Local ‘Plot Whisperer’ shares the secrets of story structure

Do you have a story you’ve been struggling to write that seems to lie limp on the page? What you may need is structure—and the Plot Whisperer can help you.

Santa Cruz author Martha Alderson adopted the name “Plot Whisperer” after working with hundreds of writers in plot workshops, retreats and individual consultations. With clients that include bestselling authors, New York editors and Hollywood movie directors, Alderson has a gift in helping writers navigate the often arduous task of writing and realizing the novel, memoir or screenplay of their dreams.

Editor’s note:  Catherine Barnett is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers Award, and a Pushcart Prize. Her first book of poems, “Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes Are Pierced,” was published in 2004 by Alice James Books. Her second poetry collection, “The Game of Boxes,” was just released by Graywolf Press. Barnett works as an independent editor and teaches at Barnard College, The New School, and New York University.

Mistaken identities and musketeers make ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ a rousing success

‘Twelfth Night’

Shakespeare Santa Cruz continues to brighten up our foggy coastal summers with imaginative live theater. The company launches its 31st season with “Twelfth Night,” one of Shakespeare's most enjoyable and accessible romantic comedies. Directed by SSC Artistic Director Marco Barricelli, this lively production floods the stage with knockabout farce, yet leaves enough breathing room for moments of poignant reflection on the ways romantic love can be found—and lost.

Cabrillo Stage hits a homerun with ‘Anything Goes’

There are pros and cons to producing one of Broadway’s most adored musical comedies, littered with hits by one of the most quoted American Songbook composers of the 20th century. Among the pros? Everyone knows the songs. The cons? Everyone knows the songs. Fortunately for Santa Cruz theater fans, Cabrillo Stage deftly avoids the pitfalls of familiarity and presents Cole Porter’s endearing vehicle, “Anything Goes,” to great success.

SSC’s star composer elevates the drama of ‘Henry IV Part II’ with music

When Rody Ortega is not composing music for Shakespeare Santa Cruz, he works as a commercial airline pilot. The sky is an important source of inspiration for Ortega, but he believes he can reach people on a deeper level through the arts. “Art can take you places an airplane can’t,” he says.

For the fourth summer in a row, Ortega has returned to UC Santa Cruz, where he will help elevate Shakespeare’s “The Man in the Iron Mask” and “Henry IV Part II” with music. The latter—which runs Aug. 7-26 at the Sinsheimer-Stanley Festival Glen at UCSC, and stars Charles Pasternak, V Craig Heidenreich and Richard Ziman—is the second segment of Shakespeare’s “Making of a King” trilogy.

Mark Bryan’s paintings address the (sometimes ugly) state of the union

In Mark Bryan's oil painting, “Ship of State,” a massive vessel reminiscent of the Titanic, but with The U.S. Capitol building for a super structure, angles downward, slipping into a calm sea strewn with icebergs. Amidst the flailing arms of the passengers struggling to stay afloat, two lifeboats occupied by self-satisfied men in top hats, with bags of money, have their henchmen row them away from the scene.

Big, bold and drenched in fun, ‘Anything Goes’ sets sail at Cabrillo Stage

Part Two of Cabrillo Stage’s triple summer threat promises to be a show-stopping voyage. The creative ship that is “Anything Goes” opens this week as part of Cabrillo’s plan to take a bite out of the Big Apple this season—“A Chorus Line” opened recently to rave reviews; “Escaping Queens,” written by local Joe Ortiz, opens in August.

Salsa by the Sea celebrates 10 years

The sun is setting as a crowd gathers around a makeshift dance floor next to the Santa Cruz Wharf. At the center of the circle, a diverse group of beaming locals appears liberated as they writhe to the sensual sounds pouring out of the speakers.

The energy is infectious.

Program gives teens access to Shakespeare Santa Cruz’s ‘Twelfth Night’

Chances are you’ve encountered the work of William Shakespeare at some point during your academic career, perhaps as required reading in high school; he is, after all, the most famous writer in the English language. But for every student who is hooked at “To be or not to be,” there is another for whom the words on the page are no more comprehensible than a foreign language.

With that in mind, Shakespeare Santa Cruz is working to make his plays accessible to the community with the STAT (Shakespeare Teen Access Tickets) program, which is designed to get teens to experience live Shakespeare performances, including the company’s upcoming production of “Twelfth Night.”

Cabrillo Stage delivers a vivid, heartfelt 'Chorus Line'

Talk about a singular sensation. When “A Chorus Line” debuted in 1975, it broke all the rules for what a Broadway musical is supposed to be. There are no elaborate sets or scene changes; it all takes place on a bare rehearsal stage with one mirrored wall. Playing out in more or less real time, with no intermission, the storyline—you couldn’t call it a plot, exactly—concerns a score of young dancers auditioning for the chorus of a Broadway show. Costumes? The kind of practice clothes every dancer has in his or her wardrobe. It also presents various gay and ethnically diverse characters in frankly sympathetic terms.