Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Rewriting & Play Length

Please turn in your homework. Keep your "titles" list in your journal.

Revision:

Please spend some time today rewriting. The post-reading revision can be difficult. You saw your play on-stage, you saw what the actors did (or not do) with your play, you saw your baby exposed for all the world to see.

Some key questions to ask yourself:
1. What were you trying to convey or "do" when writing your play? I.E., what was your PREMISE?
2. Was your premise realized or communicated?
3. What was the major dramatic question in the play, and was it answered satisfactorily by the end?
4. Were your techniques working? Was the dialogue interesting, compelling, dramatic, poetic? Were your characters interesting, compelling? Was the plot interesting, compelling, important? Was the action of the play clear, compelling, appropriate?
5. Was your play worth the time and effort to produce and watch? Did it convey a valuable idea, or did it just rehash old, worn out ideas? Did the play help anyone understand life, society, or the world? Was the end result worth it?
6. Were you proud of your work?

Answering "no" to any of these means you need a rewrite.

Additional tips about rewriting a play can be found in the previous post (see below).

Use the time in lab today to rewrite your play (or plays). Create a second draft. 

Play Structure & Length
Plays come in only a few flavors structurally:
1. The Five-Act Play (popular with Shakespeare and the Elizabethan stage)
2. The Four-Act Play (popular with Chekhov and Russian Modern theater)
3. The Three-Act Play (popular in the early part of the 20th century)
4. The Two-Act Play (popular now; and the preferred length of a full-length play)
5. Full length One Act Play (ex. Freud's Last Session; Night Mother, etc.) There is no intermission, the play is about the length of a film.
6. Short One Act. (Usually 15 minutes to an hour)
7. 10-minute Play (short, short plays anywhere from 3 minutes to 15). You should be familiar with these by now.

HOMEWORK: Please read and watch John Guare's "The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year." Compare the reading to the performance. Would John Guare be pleased with the production? Why or why not?

The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year (part 1)
The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year (part 2)

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