Start Now.
When Lynn says, “I’ve had an idea!” I almost always respond with a feigned comedy shock, “Oh my God, no! Not an IDEA!” She has good ideas, in fact, she has more good ideas than most people I know. But her ideas can also end up with me up a ladder, or trying to figure out how to move a piano.
Last week, she had an idea and thought it might fit into Fish And Bear. She’d noticed that so many of the stories we are fed, in news and online, are focused on the 3rd or 5th act.
I’m not entirely sure what that means, because I’m more of an engineer than a playwright. But she explained it to me in terms I understood, which is that these stories are structured as if we are near the end of the story, at that bit where the drama is at its most intense.
The leading character is worn down because terrible things have happened, and they can't see a clear way forward. It is a do-or-die situation, and time is running out.
But that is not how real life works. Real life is episodic, moving from happy episodes to sad, to dull, to exciting, and the ending is not predictable at all.
And the problem with stories being described at the third or fifth act, as Lynn likes to tell me, is that we see ourselves as exhausted, with all hope for the future behind us, careering towards an inevitable ending. It's also why I hear her periodically yelling at the news. “Stop three acting me, you tosser!”
Her point is that, as life is episodic, we can at any time decide to reposition ourselves to the first act. Instead of being at the end of a story, worn down and exhausted by difficult experiences and disappointments, we begin a new story armed with experience and a belly full of wisdom.
What if we retold these stories starting the timeline from now? If we recognized that history is only there to inform our solutions. The ugliness of now is only in the story to set the scope of the problem that we accept and solve. The real story becomes about how we overcome the challenges we face. We are not at the end but at the beginning of the adventure.
I thought it was a great idea, and that everyone could use this technique to help change their perspective. But I didn't think it was right for Fish and Bear because F&B is all about connecting through the stories of our experiences. About sharing where we’ve been. There is no third acting in Fish and Bear because everyone’s acts are all over the place. Sometimes people tell how a story began, and others reflect on an ending that has long passed.
And you know what? She agreed. Now I just need to deal with the ladder and the piano.
I hope you can come and join us this Thursday at The Valley Hive, where we will host an outdoor Fish And Bear next to a huge tree and around a fire pit. And the following Thursday, we will resume normal service at MacLeod’s brewery.
Mark
xo
Fish and Bear is held every Thursday at 7pm.
Check out our WEBSITE: https://fishandbear.net
If you like Lynn’s writing, then check out her weekly Notes From The Valley at lynnfergy.com
