Number Five

Printout of the first draft of Book #5. One more to go, and then I think I'm done with the series. This book's length is about the same as Covenant's and has topped off at 85,792 words. I'd finished the initial drafting on July 18, then did a few tweaks on July 20.

I have a couple of projects to do before I continue with #6, several pieces of which are already drafted, including the final scene. I'm currently focusing on putting together the annual Florida State Poets Association anthology, whose deadline for submission is the end of the month. This is my fifth year of producing and my third year of editing the anthology.

I also want to prepare a submission for the Science Fiction Poetry Association's second annual poetry contest, which is open to submissions through August 24. This year's focus is the sonnet -- on a speculative topic of your choice (e.g., science fiction, fantasy, horror, science, astronomy, or surrealism, etc.). Sonnets include those in the Italian/Petrarchan, Shakespearean, and Spenserian forms. There is no fee to enter, and one can submit up to three sonnets. More information on the contest is here.

Recently I had the chance to capture a stage set presentation before some extraordinary art is about to be destroyed....

Last night Mary and I saw the Art Center Theatre's production of The Music Man. This musical, which is also a major fund-raiser for the center, had been more than a year in prepraration and was terrific. Today's performance was the last of its run, and now all the set pieces will be taken apart and painted over.

I thought of sand paintings when I heard that. A lot of incredibly hard work and talent went into those pieces over a long period of time, for a four-week theater run. Artists came together and created another world to live in and then to wipe out of existence. Talk about your philosophies of transience.

It's neat when you think about it. And poignant. And it's done countless times in little theaters and big theaters and film studios all over the world.

On July 12 I attended a meeting of the center's board of directors, to which I belong because I head up the free-writing group and edit/produce the newsletter. At that meeting several of the cast and crew gave an impromptu presentation, demonstrating the rigs and the scene changes. Since I had my camera with me, complete with its low-end but adequate video capabilities, I whipped it out of its case and started recording. The presentation, totaling about 10 minutes, is broken into three sections below.

Video 1



Video 2



Video 3



Still shots of the stage sets can be seen here.

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