A productive weekend

I've enjoyed this weekend. I've barely seen anybody at all, which is not the reason I enjoyed it as such but after the hustle and bustle of the last few weekends - the festivals, the Edinburgh Fringe, the gigs, it's been nice to have some Paul Richards time, a chance to actually catch up on things and write the plays I've promised people I'd actually have ready soon. In fact, if it wasn't for this weekend I've just had I've be totally screwed because it's two weeks until Lodestar and I've got two new plays going on there. One of them, a one-act play called 'How About You?' has been half in the bag for a while, but a couple of hours of re-writing yesterday afternoon soon kicked that into shape and it's all good to go. It was the other piece that was concerning me somewhat though - the musical for Dowsing For Sound choir. It's become one of those projects that I've been so excited about but never got around to doing - until Friday evening when my mate's dog got ill so she couldn't come over for beers so I had some time to get started on it. The songs are already there - pretty much the Dowsing set from the gig last month, and I foolishly thought doing a Ben Elton and sticking a plot around it would be easy enough. But listening to the songs again, I soon started to get worried as they didn't fit my original concept that I'd been making notes for during the last few days. But in some strange kind of way, they nudged the plot into a whole new direction, a darker direction, and it's been a nice challenge. It's a really good challenge for a writer to have to work with tools you're not used to - I found myself with three songs left to fit in somehow convincingly as if they were supposed to be there in the first place. In the end I got a bit carried away and, after a little sleep, carried on writing it on Saturday evening, completely forgetting to attend my mate Ben's birthday party in London because I was too wrapped up in the script and lost track of time. The songs are long, and our slot is only 50 minutes at the festival, so I've had to go back and cut a load of dialogue, so the actual script itself is only 7 pages. But I think they're a good 7 pages, I feel very relieved this one has worked out and I can't wait for the rehearsals to begin. Next up; casting. Spent a couple hours today emailing the actors I have in mind for both plays, 2 responses so far - both positive, I love that feeling that things are falling into shape nicely. The weekend concluded with a mixed grill with Aidy and Dave, a perfect mix of good conversation and excessive meat. Next week I'm drumming literally all week, after what feels like a silly amount of time sat staring at a screen on a weekend, I can't wait.

Currently watching: Match Of The Day, How Not To Live Your Life (series 3 DVD)
Currently listening to: I Am Kloot, Young Rebel Soul Club, Joe Jackson
Currently reading: Pauline Black - Black By Design