre into three different theatre spaces for that three-act play, and the design elements, and the original music we wrote for the show, and just all those different parts that came together for the piece were just such a huge risk and I think paid off in the art. It was definitely a very challenging process, and I can look back on that and it makes me think of the grandiose vision of that and the aesthetic of that show that is something that I'm interested in continuing to try to find. And I think for me as a director, I think scale or spectacle with people, just having a lot of artists involved, is kind of something that I'm always interested in working on large scale shows, even when I have small scale budget. So that was a very big risk that I think I took that continues to influence me.

Top: Mr. Burns, a post-electric play by Anne Washburn. 2019. Directed by Andrew Ritchie, photography by BB Collective. Bottom: MINE by Ash Hicks. 2023. Directed by Andrew Ritchie, photography by Mat Simpson.

Tell us a bit about your role with Thou Art Here Theatre and what makes it special to you and the city.

Thou Art Here Theatre was co-founded in 2011 by myself and Neil Kuefler, who is a dear friend and a fellow graduate from the U of A. We both were emerging artists in the city and we, like many emerging artists, were very eager to work and we just weren't getting as many opportunities as we wanted. So, we decided to create our own opportunities and to produce shows in the spaces that we could get, which were free spaces, and I would say maybe sometimes “guerilla spaces” -- spaces that maybe you could ask for permission for, but we chose not to at that time. At that time, we were very interested in Shakespeare, being inspired by our professor David Barnett at the U of A. We were producing site specific, or “site sympathetic” Shakespeare shows that were engaging with the space.

That theatre company is so special to me. I still work with them today. I've come and gone from the company a little bit over the years, but really it represents friendship to me, like camaraderie. It's really hard to run a theatre company, but I think one of the reasons that Thou Art Here continues to exist, and a lot of the people that originally started it are still involved, is because we've always centered friendship at the forefront of it, and through that we’ve been able to take huge risks with our shows. We were able to tour a show to Calgary. We were able to collaborate with Freewill for the past eight years. And since 2011, the company has changed a lot. We are now a non-profit, and we just became a charity, and we also dropped the Shakespeare mandate so we are now less focused on the work of Shakespeare and more focused on how space and the role of the audience can be explored in any theatre show.

I think all theatre wants its audience to be engaged, of course, and I think when you break the rules that we understand about theatre, with how an audience may be is sitting, or they respond, or if they participate, I think it makes it much harder for the audience to disengage with the show. And I think it's more likely for it to be very memorable and hopefully an emotionally impactful experience.

Of all of your “site sympathetic” productions that you have created over the years, are there any particular standouts?

With Thou Art Here I think the one that we talked about the most in a certain nostalgic way is our production of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, which we did three times. It had such a success to it, so three years in a row, and each year we kind of built upon it with the design of the show. We did it in 2014 and 2015 at the Rutherford Provincial Historic Site on the U of A campus, and then in 2016 we toured it down to the Lougheed National Historic Site in Calgary. And though many of the artists that were involved in the shows became close friends and it was a group of 10 actors, I found all three productions of those had ensemble. We found a beautiful sense of ensemble and I'm always trying to find that again.

Photo by BB Collective

As a long-standing member of Rapid Fire Theatre, how does improv inform your creative process as a theatre creator?

I think it informs every part of it. I am constantly reminded of the rules of improv, or the tenants of improv. I am often working as a director or a leader in a space, and I think how I choose to have warmups in the space, how I approach rehearsal or teaching or directing, I want to embrace active listening, taking risks and that sense of play, which are all so important in improv. And I think continuing to act onstage and be in front of an audience can be super important for a director and makes them much more empathetic to the role of the actor and how an actor goes about the work that they do. So, I think it's all very tied together and I'm so very lucky to have performed as long as I have with Rapid Fire Theatre.

Who's someone inspiring you right now and why?

I recently had the fortune to travel to London, England and I saw a production of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, directed by Jamie Lloyd who wouldn't be a household name, but this production starred famous Emilia Clarke. It wasn't Emilia Clarke that made this production inspire me -- she was great still -- but the overall design of the show and how it was they staged it, it really embraced simplicity. It took away any props or costumes. It was so contemporary to London and to the context there. It really just used people and theatricality. It was not naturalistic; it was using just chairs and bodies in space to create all the different environments. And I thought that was so refreshing and it was clearly not possible to do in film and I think that's such an inspiring thing to see in theatre.

And the other thing I just have to mention, are all my friends that are doing work in this city that inspire me. There's so many in the theatre community, but if I could rattle off a few, I am so inspired by my dear friends and their work: Geoffrey Simon Brown, Elena Eli Belyea, Gianna Vacirca, Oscar Derkx, Ainsley Hillyard, Lianna Makuch... there's so many. I'm inspired by my friends and community.

Tell us a little bit about what you're currently working on and what you're hoping to explore next.

So, I am currently developing a new solo show, my second show that I've ever created. It's called Cycle and it is all about urban biking and bike culture in Edmonton and in Canada. It's going to be exploring everyone's favourite two words: bike lanes. And I'd say it's hyper local, hyper political. It's also inspired by my time working as a bike food courier in Toronto and kind of talking about gig work culture and how biking can intersect with climate change and how we all have a right to move around our cities. So that's the show I’m currently working on.

The other thing I'm working on is that I'm about to have a second baby with my amazing, inspiring partner and wife Marlee in August. So that's kind of the next big life project.

If people are interested in learning more about any of the things I've talked about, you can go to https://thouartheretheatre.com/ or on all the socials, or I have a website andrewritchie.net and sometimes I post on Instagram, but not often.

Promo for Cycle by Andrew Ritchie. Graphic Design by Tynan Boyd.

About Andrew Ritchie

Andrew Ritchie is a director, theatre maker, improviser, teacher, and producer born and raised on Treaty 6 territory in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton). He has performed and directed across Turtle Island (North America) and his work has ranged from new work, contemporary, classical, improvisational, movement, mask, clown, bouffon, and immersive theatre.

He has a Master of Fine Arts in Directing & Creation from York University, a Bachelor of Arts in Drama & English with Distinction from the University of Alberta, and is a graduate of the Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program.

Andrew is a co-founder and artistic director of Thou Art Here Theatre. He has performed improv across North America including being an ensemble member with Rapid Fire Theatre. Currently he is Program Coordinator with Theatre Alberta, an arts-service organization dedicated to the growth and development of the Albertan theatre community.

Previously he was the Sandbox Series Coordinator & Theatre School Director at Globe Theatre in Regina, SK from 2018-20. He is a co-founder of the Common Ground Arts Society's Found Festival, Edmonton's multi-disciplinary found space arts festival and was festival director from 2014-2015. He has ran two other indie theatre companies: Rock Steady Productions (2010-2012) & You Are Here Theatre (2016-2020).

#yegarts #yeg #edmontonarts #iamyegarts #yegtheatre

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michaeljacksoncaptaineo · 3 years

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Today in History

On January 26, 1984, Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial.

UPI:

JAN. 28, 1984

Michael Jackson hospitalized after fireworks mishap on set of Pepsi commercial

ByJEFF HASEN

LOS ANGELES -- Superstar Michael Jackson, hospitalized with burns from fireworks that ignited his hair during filming of a commercial, was quietly discharged from a hospital Saturday against his doctor's recommendation.

Dr. Steve Hoefflin said he believed it was best for Jackson to stay at Brotman Memorial Hospital, but reluctantly agreed to his release at 12:30 p.m. PST (3:30 p.m. EST). Hours earlier, he had told reporters Jackson would be hospitalized 'for several days.'

'We recommended that Michael stay, but we determined this could be done as well out of the hospital as in the hospital,' Hoefflin said. 'Despite our recommendation, he felt he did want to be treated as an outpatient.

'He was quite happy. He felt better after a good night's sleep. He's in excellent health and was showing very rapid signs of recovery. He's very pleased it was not more of a severe burn.'

Hoefflin said he did not know where Jackson planned to go.

Jackson, 25, was dancing down a stairway at the Shrine Auditorium Friday night in a scene for a multi-million dollar Pepsi commercial when a special effects smoke bomb apparently misfired and set his pomade-slicked hair ablaze.

Nurse Pat Lavalas, the burn unit supervisor, said Jackson was in good spirits Saturday morning and he received many telephone calls, including get-well wishes from singers Teddy Pendergrass and Stephanie Mills.

'He left in good spirits and his condition is good,' she said. 'He didn't speak about the accident to us. He watched 'American Bandstand' this morning and people were getting his autograph.

He sang a Stephanie Mills song in the bathroom. He stayed in bed and opened telegrams, and he got a big kick out of one from a fan that said, 'I know you're hot, but this is ridiculous,'' the nurse said.

Just hours before Jackson's secretive departure, Hoefflin told reporters the singer was in satisfactory condition with second-degree burns and a small third-degree burn on the back of his head.

'He's in moderate pain, he's much more tired than we anticipated. He needs sleep at this time,' Hoefflin told reporters at a hospital news conference.

He said Jackson may require reconstructive surgery.

Jackson, the country's top singer, won seven American Music Awards earlier this month and picked up a record 12 Grammy nominations. Hoefflin said Jackson will be able to attend the Feb. 28 Grammy presentations at the Shrine 'if he feels up to it.'

A spokesman for Jackson said the singer requested that a tape of the accident be made public as soon as the film can be processed.

'Michael wants to make certain that his fans know exactly what happened,' Larry Larson told reporters at the hospital.

Asked if Jackson was contemplating a lawsuit, he said, 'There's no indication at this point.'

Hospital officials said the medical center had been inundated with thousands of phone calls since Jackson arrived and a spokesman pleaded with the public to stop calling, saying emergency calls could not get through.

The singer's 'Thriller' album topped the music charts last year, placing an unprecedented six singles -- including 'Billie Jean' and 'Beat It' -- in the top 10 and spawning several popular videos.

The accident Friday night occurred before a horrified audience of about 3,000 people who won tickets to the taping from a local radio station.

One witness told United Press International that Jackson removed his jacket without breaking stride and tried to put out the fire.

'There was supposed to be an explosion for his big entrance,' Daryoush Maze, 25, an extra in the cast, said. 'As he went off, an explosion went off and there was blue smoke all around his head and neck. There were no flames, just blue smoke from the stuff he had in his hair.

'It seemed like it was part of the show. He was doing it very professionally, still dancing. He's a good trouper.'

About a block from Jackson's boyhood home, nearly 1,000 people clad in their Sunday best jammed into a small, stuffy basketball gym to hear the candidate speak.

After a church choir sang a few hymns, Jackson's mother, wearing a deep blue dress and a 'Jackson in '84' button, triumphantly introduced her son to the throng.

Jackson took the stage and led the audience in his familiar 'I am somebody' chant.

'Our mission is justice at home and peace abroad,' he told the townspeople. 'I've watched the growth of this city and this state and I see the need for more growth.

'We have the need this day to have a spirit of redemption and reconciliation -- to rise above historic divisions that have stunted our growth. This is a period for us to beat our swords into plowshares.'

Jackson spoke of Greenville as once being the textile capital of the world, and noted the slump in the industry today that has put thousands out of work.

He called for an end to the 'dislocation of the textile industry.'

'This generation must realize when a plant closes, it closes without notice. Men cannot feed their families; mothers cannot nourish their children. That kind of reckless economic conduct must challenge us to open a new economic order.'

Jackson also visited a small bar that sponsors a softball team Jackson played on during the 1960s.

The presidential hopeful was the team's starting first baseman.

'He's a long-ball hitter,' said Charles Chiles, a patron of the establishment who remembers Jackson's days on the softball field.

Jackson also climbed onto the fender of a brown Cadillac parked near the bar during the afternoon and urged about 200 onlookers to register to vote.

'You can help me and you can help yourself,' he said. 'If we register to vote our children will not have to grow up as we did. They can get jobs. They can develop and grow.

'We can not only hang around on the corner, we can own the corner.'

Moonwalk book page 235-238:

Later one of the doctors told me that it was a miracle I was alive. One of the firemen had mentioned that in most cases your clothes catch on fire in which case the whole face can be disfigured or you can die. That’s it. I third-degree burns On the back of my head that’s Almost went through to my skull, so we had a lot of the problems with it, But I was very lucky.

What we now know is that the incident created a lot of publicity for the commercial. They sold more Pepsi than ever before. And they came back to me later and offered me the biggest commercial endorsement Fee in history. It was so unprecedented But it went into The Guinness Book of World Records. Pepsi and I worked together on another Commercial called” The Kid”, And I gave them problems by limiting the shots of me because I felt the shots they were asking for didn’t work well. Later, when the commercial was a success, he told me I had been right.

I still remember how scared those Pepsi excuses looked the night of the fire. They thought that my getting burned would leave a bad taste in the mouth every kid in America who drank Pepsi. They knew I could have sued him and I could have. But I was real nice about it. Real nice. They gave me $1,500,000 Which I immediately donated to the Michael Jackson Burn Center. I wanted to do something because I was so moved By the other burn patient I met while I was in the hospital.

“ I have a plan to spend most of 1984 working on some movie ideas we had, But those plans got sidetracked. First, in January, I Was burned On the set of a Pepsi commercial I was shooting with my brothers.

The reason for the fire stupidity, pure and simple. We were shooting tonight and I Wassupposed To come down a staircase yes magnesium flash bombs Going off on either side of me and just behind me. It seemed so simple. I wanted to walk down the stairs and these bombs Would blow up. We did several takes that were wonderfully timed. The lighting effects from the bombs were great. Only later did I find out that these bombs Were only two feet away from either side of my head, which was a total Disregard of the safety regulations. I was supposed to stand in the middle of a magnesium explosion, two feet on either side.

Then Bob Giraldi, the director, Came to me and said, “ Michael, you are going down too early. We want To see you up there, up on the stairs. When the lights come on, we want to reveal that you’re there, so wait”

So I waited, the bombs went off on either side of my head, and the sparks set My hair on fire. I was dancing down the ramp and turning around, spinning not knowing I was on fire. Suddenly I filled my hands reflexively going to my head In an attempt to smother the flames. Are you feeling down and just tried to shake the Flames out. Jermaine Turned around and saw me on the ground, Just after the explosions had gone off, and he thought I was shot be someone In the crowd — ‏because we were shooting In front of a big audience. That what I looked like to him.

Miko Brando , Who works for me, was the first person to reach me. After that, it was clhaos. It was crazy. No for me could probably capture The drama of what went on That night. The crowd was screaming. Someone shouted, “ Get some ice! “ There were fantic running sounds. People were yelling,” Oh no!”. The emergency truck came up And before they Put me in Isow the Pepsi excutives huddled together in a corner, looking terrified. I remember the medical people putting me on a cot And the guys from Pepsi were so scared They couldn’t

even bring themselves to check on me.

Meanwhile, I was kind of detached, despite the terrible pain, I was watching all the drama unfold. Later they told me, I was in shock, but I remember enjoying the ride to the hospital because I never thought I’d ride in an ambulance with the sirens wailing. It was one of those things I had always wanted to do when I was growing up. We got there, They told me there news crews Outside, so I asked for my glove. There’s a famous shot one waving from the stretcher with my glove on. hooting tonight and I Wassupposed To come down a staircase yes magnesium flash bombs Going off on either side of me and just behind me. It seemed so simple. I wanted to walk down the stairs and these bombs Would blow up. We did several takes that were wonderfully timed. The lighting effects from the bombs were great. Only later did I find out that these bombs Were only two feet away from either side of my head, which was a total Disregard of the safety regulations. I was supposed to stand in the middle of a magnesium explosion, two feet on either side.

even bring themselves to check on me.

https://youtu.be/DkMNn7TA0pg

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#mj mjj mjlegacy mjisthebestofthebest michaeljackson bahamas #moonwalker #mjfanandproudofit #neverland #pepsico #pepsiad #commercial #hair #realking #royalty #kingofpop #mjthehusband #applehead #mjisinnocent #Youtube

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