All Rileyed Up

I have a post up at the blog for the literary journal, Hayden’s Ferry Review, describing my experience at the Santa barbara Writer’s Conference. Stop by and check it out!

Regarding the other post I wrote about Harry Potter the Musical, here is the footage from the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference of me performing it in the contest. Thank you to Lisa Angle for videotaping the contest.

To recap, this was for a speedwriting competition. I was given a half hour to write a song for a musical based on the book Harry Potter (any one of them). This is the opening number to the first book.

Having trouble embedding, so try this link to the SBWC website or this link to SB Channels.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I’m participating in game here at the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference called the Ultimate Write-Off, in which you write some thing on the spot from a given topic within 20-40 minutes. In the previous post, it was a poem. The other night, it was dialogue in the style of a randomly selected writer (Tennessee Williams). Last night, it was descriptive prose about food (Fannie Flagg was our judge):

Tonight, we had to write a musical number in 30 minutes from a musical based on a book of our choice (we had to pick from a list). I went with Harry Potter (seemed an easy option to me). Here you go (much more entertaining if you could have seen me unabashedly singing this when I have no singing voice at all):

EDITED: Here are links to the SBWC website or SB Channels that have the footage of me performing this song in the contest.

Harry Potter - The Musical.

opening number: “He Lives”

one man is on the stage (dedalus diggle), while owls fly about.

owls everywhere
owls everywhere
not a drop of moonlight
but owls in the air

what is so important
what can have been done

(he reaches and takes a letter from an owl, reads it, and gasps)

HE LIVES!
HE LIVES!

(villagers pour onto the stage, singing)
Did you hear? Did you hear? Did you hear–
He lives!
Did you hear? Did you hear? Did you hear–
He lives!

Tell us, tell us, tell us!
What can have been done!

(Dedalus sings)
The darkest of the wizard world
the darkest in the land
he tried to kill that little boy
with an evil wave of wand

He snuck into the Potter’s house
James tried to save his wife
But he-e who must not be named
Quickly took their lives

(villagers)
Oh-h-h-h-h, JAMES!!!!
Oh-h-h-h-h, LILY!!!!

(Dedalus)
Yes, their deaths are certain
Yes, it is so sad
But listen to what happened next
(sing slowly) It’s the opposite of bad

(slow again) Tell us, tell us, tell us, what can have been done?

HE LIVES!
HE LIVES!

Little Harry Potter
Sleeping in his crib
He-e who must not be named
Like Matt Lauer, was glib

His phoenix feather core wand
swept over the boy
(speak, not sing) and then, he spoke those eeeevil words
(whisper) avada. kevadra.

(villagers)
Oh-h-h-h-h-h, AVADA!!!!
Oh-h-h-h-h-h, KEVADRA!!!!

(Dedalus)
But listen to what happens next
It isn’t what you fear
The spell turned on the caster
Why, we are not clear

But little Harry Potter
Sleeps safe and sound
And he-e who must not be named
is vanquished and unfound

(villagers)
Hooray, vanquished!
Hooray, unfound!

Har-ry (bum-bum)!!
Pot-ter (bum-bum)!!

Cheers
to
the Boy
Who
Lived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am on Day Three of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. It’s been great so far. Did I already tell you guys that this conference offers pirate workshops?

Aaaaargh!

I am seriously overwhelmed right now by all the workshopping, critiquing, lecturing, learning, blah blah blah–but all in the name of fun! And, uh, honing my craft, um, yeah, that too.

I am participating in the Ultimate Write Off. It’s a speed writing competition. Day one. 47 people. They gave us twenty minutes to write a coming of age story, fiction or non. I wrote mine about growing up in a bicultural household and a particular night when it became apparent to me that not everyone thought that was an okay thing (yes, a creepy redneck man was involved).

Day Two, they announced I had made the cut and I was moving on with the other 26 people (how they came up with this random number, I do not know). We were told to pick an object off a table. I picked up a Give Blood red rubber arm band. This seemed a better option to me than the worn, though clean, tighty whities. We were told after we picked the object to write a poem. We had 15 minutes. I do not write poetry. Except for the occasional haiku in honor of David Hasselhoff. Seriously! What’s a girl to do!!!!!

Here is my poem, in all its glory. This is how open I am people, I am sharing my poem with you. My POEM. I’m not posting it here, so you can gush how good it was. I’ve read good poetry. This does not fall into that category. My point in posting this is to show you that I stepped up to the challenge and wrote this in 15 minutes, and personally, I feel accomplished that I didn’t just walk out of that room and give up. In the words of the great Jean Claude Van Damme, “no retreat, no surrender.” (I laughed so hard just writing that. I love it when I crack myself up).

“Give Blood, Give Life”

A red circle
Wrapped around my wrist
It represents life
It represents blood
It says give blood

Another circle

A white circle
Wrapped around my wrist
It represents my life
It represents my blood
It says I am losing blood

A different circle

A red, wet, undulating circle
Nowhere near my wrist
It represents blood
It represents life

A last circle

A small, white circle
Wrapped around her tiny foot
She is a new life
She has my blood
I have given blood for life