So you want
to write a play, do you? How long do you
want to take? A year? Few months?
Oh. A day.
You’re insane.
Oh, not a
day. Half that time? You’re even more insane. But you are perfect material for a 24-hour
play festival like Winter’s Tales. But
before you get your laptop cracking and begin a steady infusion of caffeine,
let me give you a few pointers to get you going.
Your real
reward will be seeing your work take life at the end of the cycle. Your best chance for reaping that benefit is
to make sure that you build the proper framework for the rest of the
participants to work with.
Know Your
Limitations – Time! Part 1
There are
two time constraints to keep in mind.
The first is a real time barrier of roughly eight hours. That’s how long you’ll have to plot, write,
edit, and submit your script. But also
keep in mind that that given time frame is overnight during the first day of
the festival. So unless you’re a natural
night owl (or you just have an out of whack metabolism), consider that you will have
slightly less time than that as your body begins to slow down over the course
of the morning.
What this
means is that your best bet for success is to come up with all of your major
ideas and plotting as early as possible.
I’m not big on outlining, but if you need it, then go ahead and do it
early. I’ll go a further step and
suggest that you script several possible ideas/outlines in the first hour or
so. Because if an idea goes south on
you, you don’t want to be sitting around at 1AM in the morning with no idea of
what to go to next.
Know Your
Limitations – Time! Part 2
Your second
time constraint is a writing barrier.
The desired length for your written show is 10 minutes. That translates to about 10 pages of scripted
text. I would strongly suggest that you
use a piece of formatting software to write your script. That will help put the pieces into proper
perspective, make them easier to read for others, and help give the proper
spacing/format to actually pan out to ten minutes. There are several free options available if
you ever want to make use of them (I’m somewhat fond of Celtx, myself).
Find Your
Comfort Zone
Every writer
will occasionally feel the need to challenge themselves creatively. I will suggest that you pick another time to
do so.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not
saying that your piece cannot be thoughtful, inventive, or even abstract. But if that’s not your wheelhouse, this is
probably the wrong time to indulge that whim.
I know the
feeling well. I thought, foolishly so,
that it would be a good idea to go with an abstract concept for my writing last
summer. How did it go? How many times have I mentioned dumping my
first concept, again…?
Just keep in
mind that with only hours to work and several other constraints to consider,
choosing to right outside of the box is just giving yourself one more
handicap. And speaking of other
constraints…
Consider
Your Directors – Setting the Stage
Naturally,
your script should not detail things
that will be difficult or impossible for someone to create in under a day. That doesn’t mean that you can’t use certain
settings; it just means that you need to consider the environment.
Directors
will have access to limited space and resources. Yes, this is their problem to sort out (which
I will get into later…), but it can only help them when you don’t start digging
them a larger hole to work out of.
It is a
simple matter to set the stage without setting the stage, so to speak. You want a scene in a laundromat? That’s fine.
But if you want the scene to include an actual washer or drier, you
better check and make sure that there’s one available. Yes, there are cheats that can be used, but
it’s simpler if you try to keep the workspace in mind. Which brings me to my next point…
Consider
Your Directors – Making the Moves
My favorite
part of any script is the dialogue. It’s
probably the thing that most clearly reflects itself in my head as I think up
ideas. But even with that, I recognize
that a script does need some stage directions.
This is less a play-by-play of each and every action a character will
make and is, again, a framework for the director and actors to work with.
When
considering what actions to include and exclude, I tend to ask myself the
question: “Is this action important to the scene or my vision?” If the answer is yes, then that action goes
in with as much detail as necessary. If
not, then I tend to leave it open. The
trick is in balancing making a clear picture with tying a director’s hand with
lofty descriptions.
Consider
Your Actors – Casting Call
If history
is any indicator, there will be limited resources with regards to
performers. Even if there is a wide
berth of performers to choose from (and here’s hoping that pans out…), you
still need to keep in mind that directors will be making the casting
choices. So don’t go too crazy trying to
pen a part that you feel would be suited for one particular person. That person may not be available, and on top
of that it’s not your job to make a choice like that.
Now that isn’t
to say that you should feel limited in your ability to create characters. People play above and below their age ranges,
do accents, etc. all of the time. Feel
free to create any characters you want in whatever standing you see fit. It will, however, smooth things over if you
give your characters a little bit of leeway.
Speaking of which…
Consider
Your Actors
This one is
kind of a no brainer, but it bears saying.
Don’t go crazy when it comes to what characters say or do or how they
interact. My main, major general rule of
thumb (and a solid suggestion) is to steer clear of heavy romantic
interactions. Hugs are pretty safe, but
anything beyond that should be left up in the air (or just left out). Seriously, no one is signing up for this
expecting a love scene, and those types of actions take weeks (or longer) for actors
to develop a comfort level in. Try not
to make the performers have to do anything that’s going to leave them with
emotional scars.
To Make A
Long Story Short (Too Late)…
I would
never want anyone to feel limited in their ability to tell a story, paint a
picture, or express themselves. But in
this particular endeavor and in this environment, it is important that the
writer realizes their role. You are making
the blueprint for what everyone else is
working with for the next half of the festival.
And to a certain degree, how well you do that will eventually affect how
hard or how easy that task will be.
(Next time,
my (most likely much shorter) advice for directors. Yes, I’m going to tell you how to do that job
that I never actually do. I’m like Dr.
Spock that way…)
