Summer Camp Playwriting - Day 2

(simultaneously published on the Writers Theatre of NJ blog)

Picking up where we left off yesterday in the Playwriting Workshop, the students revisited the formatting for a script through a pairs writing exercise. Partners took turns setting up their script by alternating the writing of information on a title page. This included items like character descriptions, setting, and an “at rise” to describe what the audience sees as the play begins. Once this was set, the writers took turns crafting a line of dialogue and then passed the notebook to their partner. They wrote like this for ten minutes and then we shared the drafts. I like to use this activity early in the process to reinforce the way the script is structured - which is often foreign to young playwrights - but also because it helps students practice writing dialogue as a reaction to what another character has previously said or done. I find this prevents them from overthinking how the play is structured and is a good stand-in for an acting exercise (which I find is something my student writers tend to not want to do).

From here we visited the character descriptions the students created yesterday and talked about what event or opportunity sent the character on her journey. This led to the brainstorming of a list of actions someone might take to get what they want. Ideas ranged from asking to murder! I encouraged the playwrights to decide one action where the character would begin and another that signified how far the character was willing to go to succeed. Having a line to cross is a great way for a character (and a playwright) to heighten the tension and, in my opinion, make the story more interesting and real to an audience.

Speaking of audience, I was happy to revisit the idea of writing for two audiences (spectators and performers), which we discussed on the first day. This seemed to inspire them to make detailed choices about how to present information within the dialogue for the audience and within the stage directions for the production staff. After some time writing, other questions arose about when to change scenes. My response is always along the lines of: you start a new scene whenever time or place changes. This works for most young playwrights’ stories, but this particular playwright had location shifts that were more subtle and this answer didn’t quite suffice. So, I took to Twitter and polled a few playwrights. I’m thankful to Pia Wilson, Dania Ramos, and Lauren Gunderson who provided some suggestions in response.

Pia Wilson (@pwilson720) began with the following suggestions:

• Depends on the story. U have 2 think abt the objective of the scene & what the chars need to accomplish.
• Sometimes a scene isn’t finished when you think it is. U can only know that in the context of the play.

Lauren Gunderson (@LalaTellsAStory) supported these ideas with the following:

• Each scene is a small play, with a goal achieved, something discovered or status changed. Then a new scene.
• A scene should propel the characters into the next scene. The audience should be hungry for more story
• Plot = Change. What changes for the characters in the scene. If nothing? Then you’re writing the wrong stuff

Dania Ramos (@DaniaDania) echoed my suggestion about time and place.

I look forward to sharing these ideas with the students in the morning and to the impact they are likely to have on the process.

When I teach a summer playwriting class, I don’t prescribe a strict writing process for the students. Instead I make a few suggestions, support them with exercises, and largely leave things open for the writers to proceed as they wish. For some that involves mapping out the steps a character takes along the journey (which typically translates into scenes); others need to know who the play is about, what s/he is going to do, and where it is taking place and then they write and figure it out while writing. I like to leave it open to take away the pressure of having to write something excellent and instead place the emphasis on just writing. But the playwright suggestions above may alter our course toward a more formal outline. I think there are some students who will benefit greatly from that idea and I’m curious to see how it works out.