Yesterday my son Ishai, who works as an Assistant Editor on Glee, took us on a wonderful tour of the Paramount set, which he calls a "a large construction site." I didn't imagine it that way until I walked through it & realized that's exactly what it is.You walk down city streets you recognize because you've seen them in countless shows & films-- shady alleys, NYC neighborhoods, past bars & restaurants. You hear hammers, saws & drills, and breathe in the smells of fresh paint & wood, & you pass workers erecting & dismantling props & sets. You see a vast cloudy sky, store facades, cars with painted license plates, screens to decrease light ....
I'm starstruck, I confess. Proud of my son ... & impressed with all the creative energy at work bringing dreams to concrete life.
Details are eerily accurate & often very funny.
Here are the pamphlets behind Emma's desk on the Glee set. 
The Glee set is vast, encompassing the high school locker hallway-- the one where you see the actors sing, dance, flirt & fight. The room where the Glee Club meets. The school auditorium. The NYC sets. The restaurant where Rachel & Santana work. The Glee sets take over several buildings-- more than any other show on the Paramount site.
Below is a picture of Ishai in his office in the Editing Trailer for Glee & American Horror Story.
And one of me on the steps of a New York brownstone on an empty street. Empty for the moment, waiting to be filled with characters, actors & drama.
This visit inspired me to get to work building my new novel. Time to open another room in the house of my mind-- one that opens to a neighborhood & family as colorful & exciting as the one in in DARKTOWN BLUES. At least I hope so!
Wishing you great inspirations, whatever you're working on!
