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multiplicity_archivesIt's not much, but it might be able to help at least put some positive media and entertainment out there on plurals. I have the opportunity to enter a contest for writing a one act stage-play that, if it ends up selected, will be performed in Washington, D.C. The catch- it must be about any form or aspect of disability. I think that, if I wrote about some chunk in the life of a healthy and functioning multiple, stressing the viewpoint that it is NOT a disability and that the only disability is the discrimination we recieve from others because of it, I might just have a chance at dispelling some illusions, at least in some judge's mind. People have a sick fascination with us, but the archaic "evil and good split personality" stereotype is getting awfully old. If I wrote it from another angle (let's be honest- ANY other angle would be a fresh view of multiplicity), people would eat it up. It won't be angsty- it will definitely deal with the stress that comes from the multiple lifestyle as it stands, but not this emo "I'm isolated and alone because I'm weird" feeling either. I don't want it to be a cry for help, or even attention, but a wake-up call. I'd even like there to be some humor- admit it, being multiple has put any and all of us in some awkward situations which can be viewed in good fun, just so long as I don't make a mockery of it.
Picture a dark stage. The lights come up on some mundane set, say an office or a home or a school, anything like that. There is a very ordinary looking girl on stage, not too skinny or pretty, but not fat or depressed or ravaged looking, either. She is the star of our show, but she will not say a single line during the entire play. She is simply the mask.
The true stars stand in a place on the stage that the other performers cannot see, on a platform we will call the mindspace. There are seven, each wearing gray outfits- some more black, some more white, some patterns and prints and combinations thereof, but none of them alike and none of them completely one color. The only thing that the gray implies is the surreal nature of the mindspace and how they manifest their physical forms in this place. One is a young girl in her preteens, another is a teen girl about the same age as the body, another is a buffish stocky young man, another, a man with a moustache, another is an old man, another is a rather slinky-looking woman, and the last is a bald female of indeterminate age.
They all speak, sometimes many at the same time, some less and some more, but only one controls the body onstage at any given time. This is signified by a red mask that the fronter wears that may change hands at any time. The actions of the fronter, or mask wearer, in the mindspace match up directly with the actions of the body on the stage.
I feel like this powerful symbolism for the way a multiple system works (at least, for the way mine works) is a good base to build a play on. This way, the situation of the multiple is very obvious in a visually compelling way that takes you inside the mind of a multiple like never has been done before, but at the same time, we can focus on the plot and what goes on downstage without having to constantly bring up the subject, explain what's happening mindspacewise and remind the audience that the star is, in fact, multiple.
Now, I have dozens of ideas for creating a good plot, but narrowing it down is the problem. I only have a few days to do this, so if you want to throw out some inspiration for me, now is the time. The important thing is keeping it relatively mundane, so to speak, or relating it with real life problems, not the issues of an axe-murderer or comicbook villain. Enough amusing and pretty mundane things get written about the lives of teenagers who aren't multiple- you take any situation, put a multiple spin on it, do so well, and it'll be fantastic. Basically, I want this to be a story that would still stand on its own as an interesting scenario if you removed the element of multiplicity altogether. I know what I want to call it already- we'll say this is a working title because it might change with formation of the plot, but I actually came up with the title before anything else.
Master Plan- NOT Taking Over the World
Last thing to know is I never enter contests expecting to win. I've also come to believe that's why I've won so many before. I don't produce contest winning material, I produce material that would be interesting to anyone who isn't interested in judging my skills, material I'd write just for the fun of it, contest or no. People don't want to be impressed. They want to be entertained. You entertain a judge first and foremost and impress him at the same time, and you've got them exactly where you want them. Let's make this fun.
Picture a dark stage. The lights come up on some mundane set, say an office or a home or a school, anything like that. There is a very ordinary looking girl on stage, not too skinny or pretty, but not fat or depressed or ravaged looking, either. She is the star of our show, but she will not say a single line during the entire play. She is simply the mask.
The true stars stand in a place on the stage that the other performers cannot see, on a platform we will call the mindspace. There are seven, each wearing gray outfits- some more black, some more white, some patterns and prints and combinations thereof, but none of them alike and none of them completely one color. The only thing that the gray implies is the surreal nature of the mindspace and how they manifest their physical forms in this place. One is a young girl in her preteens, another is a teen girl about the same age as the body, another is a buffish stocky young man, another, a man with a moustache, another is an old man, another is a rather slinky-looking woman, and the last is a bald female of indeterminate age.
They all speak, sometimes many at the same time, some less and some more, but only one controls the body onstage at any given time. This is signified by a red mask that the fronter wears that may change hands at any time. The actions of the fronter, or mask wearer, in the mindspace match up directly with the actions of the body on the stage.
I feel like this powerful symbolism for the way a multiple system works (at least, for the way mine works) is a good base to build a play on. This way, the situation of the multiple is very obvious in a visually compelling way that takes you inside the mind of a multiple like never has been done before, but at the same time, we can focus on the plot and what goes on downstage without having to constantly bring up the subject, explain what's happening mindspacewise and remind the audience that the star is, in fact, multiple.
Now, I have dozens of ideas for creating a good plot, but narrowing it down is the problem. I only have a few days to do this, so if you want to throw out some inspiration for me, now is the time. The important thing is keeping it relatively mundane, so to speak, or relating it with real life problems, not the issues of an axe-murderer or comicbook villain. Enough amusing and pretty mundane things get written about the lives of teenagers who aren't multiple- you take any situation, put a multiple spin on it, do so well, and it'll be fantastic. Basically, I want this to be a story that would still stand on its own as an interesting scenario if you removed the element of multiplicity altogether. I know what I want to call it already- we'll say this is a working title because it might change with formation of the plot, but I actually came up with the title before anything else.
Master Plan- NOT Taking Over the World
Last thing to know is I never enter contests expecting to win. I've also come to believe that's why I've won so many before. I don't produce contest winning material, I produce material that would be interesting to anyone who isn't interested in judging my skills, material I'd write just for the fun of it, contest or no. People don't want to be impressed. They want to be entertained. You entertain a judge first and foremost and impress him at the same time, and you've got them exactly where you want them. Let's make this fun.
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no subject
Date: 2007-04-12 03:55 am (UTC)LeAnne
The Clique
Kasiyan Epitome
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Date: 2007-04-15 03:20 am (UTC)*LiSa*
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Date: 2007-04-12 04:39 am (UTC)As for humor as being part of being multiple, from a recent entry in my journal: "As for different people fronting and uncontrolled switching, we've had quite a few problems with that too. I think one of the funniest that I would have liked to see from outside involved Rhiannon and Lia. Rhiannon went into a store with her fast-paced, straight forward walk and her "get out of my way" gaze, saw a product with a picture of a girl that looked like Lia on it, and SWITCHOVER! Suddenly the body's doing this slow, hip-swaying walk with a "come hither" look. For all that both of them are tall, large-to-average busted, dark-haired females, you couldn't get two much more opposite people in every other way if you tried! I really wish I could get security footage of that switchover!"
It could be amusing to have two of the people in grey get into a fight over trying to control the body at the same time.... Maybe with
JOey
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Date: 2007-04-12 05:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-12 05:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-12 05:55 am (UTC)Jess
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Date: 2007-04-12 06:23 am (UTC)Good luck
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Date: 2007-04-12 02:29 pm (UTC)Good luck, and I look forward to reading it.
Devyn et al
*laughs*
Date: 2007-04-12 07:46 pm (UTC)--Me
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Date: 2007-04-12 08:30 pm (UTC)As some others have said, the dating thing might be good because it's something single people can relate to as well. And you could throw in a few other small things as well (like the getting dressed). Things that would add to the overall plot.
And it would be very cool if it won, because we live close to DC so we could go see it :D
Best of luck to you!
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Date: 2007-04-13 12:48 am (UTC)Which leads me to ask. And other DC-area members interested in getting together "in person?" If you'd be interested, email me at akintodel@yahoo.com, and we'll organize it. We'd love to meet some other multiples!
Richard and Juli
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Date: 2007-04-14 12:37 am (UTC)And I second (or third, I'm not sure where it is now) the idea of dating. There could be a lot of humor and drama, etc. written in there. :)
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Date: 2007-04-14 11:04 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, life has decided to go BLUERRRRGHRAHH! all over us with things to do, so the deadline got past us... *is sad* But we're still writing it. I'll post it when we're though.
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Date: 2007-04-15 03:21 am (UTC)*LiSa*
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Date: 2007-04-15 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 02:08 am (UTC)*LiSa*
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Date: 2007-04-16 10:26 pm (UTC)