| |
|
Hey, a partner in crime...
I'm also taking a playwriting class this semester, but I'm coming at the elephant with a different blind man because I've been studying theatre for four years at university already. We also aren't using any texts besides our own work (every Monday we hand in our assignments, and we discuss everyone's work in Tuesday's class. There's only seven of us there), and I'm having a blast. I suppose, tips:
Don't worry about your ideas not being easy to stage, or even possible to stage. There are certain things like "Mr.X smashes the glass on the floor" which many directors will cut for safety reasons, but I've had directions like "Barbara cowers as Joan looms over her, sprouting huge, black oily wings." And that's just fine. Directors, designers, and actors will figure out a way to convey the idea; if your idea has to be stated that way, fine. Take risks. Do what you want to do and if you hate it, throw it out and start again. Go abstract. Go ultra-realist. We don't actually care what it's about as long as it's interesting.
As for format: make it easy to read. That's the most important thing, I think.
Next tippage: see some theatre. As much as you can. Get a feel for what you like. And to reiterate theapplepicker's advice, read plays. There aren't any rules about dialogue. My prof was telling us tonight about Franz Kroetz' "Request Concert," a 60-minute play entirely of stage directions. (And I will echo Persephone on the inane stage directions: actors don't usually need to be told how to say lines; they'll figure that out.)
I could go on forever, so I should probably stop. Oh yeah - one thing I like to keep in mind is what a prof said to me once about Beckett: theatre is real life, just compressed, distilled, concentrated. We get to the point faster ... if there is a point at all.
And here goes, here's the first draft of the scene I handed in this week:http://individual.utoronto.ca/johanna/328-erebus.doc
(Aaaaagh, posting first draft! Death!)
Keep at it... and keep us posted! |
|
|
