Quote of the Day: To define is to limit. Oscar Wilde
Today is another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. You can also visit the founder Alex J. Cavanaugh for more info and links.
October 2 question – Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What’s your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine.
Gosh, there are so many, and you know I hate to pick a “Favorite.” My first thought was anything by Poe. My friend Guy Kelm, who is directing my play It’s Murder, Dontcha Know, is also directing The Telltale Heart. The cast will go to local schools to perform at the end of October. Poe was the master at atmospheric tales and getting into the madness of murderous minds. I listened to Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray this season a few years ago, and he, too, draws you into a sinister world filled with seedy locations and secrets. It’s a wonderful Faustian tale of selling your soul to the devil, and the repercussions of doing so. The 1945 film is wonderful. It won the Academy Award for Best Black & White Cinematography, and the indomitable Angela Lansbury was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. It’s one of her earliest films, and she is stunning as a singer at a nightclub. Her song is haunting. (I’m going to rewatch this film this season.) I also love Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. From her first sentence, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” to the fiery ending, it kept me riveted. She is a master at atmospheric settings.
The cast is set for the premiere production of It’s Murder, Dontcha Know, a play I adapted for the stage based on the novel by Jeanne Cooney. We had our first reading on Monday night. Not everyone could make it, but it was still great to hear the actors read the lines and start to bring the characters to life. These readings in the Fall are to help me fine-tune the script so that it’s ready to go for rehearsals starting in January. We’ll have a stage reading at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, MN, sponsored by New Dawn Theatre, which is for new play development. I’m so honored to be invited to the One Woman Play Festival that they’re doing there in February. They are featuring one woman playwright each weekend. My weekend is Feb. 8 & 9. We’ll have the fully staged premiere of my play at Central Lakes College Performing Arts in Brainerd, MN Feb. 27 & 28 and March 1 & 2. It’s all terrifically exciting!
I hope your new season is off to a good start. I have much to look forward to and be grateful for.
Go. Create. Inspire!
Journaling Prompt: What are your favorite spooky tales, Halloween movies or treats?
I agree that Poe and Wilde are great for scary stories. Congratulations on your new play and the process of perfecting it. I enjoy spooky things more than scary. I’m all for the treats!
That’s awesome you’re a playwright, Mary! I saw a stage production of The Telltale Heart that was riveting.
I have often wondered if I would ever consider selling my soul to the devil and, more interesting, what reason would have me considering such a drastic move. The Tell-Tale Heart is an early favorite spooky story favorite for me. My all-time favs are the chicken skin tales of marching spirits and ghostly appearances in Hawaii.
https://gail-baugniet.blogspot.com/
That is so awesome about your play!
Poe had been a favorite today.
Poe is a great choice. Congrats on adapting a story for the stage! That’s really an awesome accomplishment.
You’re doing your own play? How wonderful!
That’s incredible, congratulations on the play and on being invited to the One Woman Play Festival! The graphic for the play is lovely, and it’s great to hear that everything is going so well. Best of luck!