Historical Play Project: Day1; Picasso at the Lapin Agile: Day 2

Lab: (1st Period)

Writing a historical play:
5 Lessons Learnt In Writing a Historical Play (video)

Research your topic by choosing one of these areas and learning about it. Take notes of things, people, or places from that time period that you find interesting.

• Elizabethan Period
• Elizabethan Period & Historical Figures & Events
• American Colonialism
• Famous African Americans
• British/English Historical Figures
• Ancient Greek Figures
• Historical Asian Figures
• Famous Egyptians
• Famous Hispanic Leaders/Events
• Famous Female Leaders
• Famous historical leaders
• Chinese Dynasties
• Roman Historical Figures
• Historical Periods & Important Events
• Lesser Known American History
• Famous Inventors
• Famous Artists

Once you have chosen a time period for your setting, consider HOW you will plot your story. How many scenes will you write? How may you combine time and scenes to tell your story? Consider:

Plot: (what happens on stage) off stage is part of the story, not part of the plot

a.     Pick a historical person, or set your play in a historical time period. Your play may deal with a fictional protagonist(s) in an otherwise historical setting. 

b.     Ask: Where would you start a play? Each writer will start a plot somewhere different. Write a short play with that plot in mind. Example:

Four ways of writing plot (choose one or two):

1. Linear (syllogistic): events happen in chronological order 
2. Circular: events start at a point in time then flashback and come back to the present by the end of the play.
3. Pattern plot: event, event, event, then repeat 1st event, 2nd event, 3rd event, etc. Your plot should form a specific pattern.
4. Genre/archetype: impose one genre or form on another. Combine mystery, romance, western, musical, realist, etc. Include a wedding, funeral, or graduation. Alternate celebrations with tragedy and vice versa. If we look at Henry V as an example, the play ends with a wedding after a terrible battle. Take the same plot, but include elements of the generic genre or archetype.

Choose a plot from George Polti and write a PREMISE for your play. Keep your PREMISE at the top  of your play as you begin to write. Remember what your story is supposed to be about. Have characters add detail and characterization through dialogue and monologues.

Today in the lab, create a working title, a cast list, and premise. If you can, get a setting, decide on your structure (how long will the play be? 1 scene, 2 scenes, 2 acts?) and once you have an inciting incident, begin writing.

This assignment is not due yet.

2nd Period: We will continue our reading of Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

HOMEWORK: Work on your play scripts.

Revisions Due! Brainstorming the Historical Play; Picasso at the Lapin Agile: Day 1

Lab: (1st Period)

2nd drafts (or 3rd drafts) are due today, Nov. 27 after lab (by 2nd period). Please proofread, prepare, print, and turn in your drafts.

If you complete your rewrite & revision, please take a look at the following information this morning:

Writing a historical play:
5 Lessons Learnt In Writing a Historical Play (video)
Try your own beginning research by choosing one of these areas and learning about it. Take notes of things, people, or places from that time period that you find interesting.

• Elizabethan Period
• Elizabethan Period & Historical Figures & Events
• American Colonialism
• Famous African Americans
• British/English Historical Figures
• Ancient Greek Figures
• Historical Asian Figures
• Famous Egyptians
• Famous Hispanic Leaders/Events
• Famous Female Leaders
• Famous historical leaders
• Chinese Dynasties
• Roman Historical Figures
• Historical Periods & Important Events
• Lesser Known American History
• Famous Inventors
• Famous Artists

Advice from Paula Vogel (and Mr. Craddock):

Once you have chosen a time period for your setting, consider HOW you will plot your story. How many scenes will you write? How may you combine time and scenes to tell your story? Consider:

Plot: (what happens on stage) off stage is part of the story, not part of the plot

a.     Pick a historical person, or set your play in a historical time period. Your play may deal with a fictional protagonist(s) in an otherwise historical setting. 

b.     Ask: Where would you start a play? Each writer will start a plot somewhere different. Write a short play with that plot in mind. Example:

1. Hamlet can be told from a variety of plots. Where we start Hamlet suggests a different story as varied as the writer writing the play.
2. Fortinbras, by Lee Blessing for example, starts his play at the end of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet could also be a minor character (for example in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead)
3. 3. Desdemona by Paula Vogel tells the story of Desdemona in Othello: plot can be told from the perspective of a different character

Four ways of writing plot:

1. Linear (syllogistic): events happen in chronological order 
2. Circular: events start at a point in time then flashback and come back to the present by the end of the play.
3. Pattern plot: event, event, event, then repeat 1st event, 2nd event, 3rd event, etc. Your plot should form a specific pattern.
4. Genre/archetype: impose one genre or form on another. Combine mystery, romance, western, musical, realist, etc. Include a wedding, funeral, or graduation. Alternate celebrations with tragedy and vice versa. If we look at Henry V as an example, the play ends with a wedding after a terrible battle. Take the same plot, but include elements of the generic genre or archetype.

As for plotting plays and stories: George Polti has determined that there are only 36 different plots in literature. We can use these plots in a variety of different ways to create thousands of unique and interesting plot. Take a look here. (It's also on the sidebar to your right to link to!)

Period 2: (Classroom)

Steve Martin: Picasso At the Lapin Agile

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso

Today, before 2nd period, please read a little about our next author/playwright.

Steve Martin

The contemporary writer, actor, producer, performer, comedian Steve Martin wrote the play Picasso At the Lapin Agile in 1993. His plays The Zig Zag Woman, Patter for the Floating Lady, Wasp were to follow. His musical Bright Star opened in San Diego. He co-wrote and wrote many of his comic films, has collections of short fiction, novels, wrote his own stand-up comedy routine, and is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine.  Check here for an interview with Steve Martin.

Picasso At the Lapin Agile takes two very well known modernists (the scientist/genius Einstein and the artist famous for creating cubism, Pablo Picasso) and drops them in a Parisian bar in Montmartre, the Bohemian-artsy-avant-garde neighborhood of Paris. His historical play reminds us that writing history can be playful, fun, and, to a large extent, completely made-up.

Charleston Stage Advertisement (Picasso At the Lapin Agile sample production)

Some of Steve Martin's films:

The Jerk

The Man With Two Brains

Top 10 Steve Martin performances

You should be familiar with two historical figures used in the play:

Picasso & Einstein (click on their links for info)

READING: As we read the play, notice how the author introduces characters, situations, complications, and how he handles dramatic and comedic situations while presenting a theme and a reason for people to pay to see a play. His use of dialogue is snappy and effective and we can learn a lot about contemporary playwriting by reading this play.

Let's also look for some of Polti's plot lines (see handout) to see if we can identify any. Okay? So let's go to it!

HOMEWORK: None. Bring your scripts to next class.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Conclusion)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - Conclusion.

Please continue to revise your play scripts. 2nd drafts (or 3rd drafts) are due Monday, Nov. 27 after lab (2nd period).

Have a nice holiday week!

HOMEWORK: None.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf; Day 2

Lab:

By the end of our lab, you should have completed your 20 answers and the sentence about your play draft. Turn a copy of this in for participation credit.

The next step is to use these answers to craft your chosen play and revise it with these answers in mind. Remember to revise as well to develop characterization.

Revise your play draft on your own. It will be due Monday, Nov. 20. Aim to cut, revise, proofread, correct, and otherwise strengthen your first draft. Feel free to add or cut as necessary. Use your answers to the questions to focus and guide you.

If you did not complete your reading of Act 1 of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, please do so during the lab if you are done with your 20 answers. 

By the way, the reference to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is an academic joke. Read about Virginia Woolf here. Then watch the short Disney film: The Three Little Pigs (1933)

CLASSROOM: Please continue watching the film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. We may move a little into Act II in the film. We'll finish the film on Monday.

HOMEWORK: Read Acts II & III -- notice how Albee uses monologues, conflict, objectives, and really fine dialogue writing to make this a great & memorable play that actors and audiences can sink their teeth into. 

Marking Period 2; Revision Exercise; Tips on Time Management; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Had trouble this marking period keeping up with the work? Read the article advice about time management for playwrights.

This morning, feel free to view the scenes from The Baltimore Waltz. How might the performance be different from your imagination?

Next, bring your attention to the revision exercise. Choose one of your plays from MP1 (the monologue play, the 2 person play, or the 3 person play) and revise the draft by answering the questions on the handout. Turn in your analysis of your chosen play script by Thursday, Nov. 16 at 8:00 (our lab will be shortened that day).

Classroom: At 8:00, pick up Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf from the library today and let's get started reading it.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, we will begin reading and screening the film (1966) starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Sandy Dennis, and George Segal, during the next few classes. All four actors received Academy Award Nominations for their excellent acting. Both Taylor and Dennis actually won them.

The film director Mike Nichols is one of the American New Wave directors. Haskel Wexler was the cinematographer.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) was one of the films that challenged the restricted film code by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). Originally, no one under 18 could legally buy a ticket to see the film unless they were accompanied by an adult. The film was also banned and shocked audiences with its content and lewd language. Tame perhaps by today's standards, the film is one of the reasons why films today can be edgy. It was shot entirely in black & white--one of the most expensive black and white films to be made at the time.

Film is not stage. As you read the play and watch the film, notice subtle differences between the play and movie.

HOMEWORK: Read the rest of Act 1 for Thursday. Complete the revision questions for your chosen play script (due Thursday at 8:00). The Coffeehouse for Nov. is Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 in the Ensemble Theater. Feel free to join us!

End of Marking Period; 3-Person Play Draft Due; Baltimore Waltz

Please complete your 3-person scene drafts today in the lab. All missing work or revisions are also due today.

Return any scripts or packets of plays to me.

Period 2: We will examine the sources for The Baltimore Waltz, then begin reading the script.

HOMEWORK: Please complete the play The Baltimore Waltz wherever we end our class reading. The Coffeehouse for Nov. is next week, Nov. 15 at 7:00 in the Ensemble Theater. Feel free to join us!

Had trouble this marking period keeping up with the work? Read the article advice about time management for playwrights.

Playwriting MP1 Test; 3-Person Play Draft; The Baltimore Waltz

Lab:

After completing the MP test, please continue working on your 3-person play drafts. These drafts (and all missing work or revisions) must be completed by Thursday, Nov. 9.

Start moving toward an ending moment/scene for your play draft. Consider some of the following tips:

• Make the obstacles tougher and tougher. Be sure the setbacks your protagonist has to deal with are not easy and that they get tougher as the story progresses.
• Create a cause and effect structure. Each moment and scene should lead to the next. (Although they happen in life, random events and particularly convenient coincidences aren’t dramatically satisfying in plays.)
• Create a climactic moment that brings together your protagonist and antagonist in one final showdown. The entire play builds toward this moment when the protagonist meets his fate and the story line, if not the play, is concluded.
• Come to the earned conclusion. The conclusion should be justified by the events that came before. An earned conclusion is a relevant and plausible ending that’s appropriate to the story you’re telling.
• Avoid cheat endings. The deus ex machina ending involves a person or thing that appears suddenly and out of nowhere to provide a contrived and convenient solution to the problem of the play. Audiences don’t like this “cheat.” They expect the protagonist to find (or not find) her own way out of the situation.
• Tie up loose ends in the resolution. The resolution, which comes just before the curtain falls, provides the opportunity for the audience to see the landscape in the world of the play after the climactic storm, big or small. This is where you should tie up any unresolved strands of the story.
• Leave your audience with an interesting stage picture. The last image of the play should be interesting or startling, burning its memory into the mind of the audience.

Classroom, Period 2:

Paula Vogel on The Baltimore Waltz. For a full master class discussion on playwriting by Paula Vogel, check out the Dramatist Guild's video. (120 minutes...)

Plot forms:

• Linear: plot is told from a beginning point to an ending point. The most common type of narrative.
• Shakespearean/Epic form: episodic scenes that culminate in the traditional plot structure...
• Circle: beginnings become endings, that become beginnings that are endings...
• Pattern: a repeating pattern is formed to frame the narrative...
• Generic synthetic form: text is comprised of a variety of hypotexts (texts that come before) that function as models or a structure for the new text...(so Star Wars was a hypotext for Family Guy's Blue Harvest, for example; The Odyssey was a hypotext for James Joyce's Ulysses, etc.) 

Paula's advice: Steal. Pay homage. Read as much as you can. Write away from the subject you most want to write about but can't.

Scenes from the play: The Baltimore Waltz
The film noir film: The Third Man (1960), The Ferris Wheel Scene from The Third Man (1960)

HOMEWORK: None. Please prepare and turn in any missing work or revisions Thursday. Your 3-person play scripts will be due Thursday as well. Please bring back your Baltimore Waltz scripts.

Playwriting Tips from Directors; Vampire Lesbians (conclusion); Baltimore Waltz (intro)

LAB: (period 1)

It's important for writers to remember that plays are written for the theater. Your story will be told not only by your words but by the actors that portray your characters and by a director that will shape and guide the other participants to create a unique live experience for a paying audience. Toward this end, this morning, please read the following article on Tips from Directors for Playwrights.

In the COMMENT section of this blog, please identify the most important or helpful advice for you as a writer from the article, and explain how you might improve one of your plays (any of the drafts you have already written) or improve the play you are currently writing using this advice. Try to be specific as you reference the article and your own work.

When you have completed your COMMENT, please continue writing your play script draft. This draft will be due at the end of next week.

Also, please note that there will be a quarter exam on the material we have covered this marking period next week. See below for a study guide.

Study:

• Talking With by Jane Martin
• Spic-o-Rama by John Leguizamo
• Monster by Dael Orlandersmith 
• 'Night Mother by Marsha Norman
• Oleanna by David Mamet
• The Dumbwaiter by Harold Pinter
• Topdog/Underdog by Suzanne Lori Parks
• Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry
• The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles Ludlam
• The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel
• The Vampire Lesbians of Sodom by Charles Busch
• Any one other play by Charles Busch from the collection
• Premise
• The 4 types of conflict
• Structural unity 
• monologues/soliloquies
• beats, scenes, acts
• Major dramatic question
• The inciting incident
• Major decision
• Rising action, complications, crisis/turning point
• Dark moment
• Enlightenment
• Climax
• Catharsis
• Monodramas or monologue plays
• Objectives (different types)
• Tips about writing dialogue, playwriting, writing for the stage
• Status quo & building a plot
• Themes
• Voice & factors that help define character voice
• Crossdressing, Pantomime, Commedia Dell'Arte
• Comedy characteristics
• The dramatic triangle
• 10-minute play structure

Please bring any script copies with you to next class so you can return them to me or the library. 

Period 2:

We will complete reading the play The Vampire Lesbians of Sodom today in class. Please turn in your Commedia analysis of the play by the end of class.

If we finish before the end of the period, we will move on to our next play selection: The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel.

HOMEWORK: Study for your upcoming playwriting exam (see post above). Also, please complete the reading and analysis of one play you selected from the collection: The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and Other Plays by Charles Busch. Bring your books with you to next class.

Please note that all missing or late work must be turned in by Thursday of next week (the end of the marking period) for minimal credit.