Wednesday Works in Progress 1: What Does a Time of Rest Look Like For an Artist?
I will be the first to admit, I am a creature of habit. When it comes to music, food, sleep, and pretty much anything else, having that routine and a constantly moving wheel is what keeps me going.
I just finished my first year of Graduate School at USC, and you know what that means: an artistic rest from deadlines over the summer.
Don’t get me wrong- having this time to breathe is MUCH needed after an extremely busy first year of school (ending with a reading of my new script, Charlie’s, WeHo). Since September, I have worked on a total of 7 new concepts, and began the creation on 4 of those scripts.
Coming into a writing program from an acting background, this was something that I was anxious about, because I didn’t know how I would perform in a creative-writing-centric program.
At the end of my first year, I can say with full confidence that this is an environment I thrive in and that has become addictive to me—the deadlines, the rush, the necessity to create.
However, now that I have finished my first year, I can’t help but think:
“How can I use this break to rest, but also keep working on my craft and keep creating on my own terms?”
A break in a routine is especially difficult for me because of my Anxiety and Major Depression. These mental illnesses affect me daily in many ways, including motivation, self-esteem, and general energy levels.
That continuous assembly line of creation and deadlines in academia motivates me and helps me get work done that my depression may be inhibiting me from doing.
When I don't have specific projects, I struggle with a sort of “decision paralysis,” where I have so many ideas and concepts that I don’t know where to start. The only time when this seems to remedy is when I lie down in bed, and my scripts will not let me sleep. The concepts swirling in my head, begging for attention and creation.
When I am tossing and turning with my scripts, all I want is to get up and write deep into the night, but that simply is not a healthy mindset or routine to fall into. Especially for me, someone who is partial to a routine, that is a danger I constantly have to fight. So, how can I use this time to help create in a way that feels respectful of my concepts, while also respectful to my mental, spiritual, and physical health?
We constantly hear stories of artists falling into spirals of creative fervor where they lose themselves in their work, to the detriment of their personal lives. Especially with the heavier concepts that I am working with now, I want to work to be able to protect myself, while also telling these stories that are begging me for a voice.
I talked a bit with my partner about this, and he gave me some advice that is so obvious, I was frustrated I hadn’t thought of it before. Creating my work, my deadlines, and holding myself accountable to those responsibilities. And all of those ideas led me back to here, my blog that I have undoubtedly neglected since its creation.
I will be posting a weekly blog on Wednesdays, titled Wednesday Works in Progress. This will be a weekly recap to help hold me accountable for my work during this hiatus of classes, while also helping build up what I know this blog could be.
This blog will be my big focus over the summer, and I am so excited to share more of my writing, creative, narrative, and informal opinion pieces.
I also want to use the summer to try and work on building up a small following on social media during the extra time that I have.
I have always been drawn to the idea of social media creation and the freedom of creation that comes alongside the title. I am not quite sure where I want this goal to end up, but I know that this is something that will challenge me creatively and push me in a direction that I haven’t dove into full force.
Entering a time of calm is scary and overwhelming to me, but I am ready to take this into my own hands and refuse to let myself fall into the spiral of my mental illnesses.
Until the next post,
Collin <3
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Works in Progress
Charlie’s, WeHo (First Complete Draft)
Leo, a young gay man, finds himself in the deep end of West Hollywood, puking on a grimy bathroom floor. The club employees find him down and out and take a liking to him, helping him get on his feet with a job at the club.
1122 (First Complete Draft)
When three childhood friends reconnect after experiencing undergrad apart, things are not quite as they seem as love, jealousy and hatred begin to bubble up in this twisting story of how relationships can age and implode over time.
Jack & Hayden: A Queer Reimagination Jekyll and Hyde (In Progress)
Jack has it made in high school. He is the top of his class, captain of the dive team, active in student government, and in general, the golden boy. When Xavier, a new student, throws off the balance of Jack’s perfect life, he must battle his inner demons of queerness and acceptance of his own queerness.
Amateur Autumnal Artisan Baking Competition (In Progress)
My first delve into YA Theatre, this script takes the well-known cooking competition shows that I grew up with, and puts them into the world of absurdity, farce, and ridiculousness. A character-centric show, with 11 characters, this script is designed to be done in school settings with a character for any actor, no matter how experienced.
Masa (Concept)
An ode to my grandmother, who passed at the end of 2024, this scene began as a writing exercise in class that did not quite align with the prompt. Writing this piece was the closest I have felt to her since her passing, and this is a piece I cannot wait to see evolve.
Barnfire (Concept)
When Emma calls 911 after a major barn fire on her parents’ land, Detectives Cole and Peters must untie the complicated knot of the dramatic murder-suicide of Emma’s parents. This is a play that takes place exclusively in an interrogation room, and is a psychological exploration of Emma and the detectives.
Unnamed Cult Play (Concept)
I have always been fascinated with the sociology of cults, their followers, and how they become the institutions that we see on the national media stage. Taking place in a barren rural area, we slowly devolve throughout the script, realizing the trap that we are witnessing, and follow the process of trying to escape.
FOR ANY QUESTIONS, OR MORE INFO ON ANY SCRIPTS, EMAIL ME AT
romeroco@usc.edu
