Collaboration!

Ever since I was a young child my best friend Michael and I have been collaborating on everything. First it started as bizarre performances in the basement of my house. When we grew too old for that we started making movies together. Thrown in with those two strange examples we began writing musicals. First there was a strange time travel piece called "Time Capsule" in which we refused to accept that what we had titled our show was not, in fact, a time travel device but instead a box you stick in the ground. We stuck to our definition and refused to change it but in the end abandoned "Time Capsule" just as you would abandon one in the ground. We were about twelve at the time.

Our next project was a sort of homage to the flop musical version of Stephen King's "Carrie". We thought, why not take on Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" and turn it into a big Broadway musical. Well that idea proved to be more difficult than we had expected and was abandoned shortly after it was started. Writing music for a murderous shower scene could only be handled in a literal way by a pair of thirteen year olds. We still do have a couple of those songs lurking around somewhere though and they provide constant laughs whenever we stumble on them in my garage.

Perhaps our biggest accomplishment (this was Montana I will remind you) was in 8th grade when we wrote a show called "Myth". This was a sort of "Into the Woods" using Greek mythology and intricately (or so I thought) weaving the stories of all of the Greek Gods and goddesses into one giant soap opera. If my memory serves me right it had to do with Prometheus giving the mortals the power of light and the insanity that ensued. I remember some strange climactic scene in the underworld which I am sure made absolutely no sense. This show was my 8th grade project for my English class. Michael and I went to separate schools so I handed in my 50 page script, costume and set sketches, mock playbill and demo tape to my republican teacher at my republican school. Hellgate Middle School. Seriously. While other kids handed in Mount Olympus Popsicle Stick replicas, I had slaved over this for months. My teacher politely handed it back to me (probably screaming "GAY! GAY! GAY!" in her head) with an "A" slapped on it and something to the effect of "nice effort". Real words of encouragement. Yes I am still bitter.

At Michael's more democratic school, Washington Middle School, not only were the arts more celebrated but we even got our first public performance out of this show. During a choir concert Michael played the piano and our friend Maggie performed the most coherent song from the show called "Warmth and Light". I will never forget sitting in the back row of that church and hearing our collaboration performed for an audience of open ears. That was really the first time I had created a part of something and had carried it through to fruition. I needed this, I needed to write or perform and this show was one of the catalysts for me.

As a twenty year old in a ballet company corps there are many days where I don't feel artistically fulfilled. I work my hardest to bring characterization to some of the minor roles I do but often I question whether or not I really deserve the title of "artist". I want to own that title but I just don't feel like I do yet. For me the most I ever feel like that is when I am writing or working on choreography, you know, really really creating something. I love the chance to delve into a piece that has been choreographed and getting the chance to project your own thoughts and ideas onto that but nothing compares to it all coming from your head.

I have my moments of Claire Fischer-ness (yes "Six Feet Under" is back) where I doubt myself and wonder if I will ever really be able to create and thrive in this difficult profession I have chosen as a career. For me having outlets like writing really keep me sane. I am so happy to say that Michael and I are collaborating on something again. A couple months ago I wrote a poem called "Wonder Boy" which I had created with Michael's music in mind. This week he has started writing music to it and I couldn't be more excited. He basically taught himself how to play the piano as a child but has such an amazing gift for it I feel completely spoiled to have someone write such beautiful music to my fairly mediocre lyrics. I am happier with these lyrics than I have been with stuff of mine in the past. I just want them to do Michael's music justice. I hope that over the summer we can complete something and I will post it online somewhere if I can. It just feels good to collaborate again. Even if we are thousands of miles apart.
"Wonder Boy"