Cowan Palace: Let’s Eat Our Feelings and Write About It!

Ashley gives herself a writing challenge and confronts her own food demons.

So it’s September and I’ve been attempting to climb over a writer’s block that’s managed to wedge itself into my path for a few months. But considering the piece in question is for the San Francisco Olympian’s Festival and auditions are just a few weeks away, the clock has started to tick louder and louder each day.

I submitted three proposals for consideration last year right before the midnight deadline. Two were silly and fluffy. One was way more personal and scary; which ended up being the play I was matched to write.

Last year I had a blast writing my Olympian’s short, Oenone because I was able to take an honest, awkward middle school existence and channel it into a retelling of Paris’s first wife while making fun of some of my twelve year old self at the same time. It proved to be both fun and healing and forever solidified my belief that in this life, we’re all just middle schoolers trying to find a place to have lunch.

I guess I had hoped I’d have a similar experience this year. The myth I was drawn to surrounding Charybdis involved this female character being punished for eating one of Hercules’ prized cattle. She was then thrown into the sea where she was left to resume life as a monster.

Growing up, I always felt my relationship with food was a struggle. Without going too much into it now, it’s consumed more of my thoughts and energy than I’d care to admit. And when I thought about this idea of being turned into a sea creature over a ravenous appetite, I was inclined to finally explore it. Even though it made me feel a bit more vulnerable than I expected. Every time I would draft out a few pages, it never felt quite right. Perhaps because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to really say and how truthful to be to my own experiences. How many demons should a writer unleash before they attempt their story?

Ashley takes a bite out of life and also, some meat.

So instead of answering that question, I thought it may be more useful to do some research. Since I had chosen to place this play in an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, I figured I should probably educate myself a bit more on the organization. Which meant, agreeing to attend a meeting to truly obtain the experience.

See, this isn’t really a new thing for me. I’m always trying to “dare” myself to do stuff so I can share the story later. (A few years ago I challenged myself to go alone to a strip tease class for that very purpose. And if you know ANYTHING about me, you can imagine what that was like. And if you can’t, well, here’s an image: I was unaware that we were supposed to bring a towel with us to incorporate into our dance routine. So I then had to use my bright pink hoodie in its place…awkward, duh.) So true to my character, I went online and found a San Francisco Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

And then I (hilariously) came down with food poisoning. What luck, huh? I’m forever an accident waiting to happen. I will be attending one, however, before my next blog is out and I look forward to sharing the tale with you all soon. In the meantime, I found a whole bunch of valuable YouTube clips to keep me busy. I mean, aside from all the puppies and babies and stuff.

I stumbled across a 1985 dramatization of a slightly chubby, middle aged woman who eats cookie dough batter after her teenage daughter sasses her about not understanding what it’s like to go out on a dancing date. The short film seems to be sponsored by Overeaters Anonymous and while I couldn’t help but mock some of the dialogue and direction (this woman’s husband shames her for eating a tiny cupcake and then she goes to the grocery store where a judgmental clerk says, “see you tomorrow!”), this dated piece did provide some interesting information and a perspective of someone attending an OA meeting for the first time.

Straight from the YouTube clip: sassy 80’s daughter sassing her mom!

Yes, some of it was pretty amusing to watch because I’m mean and can’t get enough of 80’s hair styles, but I also appreciated this idea of finding people with similar experiences and chronicling them to help heal each other. There’s something kind of hopeful about how someone who truly felt hopeless could find acceptance and learn to cope through the encouragement of others.

Since my only personal experience with meetings of this nature was through a stupid ex-boyfriend (stupid because he was idiot, not because of his addictions), it’s a world I only really know through pop culture’s eyes. And even though it makes me pretty uncomfortable to dive into this particular whirlpool (Charybdis pun, holla!) I feel like it’s time to face my own monsters for the sake of writing this piece and explore this myth the way it deserves. Did I bite off more than I can chew? Probably. I’m working on that. But hey, choking makes for enjoyable future blogs, doesn’t it?

So in the meantime friends, make sure to sign up for an Olympians audition (this is your last week to do it!) and I’ll look forward to seeing you there with the newest version of my story.

Cowan Palace: Sci-Fi Thoughts and Imagining the Future

This week Ashley Cowan shares some feelings about the sci-fi genre.

Looking for an escape from reality? In a land where anything is imaginable? You’re not alone!

Theater Pub’s newest production THE PUB FROM ANOTHER WORLD offers you a chance to experience the infinite possibilities of science fiction with the timeless art of the theater. Which, let’s be honest, is rather rare as the impressive imaginings of the genre can be hard to capture live on stage. But this is Theater Pub we’re talking about here! It’s full of magic! And beer!

But seriously, what’s up with sci-fi? And why is it worth exploring? Well, for one thing, it’s relatively tricky to properly outline as the number of subgenres associated with science fiction continue to populate. But just to give you some food for thought, here are six reasons sci-fi is important:

1.) It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment science fiction became the category it is today. Some believe it grew out of the scientific revolution while there are those who consider it a result of human history as it’s often used as a reflection to explore a variety of cultural and social progressions.

2.) It’s everywhere. It’s not just in literature anymore; pop culture has developed sci-fi into a genre found in television, movies, video games, and even theater. Science fiction provides a creative outlet to further question our human relationship with the world surrounding us. As scientific developments continue to boggle the minds of citizens everywhere, the sci-fi genre grows as well.

3.) Science fiction opens a door of opportunity. It allows us to explore the inquisitive nature of “what if”. Often operating in accordance to basic scientific rules, works of this genre take the principles one step further by incorporating imagined technologies. What is potentially exciting (and possibly terrifying) is our fictional tales of today may be the scientific realities of tomorrow.

4.) Beyond science though, the root of the genre lies within the human condition and putting it under a different microscope. Facing unexpected tribulations is something we can all relate to; and the stories involving people just like us who are forced to survive the complicated twists and turns of solid science fictional antics often prove to be the most rewarding as they provide a glimpse into what may be next for mankind and how we’ll handle it. Science fiction has become a means of expressing feelings of change and a tool for thinking about the future. We can envision a world that may be different than our existing one by meeting current challenges and honestly identifying our opinions on them.

5.) Thinking about the development of science fiction, it’s interesting to imagine what the genre meant throughout various points in history. As we’ve used storytelling as a means to connect for centuries, the imaginings before modern advancements like electricity would be vastly different that those of today. Some say science fiction is a product of ancient mythology and it’s a fascinating concept to envision what impossibilities that once filled their thoughts have become a part of our day-to-day life.

6.) Have I mentioned the subgenres? They are endless! Here are just six of the big ones:

·      Hard Science Fiction: it’s the most hardcore of the group using a base of the smarty pant sciences like chemistry and astrophysics.

·      Soft (and Social) Science Fiction: this one deals in more psychological elements. Usually, the main focus is on the emotional content of the characters.

·      Time Travel: if you were a kid in the Cowan household then this one may be for you. We were raised on The Time Machine (both the book and film), which is said to be where the term “time machine” originated. Since then though, it’s become incredibly popular as a means to explore the concept of our actions in relation to their true consequences.

·      Alternate Reality: this category operates on the idea that perhaps our lives are comprised of several different possible existences and allowing those to play out in altered ways can yield endless stories.

·      Fantasy: this magical subgenre can be a big one as it combines elements of supernatural powers with some of the more common sci-fi themes.

·      Horror: made for those who appreciate gore and a good jolt. Sometimes graphic, sometimes frightening, this subgenre can assume a variety of scary stories.

As you can see, science fiction is a pretty big deal. So unless you have a time machine ready, mark those calendars for this Monday, May 20, at 8pm and watch some of these ideas come to life. You’ll laugh, you’ll be amazed, and you’ll get to escape to a place where monsters can enjoy a drink with a unicorn, superheroes and scientists can share a laugh, and where anything is possible.