Green Spaces for Healing/Creativity
get outside/work in new forms
I live on the top floor of a tenement in New York City. For the past few months (has it only been months?), workers have been stomping (I mean bringing) the roof up to code. Right over my head. Right over my easily startled doodle's head. My newest skill: being able to regulate my nervous system while they jackhammer into my head/roof while the dog erupts in loud barks.
Most nervous systems like quiet. My nervous system likes herbal tea and baths with essential oils and epsom salts. I am a quiet introvert. I do not have the urge to leave my home no matter how loud the workers get. I got my first dog in a 5th floor walk-up because I knew that, without her, I would never go outside. This is how I structure my days.
I am up and out first thing. I pick my dog-walking attire every night to minimize early morning decisions. We walk past a tidal salt marsh and across a field. It takes about 8 minutes to get from my door to the edge of the woods.
Most days the sun hits the salt marsh, and the water spreads the light in rippling waves. I won't wear sunglasses in the morning because neuroscientist Andrew Huberman says early sunlight helps me sleep at night. (I sleep really well, so it must be working.)
Yet autism makes me sensitive to sunlight, so I am easily lured into the forest's cool darkness where the sun only peeks occasionally in and out among the tree leaves. I rise and curve up toward the back of the hill where the land shields the Hudson completely from the sun in those early hours.
Every day my dog stops and sniffs and takes her time, so I stop with her. She forces me to notice colors, shapes, (hummingbirds in the jewelweed lately), the sound of birds (woodpeckers), wisps of wildflowers, the small details of life in the forest.
On the Western slope of Inwood Hill, the trees reach out to each other across the path to form a steeple of branches. Like in old cathedrals, my heart rate slows. I ground. I wake to nature, the seasons, the almost imperceptible changes that happen daily, life itself.
It's healing to do this. Green is color of calm. Between warm and cool, our human biology responds to green specifically by creating a sense of ease. We can shift from an activated nervous state to a calm state. Nature mothers us.
My dog is quieter after a long walk in the woods. The workers don't bother either of us as much. And if they do, we go back outside again every afternoon.
Where can you find a green space near you? Can you create a habit of spending time there? Do you already do this? Let me know in the comments!
Writing Prompt:
While I am a playwright most of the time, I've been writing more poetry and flash lately. I encourage all of my colleagues and students to write outside their primary genre to stretch a bit.
Trying new forms works like calisthenics for the brain. We get more limber. We can access play more easily. This helps us respond more fluidly in whatever genre we regularly use.
I take notes on my phone while I walk in the morning. This reminds me of an old William Stafford poetry prompt which is to write a poem every day based on 10 observations from the day. Thomas Lux has also recommended this method. My version of this is to copy my phone notes into a document every day when I return from my walk.
Then I craft a poem from these random notes without adding other words. It's a condensing exercise, since I tend to also try to pressurize the text by condensing it to its smallest form. Or I might expand it to a piece of flash fiction or flash cnf. Either way, I'm looking to the language of observation to draw me into some sort of mystery about life and the questions I'm asking. Try it! I’d love to read your work in the comments below.
Announcements:
Last chance to join my new Brave Group Coaching class starting Tuesday, September 10th, from 7-8:30pm ET via Zoom. 6 weeks to a better understanding of your nervous system and real skills to create more ease for your parts. More Info Here
Brave Playwrights Workshop starts Saturday, September 14th, 2pm - 5pm ET via Zoom (some classes on Saturday mornings, more info here). 10 weeks of diving into your work with consideration for how craft and structure can help you to realize your goals.
artwork by Scott Sherman, ScottShermanStudio on instagram
Ashland New Play Festival deadline approaches as they will only take the first 350 scripts (and they are over 100 right now).
Deadline September 8th! YALE DRAMA AWARD More info here
Due by Friday September 13th! Apply to the Jam at New Georges (for NYC-based or able to travel to NYC easily 2x/month for 2 years, women+ theatre artists) For information click here. And for the application click here.
Due by September 15th, Cape Cod Theatre Project applications!
I highly recommend Gina Femia's Novel-Writing Workshop!
Due by October 1st, Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival submit large cast plays for college-aged actors or submit short plays!
Due by October 7th, New Harmony applications for Playwriting Residencies are due!
Due by October 15th, Great Plains Theatre Commons has a fabulous festival every year that I highly recommend! Send them a play!
Jenna Lourenco is looking for Autistic Theatre People for a study Examining Environmental & Cultural Challenges to Autistic Accessibility in Theatre Workspaces" through the end of October 2024 at this link!
Due by November 1st, Premiere Stages at Kean Festival send them your work!
Brave Space Schedule:
9/8 Sunday 6pm ET All Human Brave Space w/Sharing Salon!
9/9 Monday 12pm ET Brave Space
9/10 Tuesday 12pm ET Brave Space w/fast feedback
Tuesday 7 pm ET Brave Group Coaching week 1 of 6
9/11 Wednesday 12pm ET Advanced Brave Group Coaching
9/12 Thursday 12pm ET Brave Space
9/13 Friday 12pm ET Brave Space
9/14 Saturday 2pm ET Brave Playwrights Workshop week 1 of 10
9/15 Sunday 6pm ET All Human Brave Space
9/16 Monday 12pm ET Brave Space
9/17 Tuesday 12pm ET Brave Space w/fast feedback
Tuesday 7 pm ET Brave Group Coaching week 2 of 6
9/18 Wednesday 12pm ET Advanced Brave Group Coaching
9/19 Thursday 12pm ET Brave Space
9/20 Friday 12pm ET Brave Space
9/21 Saturday 2pm ET Brave Playwrights Workshop week 2 of 10
9/22 Sunday 6pm ET All Human Brave Space
9/23 Monday 12pm ET Brave Space
9/24 Tuesday 12pm ET Brave Space w/fast feedback
Tuesday 7 pm ET Brave Group Coaching week 3 of 6
9/25 Wednesday 12pm ET Advanced Brave Group Coaching
9/26 Thursday 12pm ET Brave Space
9/27 Friday 12pm ET Brave Space w/Sharing Salon!
9/28 Saturday 2pm ET Brave Playwrights Workshop week 3 of 10
Each week Tuesdays includes fast feedback for up to 1 page (@250 words) of writing.
Each month there are 2 Sharing Salons: Second Sundays (730pm ET) and Final Fridays (3pm ET) for sharing work up to 10 minutes worth (less than 1500 words).