Tonight my inspiration for studying Arthur Miller is on TV. The main character is more disciplined than I am. Buckle down.

I completed my first 6 line exercise today!

While traveling to New York and Adrian, Michigan, it occured to me that I could create a three-dimensional model of the process of writing a play. Besides this blog, I could shoot photographs that would serve as a storyboard for the scenes in the play. I just have to figure out the perfect platform that would house the script draft, the photos and a link to the music and this blog, too.

Happened to sit at the same table as Kerry Graves who teaches play writing at Siena. She brought two books for me !

Took almost a week off from Miller. Busy with family trip to Mackinac Island where the pace is slow and the water was warm. Almost finished with the biography. Miller got off track marrying MM and trying to write while involved with her. The Misfits was somewhat of a disaster and she died shortly thereafter. I think my next step is getting “Write that Play” from the UM library. Then, I’ll study Ibsen’s “Enemy of the People.” Miller often did extensive research. He visited Salem, Massachusettes for several weeks before he wrote “The Crucilbe.” So, I think I’ll study the garage band phenomenon as background–more specifically Iggy Pop, The Rationals, etc. A recent fundraiser for the lead singer–whose name escapes me now–would be a good scene. I have already written Ronnie Ashton’s funeral scene. I imagined a screen with slide show and video running above the casket.

Not much Miller work today–100 degrees out and I worked on an essay with Sue. We brainstormed about our article for the Journal of Catholic Education. We are going to begin by shaping our own narratives, sharing them, then we’ll synthesize.

Interesting to be reading about the HUAC and McCarthy on the same day that Michele Bachman declares we have “card-carrying” Muslim extremists in the government. What an idiot. I taught The Crucible for years and it’s hard to imagine that anyone would go down this road again.

Went through a dusty box of books from our move 5 years ago and found a copy of Ibsen’s Enemy of the People. When I finish Miller’s biography, I’ll work on that. Not that a play about a garage band’s lead guitar player could possibly be as lofty as Ibsen’s–it’s just taking your inspiration from good places. Why not be inspired by the best?

Kazan, the director, of Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” used lighting and the two valises to show how Willie Lowman was weighed down by life. Got me thinking about posters. It seems if I can visualize the poster, I can write the play. Maybe a guy carrying a guitar and a backpack?

Miller’s first play took only 6 days; it was 120 pages in length, so that’s just 20 pages a day. Not so hard. Apparently his main gift was his ability to use a single line to establish relationships and situations. I also learned that Rowe taught him how to write a scenario. I guess I need to do that first before going any further. I probably need to study Ibsen, too.