Monday, October 22, 2012

Last Public Readings & Rewriting

Today, we will conduct our final public readings with the actors. When we are done (either today or next class, Wednesday) we will revise some of our work while the play is still fresh in our minds. To help you out, please read the following advice:

Some advice:
1. You are the writer. Therefore you have complete control over your written script. If you disagree with an actor's ideas or complaints about your script, that's fine. Focus on the material you need or want to change rather than the bickering of non-professionals. Everybody's a critic when it comes to movies and stage plays.
2. Your actor/other writers are your fresh eyes. They may have some good advice about what is not working in the script. You need to be open-minded and trust the revision process. Change those things in your script that you feel will STRENGTHEN your play.
3. Just because something isn't working right now in the script may not be reason enough to change it. A skilled director or actor can find and pull out wonderful things in your script. On the other hand, if the talent isn't there--the talent isn't there. If it didn't work with this cast or director, consider its importance to the scene and consider getting rid of it.
4. Revise grammar and syntax to make lines comfortable and easy for the actor. Not sure what's wrong? Check with a partner, ask a teacher, or do it yourself (you'll ultimately be responsible for your own writing ability after graduating from high school). Here's a website that may help with grammar problems. You can find thousands of these helpful sites on the web, there are grammar books in the library, you have been taught enough grammar in ELA classes over the years. If you don't know something by now, look it up and learn it! You have the power!
5. Plays utilize realistic speech, but lines of dialogue are NOT real speech. Improve the beauty of your lines by being specific, adding imagery (metaphor, simile, personification, sound imagery with alliteration, assonance, consonance, figurative language), and strong active verbs. Review your diction before making people perform your play again. Language is YOUR art, not the actors--they interpret and present the words through body, voice, and movement.
6. Trust your instincts. If you're bored watching your play, rest assured others will be too.
7. Rearrange and combine or cut plot, scenes, characters, lines. Don't be afraid to revise. Save your work (BEFORE) you revise so that if you want to add that scene or character back in the play later, you can. Word processing programs are cool like that.
Use your time in the lab to complete your rewrites.

HOMEWORK: Please read the chapter handout and answer the questions about scenarios. In your JOURNAL or notebook, begin a "titles" page as illustrated in the chapter. You will be able to use this "titles" page for both Contemporary Writers and Playwriting. Questions are due next class.

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