Ridiculous Play Project Draft Due; Driving Miss Daisy

LAB:

Turn in your homework. See the previous posts for details.

• Please complete and turn in a draft of your ridiculous play script by the end of the period (or day). A draft is due today.
• Check your formatting, spelling, etc. before printing and turning in.
• Take a look at Suzan-Lori Parks's interview and an excerpt from Topdog/Underdog. (Topdog diaries trailer and a trailer from the Citizen's Theater)
• Feel free to revise your 2-person monologue play scenes. Revisions are due by the end of the marking period: Nov. 7.

Pick up the play Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry from the library at the end of class today.

Period 2:

The Mystery of Irma Vep (conclusion and analysis/discussion).

3 Person Plays. Having spent time reading and working with monodramas and 2-person plays, let's complicate matters by adding a third actor.

The Dramatic Triangle

When you put 2 characters on stage, you create a relationship that shows how they fit or don't fit together. This is a pretty linear conflict. 1 character against another, for instance. Usually, both characters change in a scene or play which, in turn, changes the other character in a positive or negative way. I.E., if a character wins his/her objective, this will affect or change the other character. Usually if one character wins an objective, the other loses his/her objective.

Adding a third actor or character adds a dynamic element to a scene or play.

• The third actor/character is often directly related to at least one (or both) of the other two characters. 
• The role of the third character can change from scene to scene. It does not have to be the literal same character. 
• The third character can develop a plot, enhance characterization, or add new conflict or resolve a conflict.
• Plays that use more than two actors can complicate or develop a plot very quickly.
• Characters might serve as foils, antagonists, or protagonists at any given time in a scene or beat.

As we read Driving Miss Daisy, examine the 3rd character: in this case Boolie. What role or purpose does he serve in the play? Does he enhance the characterization of Daisy or Hoke? Does he help develop and move the plot forward? Does he add new conflict or resolve conflict between the other two characters?

HOMEWORK: Read the short 10-minute play: "The Tarantino Variation." Notice how the playwright uses the 3 characters to develop the plot, enhance characterization, add or resolve the plot. If you are a Tarantino fan, note how the playwright (like Charles Ludlum's Mystery of Irma Vep uses film and film references as a basis for its parody.)

Complete your 2-person play(s) if you didn't complete them in the lab. Turn them in late on Tuesday. If you missed Suzan-Lori Parks' interview or any video from class, catch up and watch!

Bring your Driving Miss Daisy scripts back with you to class. 

Ridiculous Play Project; Mystery of Irma Vep: Day 4; Act 2

Lab:

Continue writing your play scripts. Aim to complete your play script drafts by end of lab on Friday.

• Your scene should have 2 actors (but as many characters as you wish...).
• Your scene might be inspired by a film scene or famous, well-known or loved book, etc.
• Look at the previous writing advice about how to write scripts in the past few posts (and the exercise below). 
• This draft will be due Friday so that I know you are writing it.

Character's emotions: The father of Behaviorism, John Watson (not Sherlock's sidekick...), said that there are 3 basic feelings that we share.

Characters can often feel

• Anger: jealousy, envy, hatred, criticism, frustration, etc. 
• Fear: timidity, uncertainty, disappointment, etc.
• Love: lust, pride, infatuation, pride, etc.

We might add:

• Sadness, if that sadness or melancholy is not born out of anger at oneself (guilt or shame), fear of loss, or born of love or lack of comfort.

For each of your characters in your play, spend some time to ask: 

• What basic emotion is most prominent or powerful for that character?
• Why is the character angry?/What makes the character angry?
• Why is the character afraid?/What makes the character afraid?
• Why is the character so loving?/What does the character love?
• Why is the character sad?/What makes the character sad?

And what event in the character's past caused this emotion? Consider the character's backstory. Use this powerful emotion in a monologue or reveal the character's emotional state in the dialogue of your scene. 

Period 2: Classroom 

Act 2 of The Mystery of Irma Vep.

Acts versus scenes versus beats. 

If a beat is a short exchange of dialogue between two or more characters on a specific topic, then a scene is comprised of more than one beats--often with a definite beginning, middle, or end--but scenes, like chapters in a book, deal with what is immediate or happening "now" in the story. Past events are given as backstory in monologues or through dialogue concerning off-stage situations. Scenes involve characters entering or exiting a location at a specific time or place. 

Acts, however, are major events or sequences that usually have a significant impact on the structure of the story. I.E., they have structure beyond a single scene. Usually, in modern plays like The Mystery of Irma Vep, the act breaks at the crisis. The Major Dramatic Question remains unanswered, thus compelling a second (or sometimes third) act. 

You can think of all of these parts (beats, scenes, and acts) as having a definite beginning, middle, and end. I.E., they all have an inciting incident, rising action, crisis, (dark moment or enlightenment), climax, and resolution.

HOMEWORK: Complete Topdog/Underdog. Answer the ?'s. Prepare to complete your ridiculous scene in the lab.

Look here for information about Suzan-Lori Parks. As you read, please answer the following questions:

1. Who are the 2 characters in this play? How are they similar or different from the historical figures they are drawn from? How are they similar/different from each other? (see our writing exercise above for details....)
2. Identify the inciting incident in this play.
3. Identify the Major Dramatic Question in this play. 
4. Identify the dark moment or crisis for both Lincoln & Booth.
5. Identify the enlightenment for both Lincoln & Booth.
6. Choose one type of conflict in the play and explain how this conflict contributes or effectively adds to the plot or theme of this play.
7. Choose a beat in the play. Identify the page # and section of the beat. For this beat, identify the beat's objective for each character Booth & Lincoln.
8. Suzan-Lori Parks is an unconventional playwright. Read about her background and her author's notes. How does she use theatrical elements in a unique or effective way throughout the play? 
9. Compare Topdog/Underdog to other 2-person plays we have read ('Night Mother, Mystery of Irma Vep, The Dumb Waiter, Oleanna, "The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year", "The Red Coat", or "Slaughter in the Lake")--how does this play measure up in your opinion? What might you have learned about playwriting from reading it? Which play is strongest or best in your opinion? Why?
10. Topdog/Underdog was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for drama. Why do you think this might have been a good choice for a contemporary audience or a good example of contemporary writing? (you might examine the importance of the play's theme, or its characters, or its style, for example...)

Please read the play and answer these 10 questions by Friday, Oct. 20.

Ridiculous Play Scene; Mystery of Irma Vep: Day 3

Lab:

Watch the short interview with Katori Hall on Playwriting.

Please continue writing your play scripts (see previous posts for details & ideas on how to develop your plots/characters and scenes.

Whether friend or foe, characters in plays tend to be similar in some ways, and different in others. In a two-person scene, the audience needs to see that these two characters are contrasting. The contrast also points out what qualities their adversary or antagonist has that they do not.

For each of your characters in the scene you are writing answer the following in your notebook:

• Inherited physical traits: Traits like gender, age, ethnicity, body type, and identifiable facial features (glasses, beards, glass eyes or an eye-patch, etc.) ex. in Topdog/Underdog, both characters are African American males in their thirties and are biological brothers (similarities), but their personalities and outlook on life are contrasting.
• Acquired physical trait: traits that are a result of environment, lifestyle, or experience such as economics, occupation, or personal experiences that may result in physical changes (scars, disabilities, cosmetic surgery, clothing, etc.)
• Psychological/moral traits: mental and psychological differences or outlooks on life or personal philosophy or morality.
• Social trait: how the characters differ in the way they deal with society and/or friends, family members, neighbors, other adults or children, etc.  
• Talent: some skill that one possesses that another doesn't--juggling, first aid, swimming, etc.

How do your characters compare/contrast with each other on stage or in the story?

Period 2:

Let's continue reading The Mystery of Irma Vep.

HOMEWORK: Please read the play Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks. As you read, please answer the following questions:

1. Who are the 2 characters in this play? How are they similar or different from the historical figures they are drawn from? How are they similar/different from each other? (see our writing exercise above for details....)
2. Identify the inciting incident in this play.
3. Identify the Major Dramatic Question in this play. 
4. Identify the dark moment or crisis for both Lincoln & Booth.
5. Identify the enlightenment for both Lincoln & Booth.
6. Choose one type of conflict in the play and explain how this conflict contributes or effectively adds to the plot or theme of this play.
7. Choose a beat in the play. Identify the page # and section of the beat. For this beat, identify the beat's objective for each character Booth & Lincoln.
8. Suzan-Lori Parks is an unconventional playwright. Read about her background and her author's notes. How does she use theatrical elements in a unique or effective way throughout the play? 
9. Compare Topdog/Underdog to other 2-person plays we have read ('Night Mother, Mystery of Irma Vep, The Dumb Waiter, Oleanna, "The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year", "The Red Coat", or "Slaughter in the Lake")--how does this play measure up in your opinion? What might you have learned about playwriting from reading it? Which play is strongest or best in your opinion? Why?
10. Topdog/Underdog was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for drama. Why do you think this might have been a good choice for a contemporary audience or a good example of contemporary writing? (you might examine the importance of the play's theme, or its characters, or its style, for example...)

Please read the play and answer these 10 questions by Friday, Oct. 20.

The Dumb Waiter; Mystery of Irma Vep: Day 2

Lab: Please complete the test on Pinter's The Dumb Waiter. Complete the test by the end of period 1. Turn in for credit.

If you finish early, please continue writing your play scripts (see previous post for details).

Advice:

• For both of your characters answer the following:
• Who are you? (character)
• Where are you? (setting)
• When are you? (setting)
• What's your situation here and now? (social, political, or economic)
• How do you feel? (physical and/or emotional)
• What are you thinking or worrying about? (intellectual?)
• What do you want from the other character [specify the character]? (desire or objective)
• Why do you want what you want from the other character? (motivation)
• What's the problem keeping you from getting what you want? (obstacle or conflict)
• How will you get what you want from the other character? (strategy or tactic)
• How does your past help define what you want, why you want it, and how you might get it? (exposition, monologue, backstory)
• What will happen as a result of all this? (main event or major dramatic question)

Period 2:

The Mystery of Irma Vep (day 2)

• Examine objectives, staging, plot or story, characters, conflict, dialogue, etc.

Viewing:

The Dumb Waiter, part 1

The Dumb Waiter, part 2

The Dumb Waiter, part 3

The Dumb Waiter, part 4
The Dumb Waiter, part 5

Oleanna: (with Bill Pullman & Julia Stiles)
Oleanna (film with William H. Macy)

The Mystery of Irma Vep (Buffalo Theater Ensemble; The Art of the Quick Change)
The Mystery of Irma Vep (Kansas Repertory Theater; preview)

HOMEWORK: View any of the videos above (optional). Read the 2 two person 10-minute plays: "The Red Coat" and "Slaughter in the Lake." Notice how the playwrights keep the action, setting, and dialogue concise and dramatic between only 2 characters. 

Lab Activity; Mystery of Irma Vep

Lab:

Video: Watch the following videos on playwriting and post a comment in the COMMENT section below about what useful advice about writing plays did you receive by watching these videos.

• Video #1: Top Tips
• Video #2: Status Quo
• Video #3: Building a Plot
• Video #4 How to structure a scene
• Video #5 How to write dialogue

Writing exercise(s):

• Make a list of your top 3 favorite books of all time
• Remember 3 settings that you remember from these books
• Remember 3 characters that you remember from these books
• Make a list of your top 3 films of all time
• Remember 3 scenes that you thought were cool in each film
• Brainstorm some contemporary themes that you might want to explore...a question or issue that you want to work with. Here are a few theme ideas.
• Make a list of the best ones.
• Brush off our previous list of objectives: characters want to help, characters want to hurt, characters want to know something important from another character, or characters want to persuade another character of something. Give each of your characters in your play scene an OBJECTIVE. 
• Now select the best ideas from your pre-writing and begin writing a scene for a play. Don't worry yet about the length or when its due. Simply write. Of course, write in standard playwrighting format. 
• Start with a specific conflict between 2 characters. 
• More to follow.

Remember that all plays run on conflict. Start with a specific setting, specific characters (2 in this case) and start a conflict (person v. person, person v. self, person v. society, etc.)

Classroom:

The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles Ludlam

One of the reasons people attend theater, as opposed to staying home watching TV or going to a movie is that through theatrical convention, we are often treated to a live-event that is intimate and "magical" in that what we witness on stage is a heightened exaggeration of life. Theater tends to be REPRESENTATIONAL and symbolic, rather than presentational. That is, the characters, plots, settings, props, etc. of a play REPRESENT reality, they are not reality. The viewer is likely to accept certain "unreal" actions, dialogue, characters, etc. while watching a stage play that he/she would not accept in film or in a novel.

Our case study will be the play The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles Ludlam. Ludlam created the Ridiculous Theater Company in NY in 1967. Ludlam died of complications from AIDS in the 1980's.

Ludlam is best known for the theatrical movement: The Theatre of the Ridiculous.

""The Theatre of the Ridiculous" made a break with the dominant trends in theatre of naturalistic acting and realistic settings. It employed a very broad acting style, often with surrealistic stage settings and props, frequently making a conscious effort at being shocking or disturbing. "Ridiculous" theatre brought some elements of queer performance to avant-garde theater. Cross-gender casting was common, with players often recruited from non-professional sources, such as drag queens or other "street stars." [We will see this trend continue with the works of Charles Busch].

Plots in these "ridiculous" plays are often parodies or re-workings of pop-culture fiction, including humor and satire to comment on social issues. Improvisation plays a large role in the plays, with the script acting as a blueprint for the action.

HOMEWORK: Complete your reading of The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter. There will be a quiz next class (Thursday) on the play.

Oleanna: Day 2

Brainstorming:

• List 5-10 characters quickly (name at least + occupation or an identifying label or two)
• Ex. Jessie: an aging epileptic who contemplates suicide
• Ex. Miggy: a 9-year-old Hispanic boy; an energetic, goofy or playful nerd
• From your list choose 3-5 of these characters to be major characters--characters with whom you might be able to follow their story. The other characters should be labeled "minor" characters. They might be foils or supporting characters in a setting or location.
• For your major characters, give each one a story goal: this need or character OBJECTIVE should be what makes the character active or willing to cause things to happen. Most character objectives are behavioral. They reflect a desire to affect or change another character's status, life, or circumstance. We might classify character objectives as one of four types:
• to make other characters feel good
• to make other characters feel bad
• to find out something important from another character
• to persuade or convince another character of something important
• All scenes develop conflict based on a character's objective. The only exception to this is the monologue, which is primarily used to provide backstory, exposition, or character development.
• Keep your notes for future writing exercises.

Oleanna: pg. 1643. Let's continue reading the play. After reading, if we complete the play, we will discuss it. Those who are not reading out loud should be ready to discuss the topic they signed up for.

HOMEWORK: If we do not finish the play in class, please complete it as homework. Read The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter for next Thursday (there will likely be a quiz on the play). As you read, pay close attention to the character objectives of Gus and Ben. 

2-Person Monologue Scene Draft Due; 'Night Mother Discussion; Oleanna

Lab: (period 1)

Please complete the writing of your 2-person monologue play draft.

Refer to the handout for play script format if you need to. Formatting counts!

Some things to remember:

• Scripts should have a title page with the student's name (no need to include your address or an agent's address)
• Put your character list/description, setting and time on your title page (below the title and name of author, of course) - there is no need to include Acts or scene breakdowns for this draft
• You do not need to indicate act and scene #'s (you are not writing a full-length script...)
• Scripts are single spaced (do not double-space your script!)
• There is always a single skipped line between new speakers 
• Scripts are NEVER centered--instead use the TAB key to indent blocked stage directions (if needed) or character name tags
• Proofread and spellcheck your work. End sentences with end punctuation and capitalize proper nouns and the first word in a sentence.

This scene draft is due at the end of our lab time. Please print out and turn in.

Period 2:

We will finish our discussion of the play 'Night Mother. With time remaining in the class, we will begin reading the 2-person play by David Mamet: Oleanna.

David Mamet (you can learn more about this writer by clicking on the link and reading his short bio) is a popular playwright, screenwriter, novel writer, and director. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for Glengarry Glen Ross. His most recent plays include November (with Nathan Lane) in 2008, Race in 2009, and HBO's production of the series Phil Spector (2013) with Al Pacino & Helen Mirren.

Our next play will be Oleanna by David Mamet. William H. Macy starred in the original production (and the movie based on the play). Read a little about the play on the script. Sign up for various roles as we read today. In particular, we will be discussing Mamet's use and style of writing dialogue.

HOMEWORK: None. Bring Oleanna back with you to our next class.