If anyone were to ask what defines me, or what I consider my religion, most people who know me well would not be surprised to hear me say "Creativity." I eat it, breath it, live it. If I'm not acting in a play, I'm writing one. If I'm not reading poetry I'm composing my own, if I'm not dancing at a contra dance, I'm choreographing something for a show or for kicks (pun intended). I've been known to say that creativity is my religion, although my religious practice centers around the
Neopagan, with a smattering of practice in Buddhism and dream work. This all aligns as far as I've found, because Pagans create their own rituals and focus themselves on the study of the ancient past, the Earth, herbalism, etc. as a way of creatively exploring what Divinity is to them.
I'm writing a science fiction novel (
ok - trilogy - what's a sci
fi book if it's not three?) which seems to spawn a never ending spiral of short stories to develop its universe. The book has had several working titles since I started it, but for now it is called "Sonata of Stars." Right now I'm working very far back in the origins of this book's Universe on a story called "Mystic Bones." It outlines the origins of the mystic culture that surrounds one of the two main characters in the overarching story of the book.
I've been researching a lot on genetic therapies for this story. See, I imagine that the woman who founded this mystic culture was a woman from Earth (our far future) who injects her self with the genetic remnants of several women who were saints. This prompts a massive overload or tear in her consciousness until she actually touches the fabric of the Universe. In my story's 'universe' the Universe is awake, as in 'Awakening' awake and as in 'conscious individual' awake. She touches that with her mind, in essence becoming an
Uber Mystic Saint, and leading her people out into the galaxies to search for the center of this Universal Conscience.
The story's origins lie in a long time fascination I have with an eleventh century Christian mystic named "
Hildegard von Bingen" who had visions of Christ she wrote down into several volumes - one in particular called "
Scivias." (a hybridization of two Latin words which mean "Know the Way"). I became fascinated with
Hildegard when I read of her life. At age 11 she went to a convent and was essentially walled in with her patron - a woman named
Jutta. "Buried with Christ" they called it. I started wondering,
"What on Earth could it be like to be so young and to be seeing visions that come from a divine being?"
Anyway, I'll be posting a rough draft of this story to my online writers' group this week. I
lOVE this group. For anyone writing speculative fiction and wanting to work on becoming published, this is the place to be:
http://www.otherworlds.net/ Check them out. They are a group with very specific rules but the rules (or
rools as they are called in the group) make the writing happen.
I've got a couple of plays in the hopper as well. My full length poetic play, "Angel in the Fire" is something you'll see more about later. (probably a lot more as it's hopefully going to get a full production this year. )
While I've recently completed some shorter pieces such as my play "Light," which explores human beings' use of technology to 'light the dark' through the ages. A few others are in the drawer, "The Forensics of Sacrifice" "Mozart's Head" and "Orbiting Cleo" are all pieces in partial or completed rough draft from.
Most all of my work in
playwrighting includes some sort of science or speculative science aspect. When they don't, they cover some aspect of my Pagan background. "The Four Quarters of Forgiveness" is a story that spun off in classic narrative form from "Angel in the fire" while I was trying to rewrite that piece. It chronicles a young woman's journey toward wholeness after having an abortion. Her finding of her faith in the God/
dess is what saves her.
As might not surprise after that litany of works, for the last several years, I've been growing a network called "The Vermont Playwrights Circle." We support local writers through workshops, staged readings, schmoozing and if we have to down right wining, dining and begging folks to take a look at our work. - OK we try to avoid the begging... ;-)
If you want to keep up with what we are doing at The Vermont Playwrights Circle, you can go to our website:
http://www.vermontplaywrightscircle.org/ where we post our schedule of readings, workshops, and a list of local theaters. If you know of a writer who might like to get involved, tell them about us. We love to have more company.
What else do I do? What else is there time for after that? My intention this year is to spend more time with the people that matter in my life. Over the years I've been a bit of a hermit, sometimes out of necessity and sometimes out of pure expression of my 'hermit genes.' Life's too short.
