About a year ago I got it into my head I wanted to write plays. \u00a0I had thought I wanted to write short stories, but it dawned on me one day that a play is a short story come to life. \u00a0I thought, “wow! how neat is that!” \u00a0I suppose I could say here that the real beauty of naivety is the economy of thought behind it. \u00a0Anyway you get the point.<\/p>\n
It took me a long time to actually get started, because I had no idea how to actually write a play. \u00a0I found Jon Dorf’s Playwriting 101<\/a> site, which helped tremendously. \u00a0Thank you Jon! The first play took most of that year; the second one took about 3 weeks, and the third one took about an 2 hours. I should point out that the third play is only about 10 minutes, and has no setting to speak of (it’s a 3 character monologue).<\/p>\n Of course just knowing the format of the script, and the process, doesn’t mean you have a play. \u00a0You have to tell a story. So I studied the various playwriting methods, and figured out what works best for me. \u00a0Which by the way is pretty simple; first I write the story with no dialog, just the basic scenes, settings and actions. \u00a0I call these my “directors notes”. \u00a0Then I write the play with dialog according to the notes. \u00a0I went at it with commitment, enthusiasm and a belief that I could tell a good story. \u00a0And it turns out I have some aptitude for telling stories.<\/p>\n But I knew that in spite whatever nascent ability I had there would be lots of work getting a play on the stage. \u00a0So as I was writing I was also seeking out ways to market my plays. \u00a0I purchased a copy of the Dramatists Sourcebook<\/a>, and I found various listings for local theaters (although not in the Sourcebook). \u00a0The book (and various websites) describe the process: write plays, then submit them to the theaters. \u00a0So I sent out copies of my first play to local theaters<\/a> (my idea being that I would have a better chance with small, local theaters).<\/p>\n The best thing that came out the process of submitting plays so far was that I found the Playwrights Collaborative, a group of playwrights, actors, directors and theater enthusiasts that get together once a month at the Big Idea Theatre<\/a> and participate in staged readings. \u00a0 \u00a0 A staged reading is a way to try out a play without actually producing it; there are actors, but no setting to speak of, \u00a0and the actors are actually reading the play from script. \u00a0At the end of the reading the audience offers up feedback. \u00a0I think the process is extremely important. \u00a0I can speak from experience here, \u00a0because I was lucky enough to have my first play read last June. \u00a0I learned something about how the written script works, or does not work, when it is performed live. \u00a0A very important first step for me. \u00a0Thank you Gary Agid<\/a> and everyone who attends and contributes!<\/p>\n I learned one other very important thing about playwriting. \u00a0It turns out, that for me, writing plays means getting inside the characters. \u00a0To do that, and to do it well, I have to be open to who those characters are, and how they feel. \u00a0In other words I am acting out all the parts in my head. \u00a0Now as I understand it, the art of acting is the art of being emotionally available. But to be emotionally available requires honesty about feelings. \u00a0The upshot of this is that for my characters to be real, I have to be honest about my own feelings. \u00a0 I do not find this easy.<\/p>\n So there you have the core wisdom I have to offer: \u00a0you want to write plays, you better be honest about who you are, and what you are about.<\/p>\n Well that’s it for now. \u00a0Thanks for stopping by!<\/p>\n