"Sleepless Nights - A Real Estate Story"

Dan Carlson shoots "Sleepless Nights."

Storytelling is hard! The first story I developed at Stagebridge is about an arduous few months I spent trying to sell my mother's home during the worst real estate market ever. The first time I told it, it took 17 minutes. Each time I retold it, I was able to make it shorter - got it down to 12 minutes, then to 10. But, as it got shorter it lost a bit of flavor, detail, depth, humor, and some of my initial energy. I was, however, confident enough that I could tell it in one take in front of the camera, that I said "Yes" to director Dan Carlson's offer to record my tale and use it as a monologue on his new talent website, www.Talent23.com. 

Dan wanted a 2-4-minute monologue, and I got in at a bit over 4 minutes. Unlike when I told it in class, where I was able to move around to add to the drama (the first time I told it in Jeanne Haynes' class, I started out on the floor, acting out my sleepless nights, as though rolling around in bed), this take forced me to sit in place so that the look and feel, background and lighting would match the other monologues on Dan's site. 

When my friends previewed the videotaped story, as many hated it as loved it. So, my confidence level, once high in class, dropped several notches. But, I'll tell you this much: seeing it again after a few months, I'm proud of the work. Check out the video link at right to see "Sleepless Nights."