Not sitting still ... unless in the theater.

My time with the reading of "8" turned out to be quite nice, if the two readings were a little lightly attended. It was a great pleasure to me as one who is usually an audience member to be working with folks whose performances I have long admired. It was nice to be able to play with the pros.

After "8," it was time to see some more plays (of course). We went to Clemmons Community Theater's rollicking production of "The Drunkard," with Cameron Williams and Mark Walek and others in a Victorian-style melodrama with music. That was a lot of fun!

More recently, we backed up two musicals on a Saturday night and a Sunday afternoon. Well, if you really can term "Ain't Misbehavin'" at Triad Stage a musical -- I would put it more in the musical revue category. But that did not detract from the fine music and musical performances. The NC A&T Jazz Ensemble was especially impressive throughout.

We followed that with delightful performances and lots of laughs at Twin City Stage's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." As is so often the case in recent years, we know at least some of the cast personally -- and what a hoot to see Ken Ashford, Neil Shepherd, Gray Smith, Mary Lea Williams, Brad Phillis and others prancing around in togas and the like (not to mention a wedding dress). Perhaps the idea of accepting front row seats instead of way back wasn't the brightest choice, but we had a blast anyway.

MOST recently, we took in an outdoor performance by a new group, the Triad Shakesperience, doing "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Miller Park Amphitheatre. Considering the circumstances (Bill S. and his drama company probably didn't have to deal with helicopters, Harley Davidsons and car alarms in the early 1600s), we thought they did a fine job. We especially liked Carlos Nieto as Claudio, Chad Edwards and Sally Meehan as Benedict and Beatrice, and the ever-dependable Ken Ashford as the problem-causing Borachio. (How on earth does he learn all these lines for back-to-back shows? Envy is me.)

In the meantime, I continue with writing projects. I finished a first draft of one-act play Patent a while back - and then came across a one-act play contest that wanted small-cast shows running 30 minutes or less. So I did a fairly strong downsize edit on the draft and sent it in. Now I'll have to decide if I want to have a "long" version (probably 45 minutes) and a "short" one, too. Ah, decisions.

Other writing has mostly been other fiction -- promoting the detective novel, trying to work on a follow-up to it, and equally editing and adding to a long-term serial killer novel. I did write one other short (10-minute) play that I like, but will need to cast about to see if there's an appropriate place to submit it. Sooner or later, it will go someplace.

So, in addition to the short travel pieces I have been writing for Yahoo!Voices and the occasional other writing task, I have not been sitting still, as the headline suggests. One of these days, one of these projects will break out, and along with the enjoyment from the initial work, more will come along. Looking forward to it!