Fri, 21 Apr 2023 06:08:13 -0700WeeblyWed, 18 Feb 2015 16:18:24 GMThttp://dreamartsproductions.com/brenda-iovino---blog/south-african-fringe-festival-and-me
In November of last year I received several invitations to join a group I had never heard of before, named Stage 32.  I had never heard of it and I did not know the people who were sending me the invites.  So, fearful of getting a computer virus, I deleted them.  I had been having problems with my computer and it was not cheap to get it taken care of.  I had gotten a virus from the U.K. that wouldn't let me open my word documents, so I wasn't going to take any chances.

But I kept getting these invites, so I did the logical thing and I looked up the site they were inviting me to join.  Wow!  What an eye opener for me.  Stage 32 is devoted only to artists, mostly film, but theatre is in the mix as well.   I felt bad that I did not remember who had sent me these invites.  But I had already sent them to the junk folder, never to be read again. 

But I digress. I joined Stage 32 and I'm so glad that  I did.  The number of artists there and the way you can meet people of such talent is so wonderfully easy.  I like easy.  It is here that I met an actor from N.J. who put me on to a page on Facebook for N.J. theatres.   That's how I come to meet Brian Remo the Art Director of Fearless Productions in Rahway, N.J. http://www.fearlessprod.com/. 

But it is also how I come to know Jake Chika, theatre and film director from Pretoria, South Africa.  Jake was directed to my site by me after he accepted my invite.  We are continuously promoting ourselves, but who else if not us?  It is the nature of our beasts, artists.   He said my play, 'Talk to the Hand' sounded really interesting and he asked to read it.  I was fully willing for this to happen.  That was the beginning of our joint venture. He said he wanted to direct it and told me about the Fringe Festival in South Africa.  A play will be exposed to a much larger audience, local and international media as well as theatre owners coming to the festival to find a play that they will want to lease and take back to their own theatres.

This of course fascinated me a great deal.  To have  my play, have a longer life in theatres all over the world possibly, not only intrigued me, it thrilled me.  Work had to be done.  Jake sent me a budget, we worked on it and trimmed it some.  Then fundraising, (new to him and me) needed to be done.  This brings me to where I am today.  I started a crowdfunding campaign.  I keep making changes in it, almost daily because I am new to this and I'm doing research constantly.  Friends have given me invaluable advise and some have been useful in other ways, such as helping with more changes to the website (http://dreamartsproductions.com/).
I think a coming together of two artists  from two different continents is a great way of sharing our talents in a totally new venue.  This dream of mine will become a reality in July, this year when the festival is held.  I hope that some if not all of you can join me in this dream.  I will keep all apprised of the news either in another blog or you can check out more information on my site, http://www.gofundme.com/BrendaIovino .

I encourage all film (in any capacity) and theatre artists to join Stage 32.

Ciao
]]>Fri, 22 Nov 2013 20:35:05 GMThttp://dreamartsproductions.com/brenda-iovino---blog/-just-look-for-garbo I haven't written a blog in a while, a long while and the reasons are - well, I just haven't.  Now that I'm past the explanation I'll get to this blog subject which is, why some of the great love stories worked because of the times they happened in.  By that I mean that the decisions that were or were not made by the star-crossed lovers would not necessarily apply today.  Some might doubt this and I would have to say in response to that, "you've come a long way baby" - enough said. 

This subject,  "oh, you’re not sure what the subject is," well here it is - if Anna Karenina lived today, would she have felt the need to jump under that damm train?  There are going to be mixed responses from some on this.  And as to why I choose this subject? Not so sure, other then the fact that my daughter in a recent conversation told me she was reading what some say is Tolstoy's greatest novel.  I know when I read it years ago, I was so sad for Anna and angry that the very ones who claimed to be her friends, shunned her even though some of them also had an extramarital affair.  When I saw Garbo's film of Anna, it only made me more sad for her.  What a face!  But that's a subject for another blog.

Sure Anna had her own insecurities later when she felt Vronsky would go out and 'socialize' and she could not.  Who among us could tolerate being shunned without developing depression and later suicidal thoughts and actions.  I have digressed a little regarding the original subject of this blog to wit, great love stories worked then and not now.  Anna's story is the love story here, not Vronsky’s and hers but hers alone.  She died because she felt he no longer wanted her and because of his selfish inability of not being able to assure her of this love, due to his need to go out alone without her, since she was the one shunned, not him.  This is at the heart of this love story.

Not only would she not have been shunned, if this story was in the present but her husband, Count Alexei Karenina would have to show more grounds in order to keep her son, Sergei from her.  Plus, there is the little fact (really a big one for this story) that a divorce would have been a rather simple matter.  She did not need his money, her lover was well off but she did need her son and the threat of not seeing him kept her from saying publically that she had an affair, which is what she had to do in order to get the divorce.  I'm sure most of you know, whether you've read it or not, that this is a very thick book, so I can't go into all the plots and subplots here but suffice to say that if our heroin lived today, here is a brief synopsis of what might and certainly should happen.

Anna is pursued by Vronsky and finally excepts his advances since her husband, Count what’s-his-name (way too long) spends too much time in his affairs and dotes on her rarely, mostly in public.  Even though he feels he has great love for her, the man is clueless as to how to show this to her.  What's a woman to do, especially if you look like Garbo?  Sorry she is the only Anna Karenina for me.  Now keep up because I'm condensing 853 pages, small print into this blog.  This is how I feel it would play out today.

Anna finds Vronsky's advances to her attractive and gives in, having genuine feelings for him soon after.  She is persuaded to go away with him.  Torn by her female desires and wanting to be with her son, she decides this will be a short holiday with her lover.  Soon, it's on Facebook and well that's just the beginning, (damm that pesky social media).  Her husband pleads with her to end the affair, for the sake of their marriage, community property can be quite an incentive and of course their son. 

Soon she grows tired of her husband’s threats of keeping her son from her.  She hires a fabulous lawyer, (like the one Katie Holms had) and decides to move to New York for the arts and of course this would certainly be good for Sergei.  She stays there long enough to establish residency and BAM! hits her soon to be ex-husband with papers.  Now all this time Vronsky wants to go out and party and he does not seem interested in being with Anna's son.  This concerns her and annoys her also.  Soon Anna grows weary of Vronsky and his selfish ways.  She confronts him but he is blind to her needs, just as her husband was.  Not too keen on marrying again, especially with these signs of failure showing up in their relationship before she is even divorced, she kicks him out. 

Now divorced in Manhattan, she realizes that the arts are one of the many things she has missed out on, others being a damm good deli and great book stores.  Sergei loves the city and they go for walks daily in Central Park and he rides the carousal.  And in case you remember that pregnancy from her lover.  She has a girl.  He sends money for her upbringing but sees her only rarely.  Anna becomes a writer of course and she is still writing her great novel on the Upper West side.   You can see them daily around four in the park, just look around the Carousal on the West side of the park.  You can't miss them, just look for Garbo.

]]>Sun, 03 Jun 2012 17:40:12 GMThttp://dreamartsproductions.com/brenda-iovino---blog/dalrene-fosters-guest-on-her-blogGuest Blogger, Author Brenda Iovino
Posted by: Darlene on: June 4, 2012
 
I love to learn about other authors and where they get their ideas.
I recently interviewed Brenda  Iovino,  author of   The Shadow of
You.
 
Here is the blurb from the author’s website:
 Monica is a 40’ish divorcee raising her teenage daughter in New
York City. She writes for a magazine and her life is ordinary in every way, but
one. She has vivid memories and dreams of another life, another time, and
another place. Her name is Flying Snow Goose and she is a member of the
Dine tribe in northern New Mexico, in the 18th
century.

 After questioning her sanity, Monica decides it was something she read,
or the vestige of some childhood fantasy. But, then, he arrived. His name is
Hawk, a regal Indian brave, and the husband of Flying Snow Goose. Monica could
see and feel him in ways she could not understand, much less explain to anyone
else. Yes, he became her lover. 

Trying to balance her present life with the invasion and intensity of her
former life as Snow, Monica struggles to live as a contemporary woman in a
reality that is not as simple as most of us are used to living. The veil has
been pierced, and this modern day woman must discover whether she is the victim,
or is blessed, by this strange revelation, this Native who happens to be in her
Manhattan apartment now. 
 
What inspired you to write your book, The Shadow of
You?

  I came to write this novel by sheer necessity.  I know that sounds  ominous, but the truth is, it is somewhat.  I write plays mostly, with a few  short stories thrown in.  But, I had reached a point where I was too emotional  and not able to go forward with any fresh stories.  I’m trying to put this in a  perspective that your readers will understand.  I was having an emotional block  due to ‘Hawk’s’ mounting presence.  Yes, the character in my book is real and  has been with me for years but started coming into my emotional life more and  more.  A dear friend of mine who is ‘gifted’ said I needed to write about him  and he basically said the same thing too.  What I mean to say is that my friend  channeled him, unbeknownst to me and I had not asked her to, even though I was  aware of her gifts.  She gave me a letter he dictated to her, for me. It was  then that I realize I needed to articulate our story.

  The novel is based on true events.  Hawk gave me our memories in  that previous time when we were married and the novel tells our story.

  What’s your life in New Mexico like and what brought you  there?

This was a calling of a time past and previous  life.  When the realtor showed me my property, it was the first on her list; I  got out, looked at those mountains and told her I was home.  I didn’t need to  see any other places, and I didn’t.

  Truth is, this is where Hawk and I lived, so it was him calling me  back.  I love it here in Northern New Mexico,Taos, (I live 23 miles West of  Taos) is a wonderful place to explore the arts, all kinds.

  I have my horses, dogs and cats and all the open range and  mountains I could ever want.  The beauty is endless.

  Did you self publish?

 Yes I did.  I couldn’t see myself going to a publishing house with  my novel.  Not sure of all the whys in that statement but I chose not to.  I  went with Create Space, after research.  I know that there are many, but I had  to decide on one and they have been very good to me.  Easy to work with and  available at all times.  It’s a good fit for me at this time.

  Who are your favorite authors/books?

 I’m much into nostalgia, by that I mean I love  Hemmingway and Fitzgerald.  Lawrence Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet is a  favorite of mine but my favorite book is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

  I’m in-between books at the moment, but have been thinking of  rereading the Alexandria Quartet, which are four books.

  My problem is if I’m trying to write, I try not to start a book  because I tend to become consumed with what I’m reading and I have no time to  write.  Does that make sense?

  I am mounting a play of mine at this time, ‘That Irish Thing’, and  I will be directing for the first time.  So my head is all about this.


  What did you read as a child?

 My mother was a great reader and I inherited her  library since my sisters weren’t into reading and neither was my father.  So, I  just picked from her books and read.  No favorites just enjoyed the many vast  stories.  I used it as an escape since I was the only introvert in my family.  I  still love the feel of a book and at one time owned a used bookstore.  I just  bought a Kindle Fire but mostly so I wouldn’t have to lug my laptop with me,  every time I travel, which I do frequently.  Nice that with the Kindle Fire you  can go onto the web, and it’s mostly correspondence I need to keep up with, when  traveling.

  I love the name of your daughter, how did you come up with
it and does it have a special meaning. 

  Kryssandra’s name would have been Clea, a character in one of  Lawrence Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet books entitled ‘Clea’.  Her father did  not care for it.  We had decided if she were a boy, she would be named after him  and if a girl I could sort of pick it.  I was reading an article in Life  Magazine at the time, may have been an old one and the name Cassandra popped out  to me.  We decided to make it a little different and replace the ‘C’ with a  ‘K’.

  I want to thank you Darlene for the opportunity to be a guest on  your blog and tell your readers that The Shadow of You  is available on Amazon, Kindle and on my web site, http://dreamartsproductions.com/what-have-we-done.html   and also at local stores in Taos, New Mexico.
 
Namaste, 
Brenda Iovino
Author of  The Shadow of You

  Thank you, Brenda for being a guest on my blog.  You book sounds
fascinating and just as fascinating, is your life.  I wish you much luck with
this book and with all your writing.  Should I find myself near  Taos, New 
Mexico, I will be sure to have you sign a copy of your book.
]]>Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:21:53 GMThttp://dreamartsproductions.com/brenda-iovino---blog/my-first-venture-in-directing I sometimes fret about what I should put in my blog.  I read others and some I like and some,
well, not so much but I’m sure the same can be said about mine too.   I am venturing into a new area soon.  I will be directing my first play, mine  actually, ‘That Irish Thing’.  I  haven’t directed since I took some classes at the NewSchool  in New  York, years ago. 
 
I know some people will say, ‘this will come easy for you  since you like to be in control, and
maybe it will when I get down to it.   I have seen my work directed before and was thrilled to have it done but,  there was always something for me that didn’t ring true.  My characters did not stay to my vision of the play or his/her roll in  the story.  But the director is in  charge and I understand that.  They  can’t change words or lines without the playwright’s permission but, as the  director, what happens on that stage must also be his vision.  He is the captain of the
ship, so to speak and the playwright is the co-captain.
 
Well, now, I will be both captain and co-captain and  although I am looking forward to it, I also have some reservations, as you  might expect.  
 
We have a couple of  community theatres here in Taos,  NMand Metta is a favorite of mine.  There is also a rather large group of  talented actors/actresses, writers and directors here in this small, artistic  town situated in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo  Mountains.  There is  also a small group of professional artists who have had many accolades showered  on them, past, present and I know in the future.   I am fortunate to have in my cast Kristen Vigard (KristenVigard -  Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)  and Elizabeth Croydon (titsandwits.blogspot.com), along with some very talented local residents. 
 
This started out as a blog regarding me directing my  first play and I need to get back to that theme. I have a mental picture, and even a  design for what I plan to create with the help of these talented  actors/actresses.  I hope to do  some fund raising, so that I can do the PR that is needed to get first-class  reviews (the media does have to be in the audience for this to happen).  I want to ensure a full house each  night for all our sakes.  To play  to an empty house or one that is sparsely full, is hard on the soul.   Of course, I’ve given some thought about having some of the  artistic  directors of nearby theatres come up and watch the performance and fall madly in  love and say to me they must have this play for their theatre, 
Hey, it’s a matter of believing in yourself and I do and just as  important, I believe in this play. 
I won’t deny that having the belief of Kristen and Elizabeth has boosted  this new self-confidence, but I’ll take any help where I can get it.   Elizabethis even convinced we
must take this play to  Ireland, where
she has relatives (the second act is played in
Ireland).
  
I won’t blog again about this directing debut of  mine.  I don’t want to expel too  much energy and draw off the creativeness from myself or give too much power  away.  We are going up the first  two weeks in October. With the talent on board, professional and  semi-professional, (really all professional), I know that I and our audience  will not be disappointed.  
 
Just as a side note this is one of two plays of mine that  is with a producer of a London based
  theatre company.  Had to throw  that in, know you’ll understand.


  ]]>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:42:23 GMThttp://dreamartsproductions.com/brenda-iovino---blog/artist-insecurities-and-then-someHad my first book reading of my novel ‘The Shadow of You’  in Taos, NM at the lovely metaphysical store, OptiMysm (http://www.optimysm.com/), yesterday, and even though the crowd  was small, I felt good about it, in two ways. First and foremost I am an introvert and  reading in public is not something I look forward to, even if it is, my own  work, perhaps, even more so, for that reason.  The artist insecurities are well know  and documented throughout history so I will not go into that other than  mentioning, ‘it does exist and with me too’.  

I thought I would stumble reading the love scene that I  opened with.  The scene is  paramount to the story and the two characters relationship.  But not a stumble, did I have.  Thank you, Lord Ganesh.  The  words flowed and my vision caught each word. My tone was right on cue for each  important phrase, “they climaxed together and it took them both off guard”. I felt quite proud of myself and could  say to myself, ‘you did good girl’, not something this highly self-critical  person says often enough to herself.
 
The second reason I felt joyous about the reading was  during the last part, the question and answer time.  I had reservations about this necessary part of a reading, since the book  is based on ‘true events’, I was not so sure what the questions would entail or  how my responses would be received.  I am grateful for both.  I  was able to talk about this time with ‘ Hawk’ in a very honest straight forward  way that left no doubt, for those listening, to understand that he and our time  is and was real.  I felt nothing  but understanding from them.  One  listener cried as I tried to answer questions regarding him and me.   In the end, I feel that my heartfelt honesty did me well with the small  crowd.  
 
This is not a story that comes easily and took some soul  searching for me to open up about it.  I am pleased and reassured that I did.  I am thankful to Hawk for allowing me  to have our memories and in being sympathetic that the story wanted to be told  in my lifetime at this moment.  
 
I know that this blog will perplex a lot of you and the  only way to understand it fully will be to read my book.   I would answer any questions, that you may have, since I cannot do a  reading everywhere.

]]>Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:13:43 GMThttp://dreamartsproductions.com/brenda-iovino---blog/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit1A Must Read for Every Parent or Child

I want to say how envious I am of the people who can blog on a much more regular basis than I can.  Mind you, I have only one entry posted to my blog and that was in September, 2011.  But, I must say, it is really a good one and the subject matter is not only universal, but also, unique in my telling of it.  That subject concerns relationships and love.

I have been wondering how to follow up that blog, since the responses to it have been nothing but positive.  My book was released on November 16th so I also have that as another valid excuse, at least, that’s what I keep telling myself.  Don’t you love the rationale behind the amazing mind/brains we humans have.  We literally can convince ourselves of anything.

Hey, maybe that should be the subject of this blog.  ‘How we make excuses for not doing something that we know we need to do and then that old guilt riddles us from heard to toe when we don’t?’  What do you think?  I know that when I was younger I could blame, if nothing else, my parents for the age old excuse.  ‘They don’t understand me”.  But, really?  Does anyone truly understand another?  I, now, understand that there were leaps and bounds that I didn’t comprehend about my two ex-husbands.  And, of course, they didn’t grasp me either, ergo the ex… 

How can we know and understand each other when we are terrified of letting our guard down?  We really aren’t taught to allow ‘people’ to get too close, for fear that they will, gobble us up.  Well, not literally, but?   If we were given, as children, the feelings that ‘we’re okay and you don’t have to have my feelings and beliefs,’ then perhaps we would. 

By, this, I mean, if we felt it was okay to vary from what our parents, teachers, and even, our peers believed, then maybe we could trust our private thoughts in the hands of others.  I’m not totally sure where this lack of self-confidence comes from, but I know it to be true.  I felt like an outcast in my own family.  My sisters, father and mother were all extroverts and I was the only introvert.  In all honesty, my mother could maneuver between both worlds easily, and if I had had her longer in my life, then I believe I could have essayed between them both better than I have. 

I understood this inability to essay between the two, and feeling non-accepted for the way I thought and behaved.  I preferred a book to my friends’ and peers’ company.  I was the only one, besides my mother who did read when it wasn’t a school requirement.  I later, inherited her extensive library, since my siblings had no desire for it. 

So when I was carrying my daughter, reading to her while she was still inside me and for every night until she was in her teens was a natural thing to do.  Because I did this, she too, loves the written word, and has always read well beyond her years.   Her early reading, also for some reason, made her want to know about my favorite book, movie, color, place, etc.  It gave rise to her asking me, “mommy, what’s your favorite”.  I didn’t want to overly influence her and wanted her to choose for herself what appealed to her and not what ‘mom’ liked ‘best’.  I wanted her to believe in her choices and it was more then okay if they weren’t mine.  I still remember how hard life was to not agree with the rest of them, them being family and friends.

My daughter is now 24 and no longer does she ask me ‘what’s my favorite’ and she would laugh or will laugh when she reads this, but she also knows, this to be true.  We want our children to have it better than we did, and we try desperately not to make mistakes, although, I have made some zingers with her.  Fortunately, for me, she is an ‘old soul’ and has, I believe, forgiven me.  I am still working on forgiving myself. 

So what is the moral thought of this blog?  I’m only sure of one thing.  I needed to say what I have said and I believe most parents will understand this need to say to their children, “It’s okay to have separates beliefs, feelings and ideas from me, in fact, it’s more than okay.  Go out and discover.”


]]>Thu, 22 Sep 2011 07:00:00 GMThttp://dreamartsproductions.com/brenda-iovino---blog/first-post
All of us want to find that one true love of our life.  As a teenager we read love stories and fantasize about that ‘special’ someone that will ‘complete us’.  As we get older and venture our feelings out into the ‘real’ world, this sometimes works out and sometimes - not so much. 

We pick ourselves up and try again but this time saying that we have learned an important lesson; actually it is usually several lessons.  Our heart becomes strong again and we seek companionship, yet once again.  This is what we do.  We are humans and need, require and desire companionship.  This does not mean that we are not a complete person without it, but more whole with it, or so we want to believe.  Don’t misunderstand me; I’m all for love and the entire imaginable and unimaginable aspects one can think of with this word but…

I am an admirer of Bollywood movies and I only acquire movies I know I will want to see again and again.  Umrao Jaan is one such movie, with Aishwarya Rai.  I have difficulty watching this one repeatedly since the lovers are doomed not to be together in their present lifetime.  What I wonder is even though they were not allowed to marry, could they still spend seven lifetimes together?  I hope so.  Umrao was so devoted to this man and of course the reason they did not marry seemed so senseless to the viewer - that is if you get involved as I do with my movie characters.

This started out as a blog regarding a love that we all seek at some point in our lives, some of us throughout our lives.  For me there is a slight twist and I am hoping that this might hit somewhat of a familiar cord with some of you.  Please bear with me.

I am talking about someone who you may have known in another lifetime.  Now please stay with me here.  Yes - I believe in reincarnation.  Frankly, I am still confused as to why more people don’t.  But that’s another blog.  I meditate on a regular basis and getting in touch with my higher self took some time.  At first it appeared to me as an androgynous being, then as a hawk and now as Hawk.  Now I know some, if not most, caught the capital H and probably a few of you got the meaning behind this. 

Yes I have an entity living with me and yes he is very real and yes he is Native.  He is also quite good looking.  And yes I can see him when I need to.  This took years.  Now the really juicy part is - he’s a great lover.  You still with me, I hope so? 

It’s not something I could talk about a couple of years ago without the fear that my 20-something year old daughter might not feel her mom had gone off the deep end.  But that was before I met a friend, a gifted friend who read some of my work and knew of Hawk.  Her comment was that you have to write about him.  You already are but because you’re not admitting it, your writing has no truth to it.  So I stopped the project I was on and began our story, of sorts.  

I don’t know if there will be another blog about this, but there will be a book at some point in the near future. 

I guess the purpose for this is that whatever your truth is, and God knows this one scared the hell out of me in the beginning, own it.  You’ll be happier for it.  I know I am.

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