The Responsible Casualty!
organized by Dan Shaikh and Rina-Lee Rovinelli
The THEME was Body Beautiful, which is right up my alley with all the work I do with body image and self-esteem in Myselfie. The CATCH was that I had to prepare a 4-6 minute piece! What the wha?!?!? For anyone who’s ever tried to make a long story short, you’ll understand how incredibly challenging this was! I chose one story from Myselfie, the one about my heart murmur that leads up to my hit song My Innards. The HITCH was that I realized I like to cap off a story with my music. What do you mean I gotta end on the un-accompanied word? But when will I dance?!?!
4-6 minute piece just talking. Okay. I put myself on a mission to hone it in. That is something I’m often told to do in commercial auditions too: “Kat, can ya please hoooone it in?! Take it down a notch! Be more regular everyday.” But THIS IS my regular everyday! These facial expressions ARE subdued! And if less truly is more, then just imagine how much more more is! Maybe casting directors used to say that to Will Ferrell too.
So I crafted a story for Speaker Slam called The Responsible Casualty— which is really kinda what the story became, a casualty of the process. I didn’t craft a story. I hacked away at an existing story in order to hone it in and take it down a notch and fit into a 4-6 minute piece for a Speaker Slam competition. My modus operandi was to keep it under 6 minutes. I lost sight of what “it” should be and focussed with the piercing eye of a hearty maritime fog. If I had it to do over again, I would honour the challenge and theme of Body Beautiful to create something brand new and with respectful intention for this event specifically.
I had so much fun at the event and I shared the stage with some pretty powerful speakers that I now consider friends. I was disqualified from the competition because I went over time. I know you’re shocked. You can watch my 6:15 minute long The Responsible Casualty video here!
And here are my new friends!
Anthony Bianchi, Gina Hatzis DiFonzo, Unstoppable Tracy Schmitt,
Sethu Kotharamath, Darius Bashar, Zubin Sethna,
What will you do this month to challenge yourself?
Resting On A Memory
For now this memory would hold her, for now this memory was enough. She sat for a moment in bliss, resting and recalling the sensation of the serene thrill that came before.
Within this memory, she could still dance to the music of her own giggles and sighs as they mixed with the hum of her companion speeding freely underneath her. She pulsed with the memory of the motion, each wave of movement a crest toward forthcoming promise and destiny. A magical breeze whispered encouragement, and the generous torque lifting her spirit let her know that she was well on her way. She was on top of the world as her oyster, and as it spun it did swirl into a silken pearl of fortune and gratitude.
This memory she savoured was a token of her good luck and a reminder to cherish each moment. For now this memory would hold her, for now this memory was enough. But as soon as the power came back on, she would jump back aboard for another sweet ride.
Photo by Michelle Weber
*This blog was inspired by Michelle Weber’s call to action on The DailyPost wherein the challenge was to write a post inspired by this photo.
In a nutshell:
Weekly Writing Challenge: 1,000 Words
The challenge is called “1,000 Words” after the famous phrase, but don’t feel that you need to write that much (or that little) — however many words your story requires is the right number of words.
Thanks for the challenge, Daily Press! That was fun!
🙂 Love Kat
KAT LEONARD 