Announcement Your Personal Introduction

[solspoppa]

Well, hello there, everyone.

Thanks for allowing me time on your forum. I am a screenwriter, and I write my stories within a unified universe. One of my main families in that unified universe is Jewish. I write my stories with verisimilitude, and, because of that, I always strive to get all my details, large and small, correct. That's why it's going to be so valuable to me for you to allow me to pick your collective brains.


Thanks in advance for all your future pointers, feedback, and suggestions.

Warm regards, Kerry

[Blue Bird]

What's a unified universe?

[solspoppa]

Well, hi there, Blue Bird.

All that I mean by "unified universe" is that all my stories are tied together in one story world, all the characters have the chance to meet each other (whether or not they ever do remains to be seen) — for example, a doctor who is the main, central character in one story may show up in only one scene in another story as the doctor to whom the main, central character of that story was referred. There might also be references to places — for example, the main characters in one story may pass through the town which was the main setting for another story. It's actually a great deal of fun.

For example: Mike Demetriano is the main, central character in my screenplay Dancing Under a Buzzing Streetlamp, which is set in 1973. Part of the storyline of Dancing Under a Buzzing Streetlamp is Mike's convincing his family, who has distinct other plans for him, that he's serious about becoming a professional dancer. Mike's definitely the main character in Dancing. Fast forward to 2001, which is the year when my screenplay Dirty Windows is set. Tony Demetriano is one of the three main, central characters in Dirty Windows, and there is a scene in which Tony tells the other two main, central characters about his cousin (2nd cousin 1x), Mike, who goes by the stage name "Jon Faro" who just won a prestigious Tony Award. As you can imagine, they have a tough time believing Tony. You notice that in Dirty Windows Mike is merely referred to.

I've been writing for decades, and my unified universe has become vastly elaborate, with a genealogy I maintain on Ancestry.com with over 1200 characters in it (I started that genealogy more than 30 years ago, at first on paper — I still remember all that data entry). I also have detailed character pages on my author website for over 200 of those characters, as well as detailed webpages per storyline, of which at last count I have over three dozen (whether the majority of those storylines will evolve into full-fledged screenplays, time will only tell).

Thanks, Blue Bird — I appreciate your asking and I appreciate your interest.

Warm regards, Kerry

[Blue Bird]

Hello Kerry, what you write sounds interesting, but I don't really understand it. I think I'm too old for that.

All the best for your work!

[RGK]

My name is Roy - currently confused due to no previous history of joining forums.
I hope not to include unnecessary/too personal information but:
I am the son of survivors and an atheist Jew. I am from (and spent most of my life in) Toronto but have been living in rural Atlantic Canada for 5 years.
My wife and I are visual artists.
I am definitely the only Jew in the county.

Greetings

[searchinmyroots]

My name is Roy - currently confused due to no previous history of joining forums.
I hope not to include unnecessary/too personal information but:
I am the son of survivors and an atheist Jew. I am from (and spent most of my life in) Toronto but have been living in rural Atlantic Canada for 5 years.
My wife and I are visual artists.
I am definitely the only Jew in the county.

Greetings

Greetings Roy, thanks for joining us!

Just to let you know, the first posts are moderated to help keep out spam and bots.

And thanks for your introduction, not too personal at all! There are many who have similar paths.

Looking forward to seeing more of your posts whether they be questions or just sharing.

Might be a little slow here for a while as it is a major holiday weekend for several religions!

[Alan_Boskov]

...I am the son of survivors and an atheist Jew...

I have heard of survivors becoming atheists, because the Holocaust was made possible. Or did your athiest beliefs stem from non-creationalist evolution theories?
Welcome, by the way 

[RGK]

...I am the son of survivors and an atheist Jew...

I have heard of survivors becoming atheists, because the Holocaust was made possible. Or did your athiest beliefs stem from non-creationalist evolution theories?
Welcome, by the way 

My parents were survivors but were not quite atheists themselves. They tried to continue to be a version of religious (we went to shul on high holidays, I was bar mitzvahed, etc) but the Shoah took its toll on spiritual as well as material. I think my father lost any faith after my mother died and mother died too early for me to know her enough to have much insight into her thoughts. I learned a few Yiddish words, some traditions and an understanding that I am an outsider (a fear of being rounded up or chased away).
I was always confused by the concept of a deity and feel better off (although that is a sliding scale) without. I like evolution - seems to make sense.

Thank you for the welcome and Good Pesach

[Blue Bird]

Welcome to the forum RGK!

[RGK]

Thank you