Sounds like a phenomenal starting point and place (Cornell, 1969)! Your friends advice is brilliant - regarding pick a dramatic moment - and start from there.
I'm developing a TV series drama about a man whose life is almost too accomplished to be true ( a freed ex-slave in the mid-late 1800s who became a real estate owner, gold mine operator, hotelier, helped free slaves on the Underground Railroad, wrote op-eds for abolitionist newspapers, helped get Abraham Lincoln elected, etc) In reading his biography and watching a documentary - I was almost NUMB with figuring out where to start the pilot episode...
But I took a really small but powerful moment - a turning point - both for him personally - and the world at large in the macro background - and jumped in.
I'm not done, but I feel I'm on the right path re: when I decided to start his story.
I can't wait to see what you develop. For what it's worth - if you need someone to read a draft or two and give feedback - I'd be excited. I've had work produced in NYC theatre, I've written TV and Film professionally - and was a writing coach for six years - for very prominent NYC playwrites, as well as TV and Film writers of note.
God speed. Don't stop - it's a muscle to be worked regardless of if the Muse strikes you on any particular day...
Just reading about this. Sowell is such a brilliant thinker but doesn’t get the credit he deserves. At the heart of his ideas lies the desire to really help people not just sound like he wants to help people. So people ignore him to the detriment of some of the most vulnerable in society. Therefore, what you are doing could not only bring attention to a brilliant thinker but also highlight the ideas that could really make a difference to people who need help. Wonderful idea! I’ll look forward to following your progress.
It hurts my heart that 2024 was so melancholic for you, I’m glad you reached into your soul and now have a path forward for the play ….. honestly, your story is just as riveting and perhaps it should be include as the prologue for your play! xoxo
Sounds like a perfect place/scene to anchor the play! I’m proud to have given a tiny amount to the IndieGogo campaign. Sometimes artists and other creatives are called by circumstances to create entirely new formats in order to do their real work. Seems like you’re one of these! For example, the great modern dancer Martha Graham said she never wanted to do choreography, create her own dance technique, start a dance company or found a school. She just wanted to be a dancer. But she had to do all those other things because no one was creating the type of dance she wanted to do. So please believe in yourself as you tackle not one but two whole other jobs in theater (writing and producing) that you probably never planned to do 😊
You’re very welcome! What type of work did you do with Ms. Graham - was it dance, or something related more to theater? She was brilliant at translating stories/theater into dance
Taking care of yourself is THE priority. This 2020 stuff is so crazy, very few mental health professionals can even articulate what has happened to humanity across the last 5 years. I believe that artists have been hit psychologically and emotionally the hardest, by an enormous margin at that. So, I pray you find peace and recovery soon to the point where you feel healthy and operational, because you deserve it! Not because anyone else needs it. 🙏🏽💜🙏🏽💜🙏🏽💜
I like where you're going, and in spite of the hardships and obstacles, glad for the way you got here. Never for once have I regretted my support, tiny though it is, of your project because, and I truly mean this, you are the man to bring Thomas Sowell to the forefront of the American public and stage, and who knows, worldwide.
f you let it, even kicking and screaming, life will take you to the doorstep of your purpose. You've walked across it. Now, you will achieve it.
Congratulations Clifton! Making your own work is going to bring you a feeling of joy and fulfillment you can’t find in any other context-that’s been my experience. It will also bring enthusiastic collaborators into your life who care about you and your project. I look forward to sitting in the audience, cheering you on when you open this show in NYC!
As a fellow theatre outcast, I can totally relate. I had been slowly but surely making inroads into the theatre scene in Buffalo, NY, coaching actors and assistant directing (I was an actor and playwright in NYC before I had three kids and took a massive hiatus). When covid happened, I found myself alone, disoriented, and angry; my vaccination choice prevented me from even stepping inside a theatre. Every other community I'd ever been a part of ejected me as well: yoga studio, Waldorf school, alternative healing.
I can understand how grief-stricken you must have been, must still be at times. What we've gone through in the past five years is an unacknowledged tragedy. I'm glad to hear you seem to have moved through the worst of it.
Starting my Substack (The Art of Freedom) and finding like minds saved me. I've made some brilliant, brave friends, and just recently discovered a playwright's group through FAIR in the Arts. Let me know if you're interested. They're supportive and smart, and they meet every two weeks. I write far more consistently when I have a group like this to keep me accountable!
Congratulations on picking yourself up and reinventing your path, Clifton. I admire your courage, and can't wait to see Sowell come to life through you. Best.
Sounds like a phenomenal starting point and place (Cornell, 1969)! Your friends advice is brilliant - regarding pick a dramatic moment - and start from there.
I'm developing a TV series drama about a man whose life is almost too accomplished to be true ( a freed ex-slave in the mid-late 1800s who became a real estate owner, gold mine operator, hotelier, helped free slaves on the Underground Railroad, wrote op-eds for abolitionist newspapers, helped get Abraham Lincoln elected, etc) In reading his biography and watching a documentary - I was almost NUMB with figuring out where to start the pilot episode...
But I took a really small but powerful moment - a turning point - both for him personally - and the world at large in the macro background - and jumped in.
I'm not done, but I feel I'm on the right path re: when I decided to start his story.
I can't wait to see what you develop. For what it's worth - if you need someone to read a draft or two and give feedback - I'd be excited. I've had work produced in NYC theatre, I've written TV and Film professionally - and was a writing coach for six years - for very prominent NYC playwrites, as well as TV and Film writers of note.
God speed. Don't stop - it's a muscle to be worked regardless of if the Muse strikes you on any particular day...
So looking forward to your play. I’ve loved Thomas Sowell for years. I have faith you will do his life justice. Thank you!!!
Thanks, Charles. And thank you for your support (and patience).
Just reading about this. Sowell is such a brilliant thinker but doesn’t get the credit he deserves. At the heart of his ideas lies the desire to really help people not just sound like he wants to help people. So people ignore him to the detriment of some of the most vulnerable in society. Therefore, what you are doing could not only bring attention to a brilliant thinker but also highlight the ideas that could really make a difference to people who need help. Wonderful idea! I’ll look forward to following your progress.
Thanks, Miles.
I think for my next essay I think I'll talk about why a play like this matters right now.
Brilliant!
I CAN’T WAIT!
It hurts my heart that 2024 was so melancholic for you, I’m glad you reached into your soul and now have a path forward for the play ….. honestly, your story is just as riveting and perhaps it should be include as the prologue for your play! xoxo
Thanks Laura.
I can't wait either...until it's finished! Then I'll be less stressed!
Sounds like a perfect place/scene to anchor the play! I’m proud to have given a tiny amount to the IndieGogo campaign. Sometimes artists and other creatives are called by circumstances to create entirely new formats in order to do their real work. Seems like you’re one of these! For example, the great modern dancer Martha Graham said she never wanted to do choreography, create her own dance technique, start a dance company or found a school. She just wanted to be a dancer. But she had to do all those other things because no one was creating the type of dance she wanted to do. So please believe in yourself as you tackle not one but two whole other jobs in theater (writing and producing) that you probably never planned to do 😊
Funny enough, I had the privilege of working with Ms. Graham while I was in grad school. Very interesting woman and brilliant artist.
Thanks for your encouragement 🙏🏿
You’re very welcome! What type of work did you do with Ms. Graham - was it dance, or something related more to theater? She was brilliant at translating stories/theater into dance
She was directing a 19th century play called “La Ronde".
Taking care of yourself is THE priority. This 2020 stuff is so crazy, very few mental health professionals can even articulate what has happened to humanity across the last 5 years. I believe that artists have been hit psychologically and emotionally the hardest, by an enormous margin at that. So, I pray you find peace and recovery soon to the point where you feel healthy and operational, because you deserve it! Not because anyone else needs it. 🙏🏽💜🙏🏽💜🙏🏽💜
I like where you're going, and in spite of the hardships and obstacles, glad for the way you got here. Never for once have I regretted my support, tiny though it is, of your project because, and I truly mean this, you are the man to bring Thomas Sowell to the forefront of the American public and stage, and who knows, worldwide.
f you let it, even kicking and screaming, life will take you to the doorstep of your purpose. You've walked across it. Now, you will achieve it.
An amazing post. Thank you, and thanks for your support.
Congratulations Clifton! Making your own work is going to bring you a feeling of joy and fulfillment you can’t find in any other context-that’s been my experience. It will also bring enthusiastic collaborators into your life who care about you and your project. I look forward to sitting in the audience, cheering you on when you open this show in NYC!
Thank you, Kevin. If anyone would know, it's you.
Thanks, WG.
I want to see your show when it's done!
As a fellow theatre outcast, I can totally relate. I had been slowly but surely making inroads into the theatre scene in Buffalo, NY, coaching actors and assistant directing (I was an actor and playwright in NYC before I had three kids and took a massive hiatus). When covid happened, I found myself alone, disoriented, and angry; my vaccination choice prevented me from even stepping inside a theatre. Every other community I'd ever been a part of ejected me as well: yoga studio, Waldorf school, alternative healing.
I can understand how grief-stricken you must have been, must still be at times. What we've gone through in the past five years is an unacknowledged tragedy. I'm glad to hear you seem to have moved through the worst of it.
Starting my Substack (The Art of Freedom) and finding like minds saved me. I've made some brilliant, brave friends, and just recently discovered a playwright's group through FAIR in the Arts. Let me know if you're interested. They're supportive and smart, and they meet every two weeks. I write far more consistently when I have a group like this to keep me accountable!
Congratulations on picking yourself up and reinventing your path, Clifton. I admire your courage, and can't wait to see Sowell come to life through you. Best.
per aspera ad astra
👍