In January, it's so nice while slipping on the sliding ice.
This new year hasn't given me much time to breath – like a shock of cold air and the pressure to keep moving against the stinging conditions, and I can imagine that sensation has been going around. There's been really a lot to think about, and this is just a monthly digest. Here's a January summary.
Creative work
I'm incredibly excited for my creative life this year. Recently, for the first time ever I've started to actually feel confident as a multi-disciplinary artist–actor, director, and storyteller. This month is part of embracing that.
I released The Witches of Wederra Keep, a podcast I've been working on for more than a year at this point. The final piece—the artwork—came in early on Monday, and it brought the whole work together. The first episode of the podcast came out on Tuesday to some very kind early feedback. Yesterday night, we got notice that we were accepted into the Cusco Web Fest, the first festival of the Audio Fiction World Cup. I'm excited to share more of my working process through the year.
Jacob Wolf Lefton
I've been leaning more and more into my improvisation work. Tales Held Dear is a fantasy roleplaying group, and we have many projects, including live shows and sketches on YouTube. I've also been doing fantastic two-prov with Kevin Napier.
Another roleplaying thread I've been following is the 36-Word RPG Jam, an event to write 36-word games. I took it as a diary challenge and I've tried to write one game a day. I got about 20 done, some of which you can download here for free. Next month is #ZineQuest or Zine Month, a zine crowdfunding event in the tabletop roleplaying community, and I'll be kickstarting (for the first time ever) a zine called Games for an Ordinary Life—if it funds, it'll be 28 pages of minimalist games and four new linocut prints.
And, I'm an actor. I auditioned for a few things and I'm continuing my research and training in the Michael Chekhov technique with a local research group. We're hoping to present something on stage in April.
Money & sustainability
My acting teacher at the Michael Chekov International Academy, Joerg Andrees, calls money "condensed willpower." I really like this framing because I have a lot of willpower, I get shit done. But with money I can do more, and I can bring other people along with what I want to do by giving them similar power and agency.
Getting comfortable as an artist, especially with my wildly multidisciplinary focus and a commitment to cooperative and less-capitalistic approaches means that I haven't quite landed my marketing. I honestly barely know where to start. This is a problem because I guess there's some kind of pipeline between marketing and sales and earning money.
Unfortunately... it's not sustainable at my current level. I'd love to make this work, especially finding ways to do it through community. One topic I want to explore more this year is how to build sustainability as an independent artist and in cooperation with other artists—within our own structures and in relationship with our audiences. I don't want to rely on large platforms and corporations that suck attention into algorithms for shareholder profit.
So, here's the ask! If anything I'm doing here has value to you or resonates, please consider either jumping on my Patreon or dropping a couple bucks for Ko-fi.
Also, I'm working on the documentary Is This A Dad Thing, about my journey inducing lactation and breastfeeding my child. We were semi-finalists in The Chimera Project's TO.GET.HER Finishing Funds, but we didn't get it. So we're fundraising the last couple thousand dollars. I think it's an important little film in this moment of increasing attacks on transgender people and the growth of an incredibly toxic masculinity in our politics. Please consider supporting us through our US-tax-exempt fundraising page, or get in touch with us.
This disastrous political moment
What the fuck, folks?
We knew the end of this month would be rough in the US (and globally) with the ascendancy of the Guinness book of world records' worst and most smug people most deserving of a knuckle sandwich. It's getting dire here in Germany as well, as the conservative party is building a coalition with the far right for the first time since WWII and the center left groups have basically been flailing wet noodles who have sold out vulnerable populations to appease right-leaning voters and other fascist governments and have set themselves up to lose terribly.
Earlier this month, I wrote about kindness as a political effort. Honestly, the idea feels like it came out half-baked. I wasn't really able to articulate what I wanted to, but the thought is ongoing.
Jacob Wolf Lefton
I felt compelled to return to stonemason James Taite again, from my early note to previous subscribers –
"It’s precisely because they are ephemeral that we care for them... Things only live on in their caretakers. And when caretakers fail monuments tumble...
[a] kind of solace is offered by the perpetual re-piling of stones, the retelling of stories, and the renewing of relationship.
In this other scheme, we stay in place only by ceaseless hustle, only by pushing forward, by finding a new balance. By making things good again. Again and again.
Jacob Wolf Lefton
Keep your eyes out for ways to help that are within your reach - you won't be able to stay on top of everything, and if you try you really will burn out. Find people to work with who support you. Protect your mental ecosystem and don't over-expose yourself to the news, especially if you already know what's going on – the details will just build unnecessary stress and trauma for you.
New things I'm looking at this month
Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies gives you random different lenses when working creatively.
Lena
Google and other tech companies are leaning hard fascist - can we get away from them?
Crash Override offers a way to secure your online identity.
Clayton Notestine
I really like this way of approaching encounter design in roleplaying games, focusing much more on the puzzle and less on the tactics. Don't get me wrong, I think both fit!
Also, if you only got this note (and thanks for reading this far), you're on the Monthly Digest. You can log in with your email and adjust which list you're on. If you got everything and you only want the Monthly, you can also adjust.
All the best,
Jacob
