Indie Lit Participant Speaks Out

 Jason Tinney, writer/performer 

One thing that we know how to do here at Frostburg’s Center for Creative Writing is put on good events. But our next event is more than an event; it’s a big TO DO. Western Maryland’s Indie Lit festival is coming! We’re so excited that the festival is approaching because there is so much in store. I had the pleasure of speaking with Indie Lit fan and participant, Jason Tinney about some of his experiences as a writer. Jason Tinney is an award-winning writer and performer. His latest collection of short fiction, Ripple Meets the Deep, will be released by CityLit Press/CityLit Project in October, 2014. This is what he had to say:

On the Writing Process: Everything starts handwritten--whether it's a piece of fiction or an article for a magazine. It may be an outline or rough story draft. Then, it's typed up. That provides a clearer, or new, perspective of where the story is headed. From there it's distilling and cutting away fat to find the muscle and bone. The motivation is always there. You just have to commit to strapping yourself in the seat and doing it.

On Writing vs. Acting: With acting, from the get-go, you're dealing with a lot of other people--the cast, the director, designers, etc. Most of the time you're saying someone else's words, someone you've probably never met. It would be amazing to discuss a particular scene with Shakespeare, but that isn't going to happen. Writing is solitary work; you're not dependent on anyone else. But a writer and an actor are essentially doing the same job--telling a story.

On Music and Writing: I play harmonica but I'm not a studied musician. If I'm in the right key with the guitar player I can usually make something work that doesn't disturb the band or the audience. Playing music has been a huge gift to the writing because it reinforces some basic elements of stringing words together. Economy and rhythm are two of those elements that often come to mind when writing.

On Inspiration: I believe in observation and listening. Go to a grocery store and walk down the aisles with other shoppers. If you're paying attention, chances are, you'll go home with, at least, the starting point for a great story and a good deal on chicken thighs. The little moments you catch in everyday life, the moments you can't make up, that's what inspires me.

On Indie Lit: This is my third year attending as a participant and as a fan. I love this event and look forward to it each fall. I've had the privilege of sharing panels with a diverse group of writers discussing a wide range of topics. One, in particular, I really enjoyed was a conversation about the correlation between the visual and literary arts. That was my first year. 

On Friday (Oct 10), I'll be reading some pieces from Ripple Meets the Deep. A few stories deal with a traveling musician. They're fiction, but I've certainly drawn from personal experiences--full disclosure. Saturday (Oct 11), I'm looking forward to being part of a discussion focusing on dialogue. Feel lucky as hell--pulling the acting, music, and writing together in the span of two days--trifecta. Can't wait!

For more info on Jason Tinney, visit www.jasontinney.com.

For more info on the 8th Annual Western Maryland Independent Lit Festival, visit http://mirror.frostburg.edu/cwcenter/

One Act Fest Winners Speak Out

Frostburg’s One Act Festival is practically here! The fest takes place this Fri., Sept 26 and Sat., Sept 27 at 7:30pm at the Palace Theater (31 E. Main St. Frostburg, MD). This event features staged productions of the national One-Act Playwriting Competition. I had the great pleasure of speaking with this year’s winners about their winning woks, life as a playwright, aspirations and successes. This is a little snippet of what each of these talented individuals had to say:

First place winner David Finney is a “bald, gray-haired, gray-bearded, pot-bellied” 71 year old man, retired in Chicago. His winning play, Love in a Minor Key, is about an old man who visits his deceased wife’s grave reflecting on their love and what made it last.

On inspiration of title: Love, I think, is about the small, gentle moments (call them notes) that make up a relationship between two people, like a quiet piece of jazz, so – Love In A Minor Key.

On entering the contest: I belong to a service called “Play Submission Helper” and the school’s one-act play festival was listed.  I just sent in two copies as requested and three months later received word that I had won first place.

On wining 1^st place: It’s a tired cliché, but as you know most writing begins with the writer glued to a keyboard, filling a computer screen with words.  After a while, of course, you’re half nuts, not sure at all what you’re doing is any good and then finally you submit the manuscript just hoping you won’t be laughed out of the room.  When someone says, “You’ve won.  We’ll do it”, you gather up the pieces of your shattered psyche with more confidence.

On future projects: I’m writing a drama, set in 1948, about an Irish-American family (troubled, of course, because they’re Irish) and an estranged mother and son who discover their love for each other.

Second place winner Barry H. Weinberg graduated with a BA from the University of Minnesota in 1963, and a JD in 1966. His play, It’s Your Funeral, is about a young couple whose deceased relatives help them sort through the four suspects who might have pushed Uncle Billy down the stairs to his demise…if he was pushed.

On inspiration of title: I was trying to be cute.  Uncle Billy, one of the protagonists, is a ghost, and all the other characters go to Uncle Billy’s funeral, so it’s his funeral.  Plus, it’s a riff on the old saying about doing things that might end badly, as might the detecting of Uncle Billy’s niece Lisa.  Cute, no?

On winning 2^nd place: I got the email notification of my win when I was touring the Hudson River Valley in New York with my son and a friend on our way to the jazz festival in Saratoga Springs.  So I whooped and shouted with friends and family.  This was a win I really wanted because it is held so close to our Garrett County, where we have a bunch of friends.

On other writers: I admire all writers—they put so much work into their writing with no assurance that it will ever be seen or heard by anyone else.  For It’s Your Funeral, I was inspired by Black Comedy, a marvelous one-act play by Peter Schaffer.  I’ve seen that play a few times and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to try writing a one-act play myself.  I am proud of It’s Your Funeral, even though I’m aware that I haven’t done nearly as well as he.

On the One Act Fest: I have had wonderful conversations with Gerry LaFemina, the head of the Frostburg Center for Creative Writing, Nicole Mattis, Chair of the Frostburg Department of Theatre and Dance, and Mary Ann Champman, director of It’s Your Funeral (and teacher of English at Frostburg State).  This is the FUN part of theatre, after all the work and anxiety.  I’m so looking forward to the rest of the fun parts: the rehearsal and the festival!

3^rd place winner Larry Ukolowicz  described his play The Search for a Life Worth Repeating by saying, “What do a dating service, a synagogue, and a bridge all have in common?  A man named Richard who is in search of a love for keeps.”

On the title: The search for love [inspired the title]. We all go through it.  When we find it and are so happy, we don’t want it or our life to ever end.  And if we had to do it all over again, we would.

On winning 3^rd place: I entered with two plays and I thought the other, that didn’t win, was a much more biting, universal topic and a stronger piece.  I guess I shouldn’t judge my own work. 

On aspirations as a writer: I guess I am in a class of my own.  I don’t write for super stardom or for a living at it.  I write for the pleasure of creating a world dressing my fantasy life.  The competitions and winnings take care of the ego part of it.  But I even enter contests without cash prizes.  I think it’s fun.  I also donate all winnings to charity.

On accomplishments: I just won the Texas Non-Profit Theatre Inc. competition and my two-act comedy The Living Mrs. Del Vecchio will make its U.S. debut as a full production as part of the 2015 season at the Henderson County Performing Arts Center in Athens, TX in May of 2015. I am also an associate theatre critic for the online site John Garcia’s Column out of Dallas, which is, more or less, the Bible of what’s going on in the theatre in North Texas.  I am a member of Texas Non-Profit Theatres, Inc., and the American Association of Community Theatres, Inc. and also a member of Dramatists Guild.  So, my eyes and ears are always open for new adventures in the theatre and I travel to NYC to see plays twice a year.

Hello!

Welcome to The Writer's Block designed with creative writers in mind! On behalf of Frostburg, MD's Center for Creative Writing, this blog will feature updates, follow-ups and blurbs about the events that the center has to offer for this Fall 2014 semester. Also, from time to time expect some creative writing pieces to be posted for fellow writers to enjoy and share.





Write on!!
Sharron Duncan, 
Center for Creative Writing Intern