JEREMY WRITES
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I Didn't Always Dream of Being a Writer

9/18/2014

 
20 years ago, in 9th grade, my English teacher had us write an essay on our dreams for what we wanted to do in the future when we grew up. I wrote about my dream to be one of the first private citizens to fly in space, that I would live to see a world in which private citizens would have that opportunity. He gave me a C, and wrote on my essay that if I wanted to go into space, that I should "dream of being an astronaut." Because that's what I meant. Obviously. Well, Mr. Kull, being an astronaut would have been awesome and is a wonderful dream and goal... just not for me. Telling people what they should dream about defeats the purpose of dreams. My dream was, and still is, frankly, rooted in something larger; a wish for humanity to advance to the point where regular people could go into space. I don't want to go up and fix a telescope. I just want to look out the window. I know the path to that dream is a lot of small moves and the persistence of talented people. Luckily, it turns out, I'm not the only one who has this dream. And I'm thrilled, and not at all surprised, by that. Going to look into this more, do some homework, and figure out the veracity of it all... but if there's a chance of getting to space in my lifetime, I have to hope that something like this actually works. Small moves.
Plus, it would be cool to be the first playwright in space. Just, ya know... because, right?!

Grove City Play 'First Look' at Arts in the Alley Sept 20-21

9/15/2014

 
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What

My new play about GROVE CITY (want to help me name it? See below!)*, slated to premiere in 2015, will have a first look preview this weekend at LTOB at the Arts in the Alley festival.

When

Saturday, September 20
Sunday, September 21
1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, & 4 pm
1 pm & 2 pm

Tickets

FREE, available at the door.

Where


Little Theatre Off Broadway, 3981 Broadway, Grove City, OH 43123

Earlier this year, the City of Grove City, Ohio, commissioned me to write a new play for 2015 to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of Jackson Township and the role that Grove City has played in its history and development. While the full play will premiere next Spring, the city is working with their hometown theater, the Little Theatre Off Broadway (LTOB), to present a first look preview of the play at this weekend's Arts in the Alley festival.

Arts in the Alley 2014
File Size: 70 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Download this PDF from the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce with a complete schedule of activities happening this weekend at the festival!

We're not doing the full play, yet; instead, we're doing about 20 or so minutes of the opening of the play. It's a chance for us to share a bit of what I've been working on, and to have some fun at an arts festival showcasing how we're celebrating Grove City and Jackson Township through our art.

In an added bit of fun, my wife and I will be on stage playing two of Grove City's earliest residents. We don't get to share the stage that often, so I'm looking forward to that. We're practically doing cameos, which makes it more fun. We'll leave the heavy lifting to the talented actors of LTOB and Grove City. 
*Name This Play
As part of the development and spirit of making this a Grove City play, the Grove City Historical Commission is sponsoring a contest to help us find a name for this new play! Individuals attending the Arts in the Alley previews can suggest a name for the play; the winner receives dinner for two at a local restaurant!
It's been a great pleasure working on this play thus far; and although I can't share the full story with you until next Spring, I'm thrilled that Grove City and LTOB are bringing this first look to the stage. And all during an arts fest celebrating its 35th year. They're calling for an absolutely beautiful weekend in Grove City, like high 70s/low 80s, so please come and enjoy the arts festival and stop by LTOB for one of our six performances of the first look of the Grove City Play. See you in the theater!

Why 5.6 Million Viewers Still Wasn't Enough to Save Walt Longmire

9/12/2014

 
I do not understand the push for younger audiences on TV. No one likes when one of their favorite shows gets canceled, but this one just upsets me. Longmire averaged 5.6 million viewers an episode this season. It was A&E's 2nd highest rated show (best scripted show) and rated higher than other cable champions like Mad Men. Even Breaking Bad barely cracked the 2 million view mark for the first four seasons, before skyrocketing to 5 and 6 million viewer averages in the final year. So 5.6 millions seems great. Why isn't it? A&E had some thoughts on that. So do I.
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Check out the #LongLiveLongmire 
hashtag
on Twitter.
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According to an article from the Wall Street Journal (also linked to the picture, above right): "A&E's Mr. Silberman said the decision was specific to 'Longmire.' 'We gave it three seasons,' he said, adding, 'we genuinely loved the show but the audiences in the key demographics just weren't there.'" 

Those key demos? 18-24 & 25-54. Longmire's audience had a median age of 60 (really?)...okay, so why not sell ads for the demos you had? None of those 5.6 million people have money to buy things? And SOME of them have to be in the 25-54 demo (half of them are under 60, by the definition of median). Okay, so no one over the age of 54 is worth anything to advertisers (really?). So maybe A&E could actually support and advertise the show to the demos it wanted. I'm pretty sure that I know lots of people in the 25-54 demo who would happily watch Katee Sackhoff, Bailey Chase, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Robert Taylor read them the phone book. As Longmire's EP Greer Shephard said, "It is hard for me to believe that you are not able to monetize one of your highest-rated shows." 

Aside from the disappointment of seeing Longmire axed (though, I am hopeful that the producers can land the show elsewhere for a season 4), I am disappointed that in 20 years, what I watch won't matter to advertisers or networks. That I only have 20 good years of being a "key demo" when it comes to the ratings system that drives TV; a ratings system that is horribly outdated and is probably doing more to destroy traditional television that any viewing habits out there or new technologies. 

As someone who would love to work in TV, I guess I'm going to have to learn to understand it. 

And hope something changes.

On Facebook and want to follow the LongLiveLongmire campaign there? Visit their page here.

Remembering Other People's Stories

9/11/2014

 
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Never Forget.
9-11-01
Remembering today is easier for people like me; but it isn't for everybody. You know? I watched September 11th on television, like so much of America. I didn't know anyone in NYC or PA or DC that day. At least not then. They were there, we just hadn't met. Over the past 13 years, I've come to meet so many amazing people who were there, who still remember the smell of the air, the sounds, the fallout. I've met people who lost friends, loved ones, coworkers. People who lost people to the ensuing war. I've been lucky to work on plays like 'The Guys' that honor some of those who fell that day. People I never met. I wonder sometimes, who I didn't meet... considering the number of people I have met who were so near those planes when they were taken down, near those buildings and that field, it stands to reason that, at some point, I would have met at least one of those people... one who didn't survive that day. It just makes me wonder. And so today, as video from that day is replayed over and over, as photos fill our social media feeds, and we all say, collectively and patriotically, that we remember... I feel a bit guilty because I only have to remember other people's stories. For so many people out there, today is a million times harder for them than it will be for me. They're not just remembering the pictures and the news and that they didn't see it on TV until almost an hour after it happened because they were working nights and slept right through it, waking up to a national nightmare. No. They're remembering the people they did meet. The people they loved. Waiting on phone calls. Hanging on hope. Watching those same news reports I did, or watching it live from wherever they were standing that they could see the smoke and wondering if those loved ones would ever come home. Every year on this date for the rest of our lives, that morning will replay and we will all relive where we were; and it's always going to be harder for some people. And I just want to give them a hug. I wasn't a kid, I'm still one of those people who distinctly remember a pre-9/11 world, but still... I'm just a guy from Ohio who watched it on television. My heart goes out to anyone who is mourning some one lost because of that day and to the souls taken from us. It's not much, but love and sympathy, and maybe a hug if you're in the area, is all I can offer to those who are having a really hard time today. Like I said, for most Americans, September 11th of any year from here on out will always be hard, but for some of our friends, it's harder. I love you all.

Previews Of History

9/8/2014

 
So they talked about me on TV this weekend. What? Yeah. I don't think that will ever get old. It's pretty sweet (and by "they" I mean my director, Lisa, and the host of a local show with regard to a new play being previewed at Grove City's Arts in the Alley later this month). On Sunday, my mom called to tell me that my aunt phoned her to say that she heard my name mentioned on OUT N ABOUT COLUMBUS. After some internet research, this was proven true.

OUT N ABOUT COLUMBUS spoke with my director (and active member of LTOB), Lisa Napier-Garcia about the history of LTOB and how we're getting involved with Arts in the Alley by sharing part of this exciting project. I've tried to cue up the segment below. Lisa's interview begins close to the 17:50 mark.  
Keep reading after the YouTube video to find out more about my Grove City play.
The play is one of two plays I've been working on for this Fall (the other being ROBIN HOOD... more on that later this week). I call this one THE GROVE CITY CENTURY BOX: A HISTORICAL MYSTERY. Commissioned by the Grove City Historical Commission, the play will have a full production in Spring of 2015 to coincide with the 200th Anniversary of Jackson Township.

I'm excited to be working with LTOB (The Little Theatre Off Broadway) in Grove City on the production side of things, as they will present a preview of the play, September 20-21 at Arts in the Alley. Think: extended trailer. You'll have six chances to stop by LTOB during this annual arts festival in the heart of historic downtown Grove City and get a glimpse at what we're working on for next Spring.

About the play: In present day Grove City, Sydney and her brother Dylan are prepping a house for auction when Sydney discovers what appears to be an abandoned time capsule. When they open it, it unlocks a mystery that centers on a young girl in 1952. Who she is, what happened to her, and why she created the forgotten century box can only be answered by digging through the history of Grove City---and the answers Sidney finds will forever change her.  

Showtimes and further information will be posted as soon as I have it!

    Jeremy's blog

    Thoughts. From my brain. Anything to do with how we tell stories and the stories we tell each other. Literally and figuratively. 

    Join me on twitter @JeremyWrites to keep the conversation going. 

    About Jeremy

    Picture
    Writer. Husband. Father. Effulgent dreamer. A Fightin' Irishman (@NDdotEDU '01). A playwriting Bobcat (MFA in Playwriting, @OhioU '13). I write plays. I'm a geek. I wanted to be an astronaut. I go places in my head.

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