We are in the final week of rehearsals! Nina Meehan, Executive Director of Bay Area Children's Theatre, asked me to write the latest post for their blog. So, instead of doing double-duty, I shall re-direct you to that posting instead:
Writing Mountain - A Blog Post by Playwright/Composer Min Kahng
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon opens this weekend! I hope you are all able to come see the show!
Tickets and more info: http://bit.ly/JT4rJ6
The creative process is unpredictable. Case in point, check out these drawings:
"What am I looking at?" you ask. These are character sketches I created for my upcoming musical The Song of the Nightingale from about 20 years ago. Of course, back then I wanted to be a Disney animator, which is why I drew the characters out. Do you see how I even created a Nightingale logo (check out the upper left hand corner)? Ever the brand marketer I was.
Starting from the top right corner, you see the earliest iterations of the characters now known as Madam Wu, Xiao Hai, The Emperor (who uncannily looks like the Sultan from Disney's Aladdin; that film must have been fresh on my mind), Mei Lin, The Nightingale, The Fake Nightingale and Lord Liu Bing Wen.
This drawing had been tucked away in an old sketch book until recent years. And there was a good stretch of time when I thought it was all just meant to be a relic of a child's imagination. In fact, I used to consider making a living in the arts to be wishful thinking (would you believe I once thought of going to business school because I had no idea what else to do with my life?). Thank God I snapped out of it. Thank God I actually decided to take that first acting class after college. And I auditioned for that first show. And I volunteered to vocal direct for that first community production.
All this to say, the creative process for The Song of the Nightingale has been a circuitous one. It has been as much about how I have arrived here as it has been about how did I write this. Just as the Emperor in the fairy tale is surprised by the effect of the Nightingale's song, I find myself repeatedly surprised that this show is actually being realized. But I think the me from twenty years ago is sticking out his tongue at me and saying "I told you so."
EBCF is hosting The Business of Art Workshop in Oakland
...but it's all a process. This is what I'm learning right now. As I make a more conscious shift of focus in my career from being a jack-of-many-performing-arts-trades to more specifically owning the title of writer/composer, I am made keenly aware of how "process-y" it all is.
Folks who make a living in the performing arts are very familiar with that word: "process." We talk about our artistic or creative process. Our work undergoes a developmental process. And many artists are highly invested in the self-examination or self-growth process. (Has it ceased to sound like a real word yet? "Process... Process... Process") Most recently, I am learning that forging the career path I am on is a process as well.
I have the fortune of being an inaugural participant in Theatre Bay Area's ATLAS for Playwrights Program. I am also participating in a Business of Art workshop, hosted by the East Bay Community Foundation in partnership with the Center for Cultural Innovation. The goal of both ATLAS and Business of Art is that I form a practical business plan or career map for myself in order to reach a level of success which I define and desire. Now, I would say up to this point I have run a good business for myself. But I am seeing so clearly that there are many ways in which I can improve my business practices as a writer/composer. I am on the cusp of moving into a new stage in my professional or career-building process.
ATLAS at the Theatre Bay Area offices - I promise there are more people than the photo lets on.
Which has led me to begin this blog. With the changes occurring and the projects I'm blessed to be working on, you can imagine that there are a lot of thoughts and experiences I need to process for myself. I figure I'll capture some of these thoughts about my various processes - creative, career & personal - and invite anyone who wants to read about them to feel free to do so (Now, don't all flock to this blog at once...). And to drag the overused word to its virtual death, I am sharing these thoughts by using aword process-or. So, it all comes full circle. Or everything is linked. Or so it goes.
I'll end with another cliche: "The process never ends."
So this blog will go on forever. You're welcome.
