On Watching My Characters Take The Stage

Last week Barbara Ross posted some wonderful photos from the Portland Stage Company event on March 5th, where actors performed staged readings of work by Lea Wait, Dick Cass, Chris Holm, Barb and me.

As Barb said, it was a joy to have our work read by such skilled actors and to take the stage together for the post-performance audience discussion led by the terrific Bess Welden. Unfortunately, Lea was unable to be there in person. Her scene from Twisted Threads was the final piece of the night, and the audience ate it up.

Narrator Bess Welden introduces the scene from Cover Story.

This is the second year I’ve had the opportunity to participate in this Portland Stage collaboration, and both times I’ve come away with a deeper understanding of the characters I write. You might wonder how that could be. After all, I birthed Joe Gale and all my other literary babies. How could watching a bunch of actors read the words I put in my characters’ mouths give me greater insight into their hearts and minds? Because seeing other people interpret my work pries it from my strong fingers, and gives my imaginary friends an existence independent of me.

Like a mother watching her six-year-old get on the school bus, it’s a good thing.

The challenge inherent in the exercise is to identify a scene capable of standing alone, a ten-minute excerpt with a coherent beginning, middle and end, a narrative arc and an emotional one, too.

My scene was from Cover Story, the second book in my Joe Gale series, in which Joe goes to Machias in the dead of winter to cover a high-profile murder trial.

Actor Rob Cameron made a fabulous Joe Gale.

Rob Cameron took on the role of shaggy-haired Joe, who submits himself to a haircut at the barbershop operated by ex-Marine Claude LeClair. Three lines in, I nearly jumped out of my seat.

I’ve long held an image in my mind of my main character, not just his build and face, but his attitude as well. In Rob Cameron’s gestures and tone of voice, Joe Gale came alive—a bulldog reporter with a kind heart, protected by the sarcastic sense of humor that is a journalist’s armor.

Claude LeClair, the mad barber of Machias, was read by Andrew Harris.

As for mad barber Claude LeClair, actor Andrew Harris hit all the marks in his portrayal of the angry, opinionated father-in-law of the man on trial for murdering a DHHS caseworker.

A side benefit of re-tooling a scene from a book to be read on stage is the chance to add and subtract from the written page in order to make a performance fly. Last year the adapting process was a bit intimidating. This year it felt like freedom.

Starting from the assumption that many in the audience hadn’t read Cover Story, I transformed a low-key character from the book’s barbershop scene —Claude’s brother-in-law Lenny, a man of few words—into his sharp-tongued sister-in-law, Mary Lou.

Moira Driscoll took a revamped character and ran with the part.

Actor Moira Driscoll got what I was going for when I gave Lenny a literary sex change and attitude adjustment.

In fact, Moira did such a good job reading her part as Claude’s needling antagonist I wish I could go back in time and put Mary Lou in the book.

I hope the partnership between Portland Stage Company and Maine’s crime writers continues for a long time to come.

Huge props go to Director Eileen Phelan, who chooses the scenes, casts the parts and works with the writers and the actors to achieve collaborative success.

Eileen Phelan, the marvelous director of the staged readings, with yours truly after the show.

Creative and community-minded, she is the engine behind this effort. Thank you, Eileen, for your support and inspiration.

 

Readers of this blog should take note that every winter season, PSC stages a mystery, and these staged readings featuring the work of Maine crime writers grew out of that annual tradition. This year the crime-themed play is Red Herring, which runs through March 25.

Here’s the storyline: Maggie’s a tough, Boston cop, trying to get her finger on the one man who gave her the slip: a sly crime boss who worked his way into her heart. As she deals with murder, mystery, and intrigue in Boston Harbor, she also has to deal with Frank, an FBI gumshoe with a proposal more dangerous than commie spies, murderous mobs, and McCarthyism combined: marriage.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? There are twelve days left in its run. Here’s the link for tickets: https://portlandstage.secure.force.com/ticket#details_a0Sj00000051DQvEAM

Originally Posted on the Maine Crime Writers blog on

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The Winter Beach Between Two Storms

On this first day of Daylight Savings Time, we in coastal Maine find ourselves between two significant snowstorms. Last week we got a foot of dense, heavy snow, obliterating the brave crocus and tulips that poked their noses out of the front flowerbeds. (No worries, they are hardy and will survive. We just won’t see them again for a while.)

Two days from now, another big snow is forecast, 12″ to 18″, some say, 10″ – 16″ say others. It doesn’t matter. When you’re ready for spring, predictions of frozen precipitation are not welcome.

But what can you do, right? Today we went to the beach, as we do most Sundays, but this time we had reason to be up on the Midcoast so we enjoyed the treat of a long stroll at Reid State Park in Georgetown, where the sky and the dunes and the beach were gorgeous. Weather systems were blowing past in the blink of an eye, at one point loosing a squall of flurries on us.

Take a look:

It was a changeable weather day over the sea

It was a changeable weather day over the sea

My iPhone caught the snowflakes as they eddied past.

My iPhone caught the snowflakes as they eddied past.

There weren't many people about.

There weren’t many people about.

Look what I found! Talk about a nice garden centerpiece. If I only had a truck . . .

Look what I found! Talk about a nice garden centerpiece. If I only had a truck . . .

Now that is a wonderful hunk o’ driftwood.

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On comes the New Year

It is our custom to walk the beach on New Year’s Day no matter the weather, to inspect the sea and the detritus the waves have carried to shore.

A lost trap

A lost trap

The first day of 2017 was sunny and warm with a light breeze, making for an especially pleasant visit to Scarborough Beach. Temps have been up and down in recent weeks, so there were no skaters on the ponds that flank the path.

tracks-across-the-marsh

 

The tracks of an intrepid skier—no doubt left on a recent cold day—were the only marks across the now-thinned ice.

lost-glove

A lone glove was marooned above the high tide line. I photographed it to add to my collection of images of solo mitts found on the beach.
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Sunday Beach Photos – October 30, 2016

The much-needed rain finally came to an end late yesterday, and today dawned warm and sweet.  Scarborough Beach was beautiful, but I’ll let you see for yourself.

The clouds were still breaking up, which allowed for gorgeous light on the water

The clouds were still breaking up, which allowed for gorgeous light on the water.

The storms that blew through this past week left interesting detritus behind

The storms that blew through this past week left interesting detritus behind.

There wasn't a lot of surf, but this trio was enthusiastic about what little there was

There wasn’t a lot of surf, but this trio was enthusiastic about what little there was.

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Long Days, Wonderful Library Visits

And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days. – James Russell Lowell

 

Beach Roses, Swan's Island

Beach Roses, Swan’s Island

The long days last week on either side of the summer solstice were truly stunning, each one more beautiful than the day before. It was my good fortune to have made plans for a couple of late-June library visits Downeast to read from Cover Story, my second Joe Gale mystery, which is set in that beautiful part of the state.

Am I lucky, or what?
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It’s spring, and I’m on the road again

Gardiner Public Library is a welcoming place

Gardiner Public Library is a welcoming place

Now that winter is behind us (the optimist writes on a day when the morning’s rain washed away the previous night’s annoyance snow, and the wind still howls outside the window) I’m out and about again, talking up Truth Beat in particular and my Joe Gale mysteries in general.

On March 21 I had a wonderful visit with a book group in Springvale at the home of my longtime friend Madge Baker, where we talked about Quick Pivot, the first in the Joe Gale series, among other things. Many thanks to Madge, as well as Ann, Yoli, Tess, Carol, Renee and Martha for a wonderful evening.

On March 29 I welcomed the coming spring with a reading at the beautiful Gardiner Memorial Library where librarian Anne Davis made me feel right at home as did a very engaged audience of old friends and new.  Special thanks to Mayor Thom Harnett for talking up my reading on social media.
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The Joy of January Beach Walks

We’ve enjoyed several spectacular Sunday beach walks this month. It occurs to me on this last day of January that it’s time for a little show and tell. Compared to last year, the footing has been good, but the height of the tide always informs the walk, a truth borne out in spectacular fashion this week and last.

On Sunday, January 24, thanks to Winter Storm Jonas, much of the eastern seaboard was buried under a couple of feet of snow. Not a flake of snow had fallen in our part of Maine because Jonas blew out to sea before it reached us. The sun was shining and the roads were dry as we drove out the Black Point Road in Scarborough. The pathway that cuts through Massacre Pond was nicely packed and there was some wind, but the air wasn’t too nippy. We heard the surf long before we reached the little rise that leads to Scarborough Beach.

The surf was up at Scarborough Beach after Jonas shot past Maine, just far enough offshore to spare us the blizzard it brought to the rest of the Eastern Seaboard

The surf was up at Scarborough Beach after Jonas shot past Maine, just far enough offshore to spare us the blizzard it brought to the rest of the Eastern Seaboard


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You’re Going to Sue the Church?

If you haven’t seen Spotlight, you really must.

The recently-released film starring Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo is the based-on-fact story of how a team of investigative reporters at the Boston Globe peeled away decades of lies and denial to expose how the hierarchy of the Catholic Church covered up decades of sexual abuse inflicted upon children by parish priests. It is an important film, both for the story it tells and the way the story is told.

That question – you’re going to sue the church? – is uttered repeatedly in the first hour of the film. People inside and outside the newspaper were stunned by the notion that the Catholic Church could successfully be called to account in a court of law. At the outset, even those on the Globe’s vaunted Spotlight Team a small group of investigative  reporters who’ve won accolades over the years for their hard-nosed journalism – were amazed enough to ask the question.

We’re going to sue the church?

In famously parochial Boston, the idea of petitioning a court to unseal records that the Catholic Church wished to keep private was unfathomable. The church wasn’t just plugged-in to the power structure, it was a load-bearing wall of the power-structure. Like certain banks and other financial institutions deemed too big to fail, the church seemed too big to sue. What petitioner would dare to try to expose not only the names of abusers, but the pattern of lies and favors and looks the other way that allowed the abuse and the cover-up to continue? What judge would ever grant such a motion?

You’re going to sue the church?
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New England Crime Bake 2015

I’m back from New England Crime Bake, the terrific writers’ conference held every November in Massachusetts.  This was my seventh time attending Crime Bake, which has come to feel like old home week(end). It was especially sweet this year because unlike the first six, I am now a published author.

There were 22 debut authors in attendance this year, far more than usual.  The organizers made sure we felt celebrated, which was lovely. Here is a photo of the 2015 finally published class. That’s me wearing a red shirt in the middle of the top row.

The twenty-two (!) debut authors who attended the 2015 New England Crime Bake conference

The twenty-two (!) debut authors who attended the 2015 New England Crime Bake conference

Others include my Maine colleagues Maureen Milliken and Mary Lawrence, my Malice Domestic friend Lisa Lieberman, and four wonderful writers with whom I participated in a new author panel discussion Saturday afternoon — Julie Hennrikus, Brian Thiem, C. Michele Dorsey and Ray Anderson.
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Crime Writer Confab in Bar Harbor

Maine’s crime writing community invaded Bar Harbor the sunny weekend of September 18 – 19 to hang out with readers and other writers at the inaugural Murder By The Book conference sponsored by Jesup Memorial Library.

Imagine this crew, together in one small town.

The author lineup at Murder By The Book in Bar Harbor

The author lineup at Murder By The Book in Bar Harbor.

Friday night Julia Spencer-Fleming, Chris Holm, Dorothy Cannell, Kate Flora and Paul Doiron read work in progress. Those five also participated in Saturday panels and classes, along with Lynn Raimondo, Gerry Boyle, Lea Wait, Bruce Coffin, Maureen Milliken, Vaughan Hardacker, and me.  It was an honor to share the bill with so many talented writers.
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