Pregnant Pause

I've started working on my Going Down Swinging Performance Commission which will debut at the Melbourne Writers Festival in September. I'm not so far down the line yet - the allocated time is up to fifteen minutes, I have two minutes worth of material that I'm really happy with, and no idea which way to head next.

I can't say much about topic as I'm sworn to secrecy, but there's one fairly dramatic factor which is playing an integral part in the commissioned work: at the time of performing, I will be eight and a half months pregnant. No, you don't have to go back and read that last sentence, it read eight and a half months pregnant.

I've gone from responding to writer-pals shock and awe over this fact with: 'I'll be pregnant, not dead', to staring down at my expanding waist in no small amount of shock and wondering what the f*ck I've gotten myself into.

It'll be apples though, I swear it: the baby won't come early, it's only fifteen minutes onstage, and it will be my last chance for some time to tackle such an amazing writing task: a swan song of sorts before 'Take 2' arrives hungry for all my creative energy.

This no-getting-away-from-it goddamn-that-woman-is-about-to-drop-a-baby-right-there-on-that-stage physical state I'll be in is having a huge impact on what I'm writing though. At the start of the writing process, I decided that I could take one of two routes: use the belly-prop for comic, or even musical/audio effect, or incorporate it metaphorically, thematically or literally...

You'll have to wait for the finished work to find out how this one turns out...I've taken an oath of silence. All I'll say is: this is my biggest writing/performance challenge yet...no pun intended.