A little more

So, I realize I left some information out of the last post. That was somewhat on purpose. I wanted to save something to type about later. It's also really hard for me to make the next leap of faith in this blog: giving away the subject of my musical.

I'm really afraid that someone's going to steal my idea. It's irrational, I know. And I also know that whatever musical I write will probably be unsuccessful if it's mine, and fate will spite me by making it terribly successful when someone else takes my work.

But I have to do it. I have to say it. I have to trust that the people here are going to be supportive rather than destructive.

But, now that I've beaten around the bush, the time is come.

My musical is based on the cult classic film Delicatessen. If you haven't seen it, I strongly suggest that you do. It's one of my very favorites.

The plot of the movie is hard to explain without it sounding like Sweeney Todd; it will be even harder to explain how I plan on approaching it without it sounding like, well, Sweeney Todd. But try I shall.

The movie is set in a post-apocalyptic Paris, were the Apocalypse to have happened in the 50's. They don't entirely say what the catastrophe was, but it's not entirely important. The effects are obvious; all of the world's meat sources have died, and the only food left to eat is lentils and corn, which have become the currency used.

All of the action of the movie occurs in one apartment, which has some very interesting and colorful tenants. However, the apartment also houses a dark secret: the butcher who runs it hires a handyman every week in the hopes of fattening him up and killing him for meat.

The handyman hired, however, is an ex-clown named Louison and the butcher's (Clapet's) daughter Julie falls in love with him. She tries her hardest to save him and turns to the underground vegetarian society known as the Troglodistes to stop Clapet's dastardly plan.

The main point of the movie, however, is exploring the interaction of the zany characters, who all act very different in the desperation of the time. Aurore, for example, hears voices in her head telling her to commit suicide, so she invents many Rube Goldberg machines to try and do so, all of which end up failing. The Tapiocas, a family of five, scrounge around for various supplies to sell or eat. An unnamed old man simply lets his apartment overrun with water and keeps a farm of frogs and snails to eat. A pair of brothers continue making silly inventions just to pass the time, trying not to think about how little they have to eat. And finally Madame Plusse seduces Clapet so that she doesn't have to worry about providing herself with food.

I've got some ideas for themes to bring out, but I'm not quite sure what order to do so. I think I'm going to start with leitmotifs (songs associated with characters) and see how I can string them together to try and come up with numbers. I guess we'll see how this goes over the next few weeks. If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave me a comment!

The Beginning

So I’m starting fresh here. I’m not sure whether to be nervous or excited. I’m certainly consumed. Consumed with a desire to create. Consumed with the urge to hear the voice in my head read this back to me, like they do in the movies. People never read what they’re saying. They hear some narrator read it back to them. But I digress.

I was watching the movie Julie and Julia, and reached an epiphany. In the movie (and in real life of course) the main character Julie starts a blog, searching for herself by cooking through the entirety of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Her blog becomes successful, and she has a happy ending. I may not have a popular blog by the end of this endeavor, but that’s not really the goal. I’m sure someone out there is interested in my project.

“Project?” you ask. Well certainly I have a project. What blog could there be without some sort of purpose, some sort of direction? Mine is in creation. That is what my life has always been. Creation. Reaching into silence, into blank pages, and pulling out the beauty that is the essence of my understanding. I don’t feel that I impose myself much on the creation itself, but rather bring its essence to life the best way I know how. But yet again, I have not told you my project.

I have mentioned in a few videos (yes, I started as a videoblogger of the same screenname. That’s still going on if you want to check me out. But this page, this is a secret entity of its own. People can find me here if they look, but really, who will?) that I am working on a musical. This is precisely what I will document here. I’m not quite sure how yet; I’m not sure how frequently I will be able to update this and actually have updates to provide. I’m thinking, if I really apply myself, I’ll have interesting things to say weekly for sure, maybe twice a week, maybe having bonus posts for when I’m feeling particularly inspired. But here I will document the creation’s development from imagined, to seen, to understood, to written down, and finally to realized.

So what am I asking of you? Well, if you are a snivelling corporate spy who chooses to feed on what I have poured my heart and soul into, I ask that you kindly divert your efforts to someone who will be much more compliant. If you, however, are truly interested in what I’m doing, I ask simply that you express your intrigue. Nothing will excite me more than hearing that someone is equally excited.

And, of course, if you have connections in the business, people to recommend me to, places I should see, or any knowledge on the subject, I would be more than happy to hear what you have to say.

So here’s to a new year and a new creation. This will be a long journey, and a bumpy ride at that, but I hope that we can ride it out together.