I'm gearing up for a busy season of creation this winter. It started with the Balé Tech drum corps - now dubbed Orkest Asfalto - drumming along with the procession at Day of the Dead.

Actually, it started a few weeks ago with a writing workshop I've been invited to join. The brian child of Jonathan Spector and Molly Aaronson-Gelb (and a couple others, I'm sure) it's the New Play Lab project from Just Theatre. The lab tries to get in front of the typical workshop process by actually helping writers start a script - from page 0 through the first draft. We'll eventually get paired with a director who will lead us through this process, but each of the four writers - Tim Bauer, Aaron Loeb (both of Bay Area Playwrights Festival and Playground fame), Liz Lisle (who was the voice of reason representing Shotgun Theatre at Balé Techlorico's Cry Don't Cry Show) and .. myself. In addition to Jonathan (now the Literary Manager at BAPF) and Molly, we'll be joined on the dramaturgical / directorial side by - tentatively so far - Joy Meads from CalShakes and Chris White of mugwumpin (who have a show on right now... Oh, and Just Theatre had a show, but I'm behind on my blogging here....)

In reality, the season of creativity started several years ago, when I first wrote "Vertical Commute," a future dystopian 10-minute play that was a Heideman Award finalist. Robert Henry Johnson - dancer, choreographer and actor extraordinaire - is producing a reading series at the African American Cultural Center (in San Francisco), and my piece is being read - tonight!

Oh - and Balé Tech will be doing ... something ... in January. More details to come....