I have continued to work on my musical this last week. My goal was to finish the rewriting of my script by the end of February so that I could focus on finishing up the songs, and recording them in March. I didn’t finish, but I’m getting closer. I hadn’t planned to rewrite as much of the script as I’ve ended up doing. I still have 3 or 4 more songs to write or rewrite. I did however finish my opening song. I tried to make sure that each of my characters had something to say that would help to define who they were and what they wanted. It’s amazing to me, that by simply stating what a character wants, the audience immediately begins to care about them.
I started wondering if that was true in real life. I know if I personally know somebody wants something, I want to be able to help them if I can. I don’t know if that’s something just for my personality or for everyone. I’ve continued to watch movies lately, looking specifically to see if characters state the obvious, “I want…”
It was really interesting to me to watch “MegaMind”. I don’t want to ruin it for anybody who hasn’t gone to see it yet, but early on in the film, there’s a period of time when everybody’s needs have been met. Nobody “wants” anything. The whole movie slows down, and if you had to leave the movie, really it would be okay- you didn’t worry about anybody. This doesn’t continue forever, but gets back into the action, and soon you recognize that he has another want. We enjoy watching again. We are excited to see if he’ll succeed. It ends and we’re happy. As my daughter and I were discussing it though, I realized that what he really wanted was to be loved. How much more powerful the movie would have been if he’d stated that at the beginning. I think that would have helped during the part when everything seemed fine — that part wasn’t fine. And in the end, I think we would have cheered just a little more. It was just my perspective, but interesting for me to ponder about.
This week, I vocalized some of the “wants” I’ve been having lately. On my last date night with my husband, I told about an advertisement I had seen on KSL for a bunch of musical equipment. It was everything I needed to record my piano CD, as well as to make the recordings I needed for my musical. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see any way that we could afford it, and I knew that my husband wanted me to start making money before we put any more money into CD’s or other of my expensive hobbies.
My husband’s response- he told me to show him the KSL advertisement. He called them right then and we went to look at the equipment. It was just what I needed. My husband told me that I should just buy it. He knew I wouldn’t be able to repay the costs. He said he knew I would use it for a good purpose though, and that it made him feel good to be a part of that.
It was the sweetest thing he could say. I’m pleased to have gotten the equipment I needed, (I had a feeling things would work out somehow) but I’m even more grateful for the man I’m married to who is helping me with my goals and dreams. I also have to wonder, if maybe my just telling him what I really wanted, helped him to love me more…. I’m not sure, but I am thankful!