Writer's Week 2008

Writer's Week 2008 I thought was a truly great experience. And I'm not just saying that either. I look forward to Writer's Week and this year was a great example of why. With amazing people like Billy Lombardo, and Marc Smith, how could Writer's Week be something one would not enjoy? Starting off with Bill Kelly, the screenplay writer of movies such as "Enchanted" and "Premonition", Writer's Week kept getting better and better. Although Bill Kelly just answered questions, I still found it amazing that I was there in the room and listening to the author of a movie which is up for academy awards! I also thought that his story was quite interesting-the fact that he lived in Elk Grove and had this dream of becoming a screenplay writer--then moved to LA and made it happen is absolutely astonishing and quite amazing. I found his own story to be inspiring; he showed that if you have a dream, you can't let anyone stand in your way and you don't need permission from anyone to achieve that dream.

Another person whom I admired was Billy Lombardo. I thought his poems were really sad, but extremely good as well. His poems were so descriptive and described really interesting situations. I thought the one happy poem his said, about the Sox winning the world series, and him sharing that moment with his son was really touching. From that, his piece, "First Time you are Punched", although extremely sad, it shows the audience the realization that this actually does happen to some kids. The title of the poem is very literal, however the poem has a much deeper meaning. The line that I thought was especially touching, was when he was describing the boy in the corner with his black eye, and his parents fighting in the background, and he is trying to "butterfly kiss the wall...to make the black eye go away." His other piece, "How to Remember a Day with your Son" was also sad but I thought that it was very powerful at the same time. I think the way he reads the poems also add to the effect, because he can read it in the way that he planned it to be read. His final piece, "How I Knew you were Mad at Me" also had some sad parts, but also had some funny parts as well, such as "I knew you were mad at me when...you set the wipers too slow." Overall, Billy Lombardo was very powerful author that I extremely admire.

Moving from the sadder pieces, Scott Woldman's "Speed Dating- the Musical" was absolutely hilarious! Depicting the situations many people go through, this musical seems like it would be extremely entertaining to go see! I thought the song where the boys sang "will you sleep with me" over and over, with the girls singing "boys suck" was so funny! The one girl that sang was also hilarious. I will definitely remember them! As for Daphne Willis and Company, their talent was amazing. I thought her singing was really, really good...I actually did look her up on iTunes!

Finally, but definitely not least, was Marc Smith, perhaps the most memorable of all. I remembered him from last year because he was my favorite, and of coarse, he walked up the banisters. I admire him so much, having memorized over 200 songs, along with being the founder of slam poetry and a great entertainer, he is really someone to remember. I was surprised to find out that he was really shy when he was younger, but I think he would be an inspiration to those who are really shy. One thing he said to the audience that stuck with me was he said, "If you feel there is a destiny in you, there is." I found this line to be inspirational personally. As for the poems he performed, they can't be beat. The one poem about the rainbow and it being a person who is bowlegged, with one foot in the heart of a woman, and one in the heart of a man was one of my favorites. I thought that all the poems he performed were really powerful and I would have to say Marc is definitely my favorite person who came to writer's week. The poem that I remembered him saying last year, and I always will remember him performing is the poem where he walks around the whole auditorium, saying there is a different animal "in him."

Overall, Writer's Week 2008 was an extremely inspirational, entertaining, and memorable experience. It makes me sad that I could not see anyone that was in our class, but I'm sure all of them did an awesome job. All the people who came to Writer's Week were so talented and I really enjoyed seeing them all. I feel so privledged to be a Fremd student that is able to have this experience. Let's just say that Writer's Week 2008 will be hard to beat!