Getting Involved

Getting Involved Is Life Itself

Life is to be lived and loved and experienced, I firmly believe and practice with each breath I take. It’s not possible to achieve these goals unless and until you are willing to go all in, and that means getting involved. Be vary of those around you who prefer to take the opposite path, as they are the people who have voted to take rather than give.

Getting Involved to Connect with Others

I’m an introvert. But somewhere along the way I made the effort to cultivate the skills necessary for me to be able to connect with others in a meaningful way. This journey hasn’t been an easy one, but in the process I’ve learned as much about myself as I have about those with whom I’ve made the effort to get to know on a deeper level.

On Getting Involved with Mentorship

This weekend I was pondering the life of composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. I took him for granted for decades and it was only during these past few years before his passing that I came to understand why I so resonated with him. Mentorship played a crucial role in his life, as described here…

When Sondheim was about ten years old (around the time of his parents’ divorce), he formed a close friendship with James Hammerstein, son of lyricist and playwright Oscar Hammerstein II. The elder Hammerstein became Sondheim’s surrogate father, influencing him profoundly and developing his love of musical theatre.

Sondheim met Hal Prince, who would direct many of his shows, at the opening of South Pacific, Hammerstein’s musical with Richard Rodgers. The comic musical he wrote at George School, By George, was a success among his peers and buoyed the young songwriter’s self-esteem. When Sondheim asked Hammerstein to evaluate it as though he had no knowledge of its author, he said it was the worst thing he had ever seen: “But if you want to know why it’s terrible, I’ll tell you.” They spent the rest of the day going over the musical, and Sondheim later said, “In that afternoon I learned more about songwriting and the musical theater than most people learn in a lifetime.”

Hammerstein designed a course of sorts for Sondheim on constructing a musical. He had the young composer write four musicals, each with one of the following conditions:

• Based on a play he admired; Sondheim chose George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly’s Beggar on Horseback (which became All That Glitters)
• Based on a play he liked but thought flawed; Sondheim chose Maxwell Anderson’s High Tor
• Based on an existing novel or short story not previously dramatized, which became his unfinished version of Mary Poppins (titled Bad Tuesday), (unrelated to the musical film and stage play scored by the Sherman Brothers)
• An original, which became Climb High

None of the “assignment” musicals Sondheim penned were produced professionally, but the model they represent continues to be a learning tool for writers and mentors in all niches and genres.

After he was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein II, Sondheim returned the favor, saying that he loved “passing on what Oscar passed on to me.” Around 2008, Sondheim approached Lin-Manuel Miranda to work with him translating West Side Story lyrics into Spanish for an upcoming Broadway revival. Miranda then approached Sondheim with his new project Hamilton, then called The Hamilton Mixtape, which Sondheim gave notes on. Sondheim was originally wary of the project saying he was “worried that an evening of rap might get monotonous”. However, Sondheim believed Miranda’s attention to, and respect for, good rhyming made it work.

On Getting Involved with Your Writing

I’m a writer. I’ve now written volumes on this topic, including why I initially wanted to write, what held me back for so long, and how I first became an author before transitioning into the writer I am today. I write every day, not because I’m working on a specific project necessarily, but because I have to write to tell the stories that must be told.

Journaling may be the way for you to begin writing. I went from writing down my story ideas in a journal to blogging almost twenty years ago. My writing was thin and not fleshed out at that time, so I continued to write every day in order to hone my skills and craft at least a simple story. Start from where you are right now and get involved with the characters and the story line in a more personal way.

An example of this is the way I get involved with the stories filmmakers tell. I recently watched Empire of the Sun after not seeing it for at least a decade. Even though I do not consider myself to be a student of history, and I have no real like connection to World War II or the Japanese occupation of China, or of the British living in settlements in Shanghai during the early 1940s, I was gripped by the characters in this story and felt like I knew them personally.

This feeling encouraged me to do some research as to what could have been happening behind the scenes in the story and I was able to think of that time in history in a deeper way. I got involved in the details and as I’ve been writing about the film, retelling it to people who’ve not yet seen the film and enhancing what was shown on the screen. This makes for a more satisfying experience overall, and for everyone who is willing to read my thoughts on this movie from Steven Spielberg in 1987.

Getting Involved to Serve Our Fellow Humans

Earlier in 2021 I spent several days with people from my past and with whom I was searching for a connection that could bring us closer. One evening we found ourselves in a social setting where some of the people in front of us were being excluded from the main event we had all come to experience. I said out loud, to no one in particular that perhaps I should say something to that group so they could be included. The woman who most wanted to be a part of my life looked directly at me and said the words that made ice run through my veins…

“It’s best not to get involved.”

That weekend would be the last time I would see her and the others. People tell us who they are, what and who they care about, and how they view the world, if only we will listen and believe them. Please, get involved and allow the world to know your true essence so that everyone may benefit.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, getting involved to serve and to connect and to make a difference. The Universe is on your side, if only you’ll allow the magic to penetrate your protective armor.