2020: FIVE STORIES. FIVE EXPERIENCES. SUE STAATS INTERVIEWS THE AUTHORS. Second post of two.

2020: Five stories. Five experiences. Interviews with the writers featured at our December 18 event, Twenty Twenty. 
(This is the second of two posts.)

​By Sue Staats

If there’s one thing the stories submitted to our first ever anthology have demonstrated, it’s that nobody, in this year like no other, has experienced 2020 in the same way.  We asked writers to submit stories thematically connected to the year, for an anthology to be published next year, and received over fifty astonishing pieces. It was a difficult task to select among so much excellent work submitted.  

Although the five stories are all thematically connected, they’re also all very different, and I wanted a little more. So I asked these authors to dig into the experience of being a writer in 2020 – starting with the spark that inspired their winning story. 

A previous post included interviews with two of our five authors (Elison Alcovendez and Diane Kallas). This post includes the final three interviews, with authors Deborah Pittman, Kevin Sharp, and Maia Evrigenis. ​

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Deborah Pittman
“Dear Neighbor”

What inspired you to write this piece? 
D. Often when I need to tell hard truths, I write them down in the form of a letter. It helps me to get it all out of my head/heart/emotions and to get on with my day. I reread what I have written the next day, and if the emotions are still strong, I keep it as a draft. I rarely send it; getting some distance helps. I believed that this would end the same way, but I became angrier every time I read it. On day three, I sent it to my neighbor. 

What was her response?  
D. She said that she totally understood, but the next time we spoke, she dug right in, talking about Black Lives Matter, George Floyd and the protests. Two weeks ago, as I walked by her house, she ran out and asked if she could walk with me. She was just going as far as the public mailbox. I offered to take her outgoing mail, but she insisted on accompanying me because she wanted to hear about my trip home. I am not sure where she got the idea that I was going east.

Soon after we started, she asked if I was planning to go home for Thanksgiving, to see my sister who had lost her husband to Covid-19. She has so much curiosity about this. Friday, I received the following message from her:

"Just checking in. Did you have a good visit with you family back East?  Are you home safe and sound?  Let me know if you are walking. I will walk part way. I know you like the long walks, but I’m not doing so well on endurance lately. Enjoy your day and stay safe.” 

Writing this piece has not provided the escape hatch that I’d hoped for.

And, what inspired you to submit it to us? 
D. I sent it to a friend, to ask it they thought it was too intense. They responded that it was strong, but perhaps needed to be said. Later, they suggested that I submit it to the competition.

Is there anything in this past year that has influenced your writing? What have you lost? What have you gained?
D. In the early days of the quarantine, the only thing that I could rely on was sleep. I was very depressed, and though I’ve been an over-achiever all my life, I could not focus enough to get anything accomplished. 

What were you doing that was interrupted by the quarantine? 
D. I was working on the rebuilding of my trio; one of our members had just quit and formed his own group. I was working on booking concerts for the next two years. I was working on creating ceramic pieces for the upcoming Open Studio Tour, and the Crocker Holiday Artisans Market. I was working on rewriting a stage piece about my dad, that I'd created and performed several times - this would become The World According to Earl 2.0, the film. I was working on eating better and exercising more. 

When I was finally able to get back to writing, I decided to look at contests, to find any categories that might jive with some of my writing.  

As a classical clarinetist, I used to love competitions and auditions. My teacher taught us that we should take every audition that we were prepared for. He believed that preparing and rising to the occasion of the audition was a learning tool. An even bigger tool was taking the audition and mining grist for the mill (the practice room). Winning an audition is great, but I always learned more from the ones that I lost than ones that I won.

It’s too early for me to know what’s been lost. I know I have gained the ability to step outside of my fear of hurting people’s feelings.  I have learned that I have a voice. I have accepted that I have something to say, and while not everyone will understand what I am saying, or why I am saying it, I have to say it now and I deserve to be heard.

With enforced confinement – are you writing more or less?
D. I am definitely writing more. I am revisiting earlier pieces, and some have taken quite a turn from how I was previously telling the story. I don’t always have to use humor to tell the story. Humor has a time and a place when, and where it is most appropriate. I was using humor as a mask.

What do you miss most?
D. I am a classical musician. Prior to the quarantine, I was starting to slow down when it comes to playing with others. I was turning down some concerts, because I was neither inspired by the music or the musicians that I might be playing with. 

I still don’t have any interest in playing orchestral concerts, but I do miss playing chamber music.

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You didn’t mention your ceramics. Are you still at the Brickhouse studio? Are you still creating ceramic pieces? 
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D. Yes, I am back in the studio. The director had said that we could work at our studios, as long as we wore masks as we went through the gallery, and did not have guests in the studio.  It took me around four months to return. Writing, playing in the clay, and sometimes playing music, are the things that make me the happiest. I truly believe that had my ancestors not been forced to make that trip, I would have been a Mud Woman, and a storyteller. 

I went to the studio once in late March, walked in, looked around and left. It seemed sinful (not a word that I use often) to be playing in the mud, while people all over the world were sick, losing their livelihoods and dying. I brought some clay home to play with, just in case. The clay dried up and turned into a brick. I’ll keep it as a token from this year.

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Kevin Sharp, “The Coffin”

What inspired you to write this piece?
K. Don't hate me as I sidestep the first part of the question! I've always been more comfortable letting the art speak for itself, rather than specifying inspiration, meaning, etc. Let's just say that the "2020" prompt suggested all kinds of avenues. I suppose it was a case of, what if someone's personal life completely fell apart while everyone else's overall lives were also doing so to varying degrees (eg, in a pandemic). Would that make things better or worse? Pick your poison: suffering emotionally during a lockdown or numbly sleepwalking through it.

And what inspired you to submit it to us?
K. The chance to have the piece performed was a big draw. While I've heard my dialogue spoken aloud via stage & screen actors, this will be the first time hearing someone else do a "straight" prose reading

Is there anything in this past year that has influenced your writing? What have you lost? What have you gained?
K. Honestly, I'm about at the point where I'd pay $20 for a cup of coffee, if it meant I could drink it in a crowded cafe with my laptop or notebook open. I've found it hard to get the creative engine running when the entirety of existence feels like living in a vacuum; while I didn't always stay disciplined working in public, I can't express how much I miss having the option of doing so.

As for what I've gained, I'd like to think (as of this moment) that I won't take the little opportunities for granted ever again. We'll see if I still have that mindset a year from now.

With enforced confinement – are you writing more or less?
K. I can't count how many writers I heard say — back in March & April — something along the lines of, "I'm going to take advantage of this time to finally finish that novel/screenplay/memoir/etc." I haven't followed up to see who actually did so, but I can confirm I've definitely written less overall... though I did kick into gear around late summer in an effort to polish off a long-simmering script project.

What do you miss most – as a writer? As a person?
K. Two examples: First is going to movies, which I used to do multiple times per month. Second is comic book conventions. I believe I had five or six of them scheduled for this year, all a combination of press work & just catching up with friends. As each of the dates has come up on my calendar, it's been a series of grim reminders — last July I was interviewing one of my favorite TV writers, while this July I could only look longingly at my old badge.

I’m astonished at how big the comic book/graphic novel business has gotten. How do you all connect in this time of shutdown? 
K. Without conventions, it's definitely been tough. There have been some virtual shows — streaming panels & such — but for me, going to panels has never been the real appeal of those events. Many artists are doing livestream drawing sessions via Twitch, Youtube, etc. Things like that offer chances to "hang out" with people, though sometimes I find them mostly a reminder of what we're all missing out on.

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I’m astonished at the many creative activities you list on your website!  YA author (After Dakota), podcaster, microfiction writer, in addition to screenwriter and comic book industry journalist.
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What’s your favorite? And why?

K. This may be the toughest question so far, because all of those things have their own memory album attached. For example, the years I was seriously into screenwriting were maybe the most fun I've had on a personal level — but the business end was tough sledding. Writing a novel (not counting what I called my "novels" written in high school) was a longtime bucket list item. Comics are really my first love from childhood, so it's been a blast to be part of that world. To sum up... I can't pick a favorite! ​

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Maia Evrigenis, “Just Another Day At School”

What inspired you to write this piece? 
M. I wrote this piece because the idea of sharing what we are doing at my school feels really powerful and important. I used to feel like I had an understandable and somewhat typical job. I could walk into a social situation and tell someone I was a teacher and they would know what my life was like or understand what kids were generally going through in the middle school grade levels I teach.

Teaching isn’t like that anymore, and I’m not used to that. No one who has been through school can really relate to what students are going through this year. At times I can feel very isolated by Covid teaching, unless I’m talking with the other teachers at my school. Writing this piece gave me the space to share my experience, express myself, and be more understood. I really need that space right now, and love that the blank page always gives it to me. 

Have you shared this story with your colleagues? If so, what was their reaction? Or, are you going to invite them to the event and surprise them?
M. I have shared the piece with some of the other teachers and plan to invite them to watch the event on Zoom. Everyone has been so supportive! I hope teachers will be able to relate to it and consider it somewhat therapeutic to see a day of teaching on the stage, but I also know everyone's experiences in the classroom can be so different. 

And, what inspired you to submit it to us?
M. Stories on Stage gave me the opportunity to share my experience in writing and also show it visually, so I knew I had to submit.
 
Is there anything in this past year that has influenced your writing? What have you lost? What have you gained?
M. I think this past year has definitely changed my writing. I've gained a lot of perspective during Covid about just how strange and hard life is and what I really need out of life to consider myself happy and doing okay. I think I was somewhat of a dreamy millennial before this year. I had this idea that I had to get famous or write some life changing novel to make my life meaningful. I don't feel that way anymore. I still have significant goals when it comes to my writing, but I let them hold different weight when it comes to my happiness.

I've written the least I ever have in the last three months, but I've spent more time hanging out with my husband, connecting with family, exercising, cooking, and appreciating the fact that I have a job, a roof over my head, and that I was able to obtain my BS and MFA in person rather than through Zoom.

Though I'm not writing as much, interestingly enough, the work I do make, is some of my favorite I've ever written. I'm becoming a much more grounded writer and person, and I think that's helping my writing as a whole.  
 
With enforced confinement – are you writing more or less?
M. Now that I'm back in the classroom I'm not confined. I make less time to write these days, but find that my writing is better under the time constraints I give myself. If I only have an hour to write in the morning before heading to my school, I'm not going to waste it. I’m going to say what I need to say and write my best, or I’m going to have a bad morning, write terribly, let it go, and move on with my day!
 
What do you miss most – as a writer? As a person?
M. I really miss not wearing masks. ​​

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You don't want to miss the sure-to-be-amazing performances by actors Brennan Villados and Atim Udoffia, of five stories inspired by the theme "2020." The event is live, via Zoom, December 18, 2020, 5:00 pm. Pour your favorite libation, pull up a chair, and join us for Stories on Stage Sacramento's last performance of the season!

register for december 18 performance

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Sue Staats is a Sacramento writer. She directed Stories on Stage Sacramento for six years, from 2013 to 2019, and now contributes interviews and blog posts to the website, and cookies to the events (when they aren't virtual).  She’s currently looking for a home for her short story collection and getting her feet wet in a couple of other projects,  with the hope that eventually one of them will draw her into deeper waters.
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Sue's fiction and poetry have been published in The Los Angeles Review, Graze Magazine, Tulip Tree Review, Farallon Review, Tule Review, Late Peaches: Poems by Sacramento Poets, Sacramento Voices, and others. She earned an MFA from Pacific University, and was a finalist for the Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction and the Nisqually Prize in Fiction. Her stories have been performed at Stories on Stage Sacramento and Stories on Stage Davis, and at the SF Bay-area reading series “Why There Are Words.”

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