Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Lapin Agile: Last Day; Play Project

After completing this play, please go next door to the lab to continue working on your projects. If you took my advice, you have written a draft of your play. It may need a few polishes and we might need to chisel and smooth rough edges, but you should have a good model from which to start carving.

What to add to lengthen your script/story:

  • detail--always aim for specifics instead of general words and stuff. 
  • backstory--now that you've written that scene for that character, flesh out that character by giving him or her a backstory. 
  • Use monologues!
  • Use historical data. This may be the time to add a few details about setting and character details through backstory (see above).
  • Remember your last image. The last moment of the play is usually a striking image that lingers in the mind of the reader/audience member.
  • Add philosophy. Now that it's written, what is your play really about? What do you want to tell the future generations and contemporary people about life as YOU see it? Or as the characters see it...
  • Add lovely poetic language. Figurative language. Alliteration. Metaphors. Similes. Smiles. Remember these?
Stuck?
  • Consider what your characters were doing just before they entered the stage. Add a beat (a line or two) about what it was they were doing off-stage, when they come on stage.
  • When nothing's happening:
    • Describe a character's physical circumstances
    • Describe a character's psychological circumstances
    • Describe a character's social circumstances
    • Describe a character's economic circumstances
    • Describe a character's political circumstances
  • Add a new character, but set up the fact this character exists before you drop them in a play. No one likes unannounced guests.
HOMEWORK: Write!

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