Procrastination...

The definition of 'procrastination': the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or deferring an action to a later time.

Is there really anyone in the world who is not a procrastinator? I procrastinate over everything...the small things - doing the dishes, putting the clothes away, practicing my singing. And the big things - writing a play, forming a theatre company, finding affordable health insurance. Well, as of this week I am pleased to say that although I still have dirty dishes, unhung clothes and a dusty keyboard, I am now the proud owner of a theatre company, a health care policy and I've just finished a second draft of my first short play. Not too shabby...but maybe still a little dusty, dirty and wrinkly.

The first very big thing: our theatre company now exists!

Australian Made Entertainment LLC.

We're currently working on the website, which is scheduled to be finished by the end of the month, and that will have details of our planned activities. But basically, we will be producing theatre and film, written by Australians and showcasing Australian artists. We hope to put on our first theatrical production in September and it will most likely be 'Cosi'...as long as all goes well with theatre rental and rights. We're also aiming to do a web series about nerdy things later in the year, and a feature film with the working title 'Give and Take' sometime next year. We'll also be applying for fiscal sponsorship, so that we can receive 100% tax deductible donations, and then we'll approach all of the Australian organizations in America to try to get support. So if you know anyone who might want to help, send them our way!

The next fun thing is that I started to write, and somehow I was just able to write and write, until I had a short play in front of me. It's something near and dear to me - a play about a couple going through fertility treatment. It may be a bit dull to an audience, since it's basically just a couple talking directly to the audience about their experience. But my plan is to eventually build it...I already have the straight couple retelling their story, and I'll add a lesbian couple in an actual scene with each other (i.e. not just talking to the audience but acting out a scene to each other), who have gone through fertility treatment and are about to have the baby. And finally, and dare I say the most fun, I'll have a gay male couple who are about to adopt a baby and their story will be a musical! Hehehe! I think their first song will be 'Who's Your Daddy', soon to be written by me - copyright to that idea everyone! So I'm currently one third of the way there.

And thirdly, I finally qualified for Freelancers Insurance. The cost to insure the two of us per month is ludicrous - over $700 a month! But I guess it's better that than to have my appendix burst and be whisked off to the emergency room and come out with a $100,000 bill. Or have complications and end up with a $1,000,000 bill. So, we're getting the cheapest health insurance I was able to get, and still paying a fortune, but at least they won't just watch us die and laugh.

Besides those big things life is really going great. I'm now in Improv Level 2 and it is tremendous fun! Really, I don't know why I waited until now to learn how to do it. It seemed so intimidating and like it was so hard to be clever and funny, but you can be stupid and that often can be funny too. And there are all these techniques to make it easier. It is currently the highlight of my week.

And I just finished up at Atlantic Acting School, although they do offer an 'Advanced Scene Study' class so I'll likely take that next semester. I feel like I've acquired all of these awesome skills, and I haven't been able to test them out, except in class, so I'm stoked to have our own theatre company and to finally be able to do our own stuff later in the year.

And that's about it. I'm feeling a little on the brink of everything...but perhaps the fun side of the brink, and not the daunting 'how do I do this?' side. You just do it. Oh God!