Writer Week 08

This years writers week was definitely better than last years. In all honesty, I dozed off during a couple of last years performances, along with the rest of my classmate and the teacher. As Bill Kelly wisely stated " Noone wants to hear about old men fishing on a pond" (ironically a subject of a story I unfortunately had to sit through last year) and this year performances were far from it. I think they saved the best for last, including saving the best for the last periods as well. Writer's week started off a little weakly, with "Hoya" Bill Kelly. Although he was unprepared, I find his career and the movie business very interesting, so I'm sure it wasn't as boring for me as I'm sure it might have been for other students. I did find him to share some inspirational insights about his job and how he reached it, whether he was "pond scum" or not. "It doesn't matter who you are or where your from, if you really want it and work hard for it, you can do it." I also found it cool that he comes from the same area we do and managed to do what he does, helping to produce famous movies that we pay to go see in theaters. I will admit that the next movie he is writing seems pretty lame, but I guess I will have to wait and see how it turns out. I went up to talk to him after, because we have some family friends in the movie business as well, and found him to be a nice guy. Even though he was unprepared, he managed to pull it off because people had enough questions to ask him. I was reieved to know that "Patrick Dempsey is smokin' " in real life as well.

I had seen Billy Lombardo last year, and thought he did an even better job this year with his descriptive and realistic stories about memorable events with families. I wish we couldv'e heard some happier stories or events that actually happened to him, but as he said " There's no violence in my life and I love violent movies and mafia." I thought this comment was ironic, because as violent as his stories are, he states " Shut up is so bad, you never hear it at my house." As depressing as his stories were, he proved to not be a depressing person, with his funny and random comments in between stories, like telling us about his dream where his "son imitated a pretty good American accent." I also found some parts of his "That's How I Know You Were Mad At Me" story to be humorous. Overall, I think he did a good job and shared with us some well written stories.

When I first heard we were seeing Scott Woldman, I expected it to be a boring period with him just talking about writing plays, similar to what we had already seen with Bill Kelly. I was proved wrong after finding out we were actually going to watch scenes from the play. I found the musical hilarious and enjoyable. It had some great catchy tunes, such as the opening song after everyone meets at the speed dating. The musical had a lot of comic relief, especially from Vicky, the dental hygienist in real life, who scared me and made me laugh with her lines. I liked the comparison of "men being like cucumbers" and the "key to happily ever after...frequent trips to the farmers market." I thought that although they hadn't had much practice yet, they had a great performance. I will hopefully be able to see the musical when it opens March 29th- June 21st!

Daphne Willis and Co. was also better than last years band by a mile, or more. I loved their unique sound, compared to the same pop music everyone hears on the radio today. They also had a relaxed attitude that showed in their music. I loved the guitarists little dance during the song "Yellow Dress." When listening closely to the songs, there lyrics were meaningful and real, something I look for in music and was happy to see here. I am also impressed that she is a Fremd graduate, since it is hard to believe that anyone from around ehre can become successful in the music industry, since it is hard to get into. I think that if her and her band continue to be who they are, they have the potential to become successful in the future. It is obvious that Daphne's influences affect the sound of her music, including Sara Bareilles and Jack Johnson, both of whom I like. I hope their band makes it in the industry while maintaining the unique sound that sets them apart and made me enjoy them.

I also believe the best was save for last, ending with Marc Smith. I didn't have the chance to see him last year, and am glad I got to this year. I was surprised to hear that he used to be shy, saying that he was "so shy, I couldn't even talk to the pizza guy on the telephone." It is comforting to hear that, because I am the exact same way. This inspired because it shows me that if I try I can do big things when I get older as well, like how he created poetry slams. I found him to be very interactive and lively with audience which made for a fun and interesting period. I can't believe he climbed the railing at his age! I wouldn't even do it now, especially since he had just "had a little accident" the period before. I loved watching his bowlegged rainbow poem and "Richard Cory". I was also assigned to reinact this play in Mrs. Gilkey's class (I was actually in Jennifer's group) and enjoyed recognizing a poem I thought I'd never hear again. I also like that he believes, as I do, that "More than I like poets, I like poems". I also believe this is crucial in music, and that quality and meaning is more important than how famous the person who wrote it is. This made him and his enthusiasm in his performances more believable and real to me. It is amazing that he has memorized 350+ poems and can perform any of them, and perform them well. He is truly an inspiration to any aspiring writer. This year's writer week was by far better than the last two I'd been to. I loved the different variety of subjects and people we got to see. It will be hard, but I'm looking forward to seeing if next year's writer week can top this one.