August is a funny month for me. It’s the ending of summer’s hopeful plans that aren’t always quite realized, marked by the droning of cicadas.

I find them comforting however, since fall is my favorite time of year. But I jump ahead.

I’ve had a wonderful summer in many respects. Saw family and friends, had one of my plays done in a festival of new works, did some acting, started working on a new project that’s very exciting, and continued writing on pieces that hopefully will soon have a voice.

I also did some cat sitting for friends and took a workshop at Spring Farm Cares with Dawn Hayman. Opening yourself up to animals is the same thing as opening yourself up to artistic possibilities. You have to be vulnerable. You must be real. You need to be present. We all have so much chatter going on, especially those of us who live in New York City, that it is a skill to learn how to be quiet. How can we as artists go deep unless we silence our selves?  That’s what our animals friends ask of us as well. Respect them enough to pay attention to them.

My feeling is that we are at the point where we need to respect everything. And be grateful. I’m sure grateful I am doing what I’m doing even if my name isn’t in bright lights. I respect the opportunities that have and are coming my way and hope that I’m up to the challenge to meet them to my utmost ability.

There’s still time left to listen to the cicadas and I have one more August playwriting possibility, so fingers crossed there!

Happy End of Summer.