Letters From Alex

Hey, this is part of a series on writers who kicked down a metaphorical door with their writing. Like Marie Curie with science and Little Richard with music.

Some years ago, I hired a Screenwriting teacher for Gotham who turned out to be great in the classroom and also one of the nicest people I’ve worked with. She had to leave for a while to help a film school friend write an animated Disney movie, Wreck-It Ralph.

She planned to return to teaching in NYC when the Hollywood gig was done—she really missed it—but then they got her co-writing and co-directing a new project, Frozen. She assured me she’d be back soon as she wrapped up her work on that movie.

Ha, ha.

Her name is Jennifer Lee, and she’s now the Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation. 

Disney had been kicking around ways to adapt the Hans Christian Andersen story The Snow Queen for decades, but the project didn’t come into its current form until Lee jumped on the sled. She freely adapted the Andersen story, and, more importantly, she redrew the paradigm for a Disney princess, while also becoming the first woman to direct an animated Disney feature.

Instead of the focus on romance, Frozen revolves around the relationship between two sisters (both princesses) with romance being only a side feature. The younger sister, Anna, craves romance, but discovers her true love is with her sister, Elsa. And Elsa, showing no interest in romance, is wrestling with her innate power to turn things to ice, which is massively destructive until she learns to embrace the power, to let go of the fear, which allows her to control her icy talent rather than allowing it to control her.

And control it she does, with super-cool deftness and style. Which includes a glamorous hair and wardrobe makeover in shimmery ice-like tones. And an ice castle to kill for.

The impact of Frozen was like an avalanche. It became the highest grossing animated film of all time, and since its release over a decade ago, you can’t go far without seeing little girls (and many boys) dressed in Elsa gowns and feeling a semblance of that Elsa power. 

I can’t think of any character before or since that has inspired that kind of confidence in kids on that profound a scale. My daughter was certainly an Elsa acolyte—she didn’t merely watch Frozen, she lived it—and now she’s moved on to another glamorous woman showering girls with empowerment: Taylor Swift.

And we might soon have a woman as president in the US.

Did Jennifer Lee have anything to do with that? Maybe so.

Alex Steele,

Gotham President

If you’ve ever been involved in live theatre—in any capacity—you know there’s nothing more exhilarating. Or terrifying. Or humbling. Or ego-building. Or addicting.

When that opening arrives, come hell or high water, people are in that space, and the lights rise and…

I like the lyrics to the song “Welcome to the Theatre,” from the musical Applause (adaptation of the movie All About Eve, lyrics by Betty Comden/Adolph Green). Which begins:

Welcome to the theatre
To the magic
To the fun
Where painted trees and flowers grow
And laughter rings fortissimo
And treachery’s sweetly done.

I myself was hooked on theatre for a long while—acting, directing, writing—and though I moved on to other exciting vices, I still hear that siren song. When I see a show, I like to sit as close as possible so I feel like I’m in it.

I don’t see nearly as much theatre as I used to, but recently I had the good fortune to attend three shows in 11 days.

Alice By Heart 
In a quirky theatre in Chicago, in a black-box basement space. Low tech, low budget, but dynamite theatricality and performances. A teenage girl in London during WW2 re-enacts Alice in Wonderland to cope with the impending death of her best friend. Saw it with a childhood friend, with whom I used to see lots of shows, so felt like time traveling.

Once Upon a Mattress
A daffy musical version of The Princess and the Pea, on Broadway, starring Sutton Foster. High jinks of the highest order. Theatre gets even more thrilling when I see it through the eyes of my seven-year-old daughter who accompanied my wife and me. We were on the front row, and during the curtain call Sutton looked right at my kid and waved.

Stereophonic
All the rage on Broadway now, but I managed to snag a single ticket. Set in a recording studio in the 1970’s where a band is making an album. Like insects on the wall, we watch the collision of their talent and tension. Years back, I hired the playwright, David Adjmi, to teach for Gotham, which was prevented by his acceptance into a Julliard program. Glad he’s caught fire. 

By now I’m guessing you want to dive into some theatre yourself. Well, Gotham offers Playwriting classes. And we offer two other ways to get that crazy performance high: Stand-Up Comedy Writing and Songwriting.

Or just go see something.

Also, I am appearing in something like a show soon. At the upcoming Gotham Writers Children’s Book Conference (mostly on Zoom, September 28 & 29), I will be interviewing our featured guest Maureen Johnson.

Not too late to get tickets!

Alex Steele

Gotham President

Sure, lots of places shutter the shop in August and go off for a spell of leisure. And we hope you can slow your pace a bit, perhaps relish a slice of watermelon. (And, of course, we have many readers in the Southern hemisphere who might prefer a hot cocoa on a winter’s day.)

If you wish to weave some writing into your August, Gotham is here for you. We’ve got classes starting in August, free Friday Write-Ins, our monthly edition of The Razor, and these two special things…

The Writer’s Mind

The Writer’s Mind is a fascinating new course, or rather a reinvention of a course we offered a while back.

Unlike most writing courses, it’s not about the craft of writing. It’s about something deeper and more mysterious. It’s about techniques for thinking as part of your writing process. Such as …

Letting your mind aimlessly roam, which often leads to great ideas and solutions.

Slipping back in time to engage in child’s play, where the imagination runs wild.

Accessing your dreams and semi-awake state, as a path to your subconscious.

The Writer’s Mind debuts August 6, in an asynchronous Online class. Sorry, that one is sold out, but it also be offered Online starting September 10 and October 8. And you can put it on your Gotham Wish List to be notified about future dates and formats.

I don’t know of a course like this offered anywhere else. Are you up for an odyssey of the mind?

Gotham in Bryant Park

Every summer, Gotham takes up residency in NYC’s Bryant Park for free Thursday night classes. We just did three of them in July. Now, we’ve got three of them in August:

August 1 – Fiction Writing
August 8 – TV Writing

August 15 – Memoir Writing

These outings are maybe my very favorite Gotham event. The park is a luscious green rectangle surrounded by soaring buildings and right next to the magnificent NY Library building (the one with the lions). Not only do we get great crowds at our classes, but it’s a collection of interesting folks, a real mix of what the city and its visitors can provide.

As the summer day turns to night, the magical light brings a kind of magic to the writing people do in these classes, and those who want to can share their words into a microphone.

These events are worth the trip.

Have a great rest of summer…with us.

Alex Steele,

Gotham President