One of the NC Writers' Network Regional Representatives, Patricia Vestal, of Hendersonville, will
be teaching a NetWest sponsored workshop titled "Elements of Storytelling", on Saturday, August 2, at the Grove Enterprises
building, 7540 Hwy 64 West, Brasstown, NC.
Recently, I
asked Patricia for an interview, and she graciously answered some questions.
Glenda: Patricia,
you are a native of Winston-Salem. Did you grow up there and go to school
there?
Patricia: I
lived in Winston-Salem until I was 13, when my parents moved us to
Jacksonville, Fl. Every year we visited
our close knit extended family back in NC and worked in a mountain visit. I went to high school in Jacksonville and
took some college classes, but got most of my undergrad and grad education
after I moved to New York at age 24.
Glenda: Tell
us about your early years. When did you develop an interest in writing?
Patricia: My
parents took me to movies from an early age, and I developed a vivid
imagination. I recall playing “movies”
and directing brother, cousins and friends in fantasy adventures. Once I discovered books, I devoured as many
as I could. I wove stories in my mind,
including what seemed then like a complex world of fairies led by a queen whose
name has stayed with me and now populates a novella I’ve just finished. I have absolutely no idea how that strange
name originated in my young imagination.
So I always have been “writing.” In school I became interested in journalism, but I didn’t get the “yen”
to really be a writer until I was in my early twenties.
Glenda: You
have an extensive resume as an editor, writer and researcher for publishers in
New York City. What were your career plans when you were growing up?
Patricia: My
family was very traditional Southern. I
was expected to simply get married, have children and be a housewife. That’s what women did. I was sent into the business world to aid in the search for Mr. Right. I always knew that I wouldn’t be content settling
down early into a housewife routine. A
job with a big insurance company could have grown into an interesting and
lucrative career, but I hatched another plan to save my money and move to New
York, use my business experience to earn a living while I finished my education
and pursued writing.
Glenda: When
did your interest in theater develop?
Patricia: My
family didn’t attend theater, but I was enchanted by elementary school field
trips to plays. My real interest in
drama came from TV: the golden age of drama like Studio One and other shows
written by playwrights and from performances of international plays on PBS,
including some New York experimental theater that opened my eyes to the
possibilities of live theater.
Glenda: You
are a playwright, and earned your M.A. in Drama. Did you perform on the stage
as an actor?
Patricia: In
childhood, all I knew about drama was what I saw on screen, so I wanted to be
an actress; but as I matured, I realized that my interest was really in
creating the characters the actors portrayed and the stories they told. I did
take acting lessons, but only to help me better work with performers as a
writer and director.
Glenda: Your
plays have been produced in Off-Off Broadway theaters. Can you tell us
something about that? How did you feel when your first play was performed in
NYC?
Patricia: I had
the good fortune to live in New York in the late 1960’s and 1970’s when
Off-Off-Broadway was blossoming. Many
plays were done in “found” spaces that brought small audiences close to the
action where they could actually see the actors’ faces and feel the electricity
in sharing a one-time performance experience.
I found that very exciting and it motivated my creative and educational
direction. I took classes in playwriting
and screenwriting and was in a couple of valuable playwriting workshops where actors
read our works-in-progress, and produced staged readings. My first actual production was in a small
theater space in the back of an East Village tavern. I felt it verified my
ambition, that I really did have the ability to write plays that would be
produced; and it motivated me to continue studying and writing.
Glenda: It is
obvious you are an accomplished writer and storyteller with lots of experience
in this field. When and why did you become a writing and playwriting teacher?
Patricia: I got
my higher education mostly in NYC while working, so it took years. In grad
school at NYU I studied with professors who were involved in experimental
theater, but also read the best examples of plays ever written and looked at
not only how they represented excellent storytelling but also how they
reflected their culture and time. By the
time I got my M.A. I was ready to leave New York. An offer
from a textbook publisher that was relocating to Florida took me closer to my
aging parents and into a stable position with benefits, including a much needed
retirement plan.
When I moved to Orlando from NYC, I wanted to maintain a theater connection and was just fortunate to find a group that developed new plays that welcomed me. Theater is very collaborative and I am stimulated by the creative process. I enjoy working with other writers. When I got the opportunity to teach various forms of writing to college students it was a privilege to pass along the skills and knowledge I had learned from others. I was encouraged by their enthusiasm and still find nothing more rewarding than discovering and/or helping to develop writing talent.
After I retired to Hendersonville, I developed my Elements of Writing
Workshop.
Glenda: You
also write poetry. Have you always written poetry or did that come along later?
Patricia: I
always wrote a little poetry, but didn't focus on it until I was living in
Orlando. The dual lives of my
responsible day job and the late night hours of theater began to take a toll
and I had to cut back. A friend who was in a poetry group suggested I try that
genre, and I began attending their sessions and learning from them, and
participated in public readings.
When I
started teaching, I had to brush up on my knowledge of the nuts and bolts of
poetry for my Comp II and Creative Writing classes. I formed a school creative
writing club and joined my students in reading our work at the school’s
student-faculty art shows. I enjoy the
discipline of compressing words into imagery that carries some resonance and find
it hones my writing skills for all genres.
Glenda: What
inspires you? Where do your stories come from?
Patricia: I
have a vivid and weird imagination. I’m
not particularly inspired by everyday problems.
I like to just sit in front of a blank screen, write whatever comes in
my mind and go from there. Sometimes
it’s a poem. Other times stories arise
that tend to come from the broad issues that concern me; but they often come
alive in a world of magical realism or satire. The novella I just finished fuses fantasy and science, hopefully told
through believable, complex characters.
Glenda: Your
forthcoming workshop on August 2, "Elements of Storytelling" covers all genres. Can you help a poet as well as
a fiction writer in this workshop?
Patricia: Yes.
Poems use imagery, which is an essential element in bringing prose to
life. Poetry may or may not tell a
story, but it can have characters, setting, voice and point of view, among
others of the elements covered in my workshop.
I edit my own poetry within the context of these elements.
Glenda: Tell
us something personal about yourself that your students might find interesting
to know.
Patricia: I am a
nature and animal lover. I consider it a blessing to be able to live in these
mountains with my cat, Tigress.
Glenda: Thank
you, Patricia, for taking time for this interview. I’m sure our readers will be glad to know you better when they take this class and will have confidence that
they will learn valuable information to help them reach their goals as writers.
Glenda Council
Beall, is a writer, poet and teacher. She is Owner/Director of Writers Circle
Studio in Hayesville, NC.
She serves as Clay
County Representative for NCWN West, and is former Program Coordinator 2007-2009
