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Emails to a Young Playwright The demands which the difficult work of love makes upon our development are more than life-size, and as beginners we are not up to them. That's what Rilke wrote in Letters to a Young Poet. That does not mean, however, that we should not attempt the difficult work of love, life, and writing just because we feel like (or truly are) beginners. Since students, friends, and even strangers I meet at my plays are always asking for writing advice, I've decided to post their questions and my responses on this blog. They do not appear in any particular order, and none of the advice is intended to serve as a "tried and true" method. They are simply an admission to some of the lessons I have learned the hard way (i.e., in front of an audience!). Hopefully, these posts will be of some use to you. If you are interested in sending me a question, please do so and I will gladly write back with as much help as I can offer. Date: 2008-02-07 20:12:12 I just got told my play is "too TVish." What's that supposed to mean? This kind of feedback means two thing. First, the respondant watches too much TV and does not see/read enough plays. I guarantee that if you write a TV pilot and give it to this person, they'll say "it's too play-like." It's just one of those things people say when they don't know how to offer real, insightful criticism. Second, it could mean you watch to much TV and don't see/read enough plays. Do your characters speak the exposition and motivation rather than act it? Are your entrances and exits too predictable, convenient, or unmotivated? Do you have too many scene changes that feel like commerical breaks? Are you simply 'going for the joke' at the expense of character consistency? Are you spoon-feeding the audience or making them work for it? Does your script call for several non-speaking actors (i.e., extras)? Are you creating caricatures or characters? If so, turn off your TV and get back to writing. If not, turn off your TV anyway and get back to writing. Date: 2008-02-02 18:21:41 I have a short play in a festival and it just went down--BADLY. I mean it didn't bomb, but all my early worries were justified. The play just didn't hit the marks, you know? Characters weren't clicking. The actors sucked, or at least two of them sucked, one guy is brilliant though. It’s pretty embarrassing. Oh and they wrangled me into helping out with tech-so I've got to sit through my disaster for a whole month. I might jump from the tech booth and commit hari kari and bleed all over my actors to distract the audience. Ooof. I’m really sorry. But put down your tanto. It always feels worse than it is, but it can feel pretty humiliating. Do not, however, feel helpless. I do think you have every right to sit down with the director and have a serious discussion about how and why it is not working. You may even need to pull the brilliant actor aside and see how he can help. If the director refuses to listen and adapt, you may leverage your tech time. Be very blunt. "Why should I continue to tech for you if you won't direct for me?" The worse thing that will happen is a) they'll hate you, b) you'll never produce a play there again, c) they'll drop your play from the evening. Could you live with any or all of those? Either way, you're learning a lot from this whole experience, and that's honestly the most important thing. Next time you are given a production opportunity, you should be very clear about your expectations, involvement, decision-making power, etc. This kind of up-front, lay it all on the table attitude may cost you a production or two, but if your gut tells you not to relinquish all of your control, then I’d go with your gut. Zero productions are better than bad productions (especially if they get reviewed). And though it doesn’t seem like it, keep in mind that this too shall pass. It’s cliché, but like most clichés, it’s damn true. Date: 2007-10-18 16:58:14 I've been thinking of organizing a reading of my work someplace besides where I live in order to promote my work in other cities. Do you have any tips, advice, references, etc. on how I might go about casting a reading of my work with actors from either LA or NYC? Is there anything out there that you know of that would narrow my search for good, dependable actors? My biggest fear in organizing one of these things is that I cast it, invite folks to it, fly out to the reading, and one of my actors doesn't show up. There’s a great art scene where I live, with tons of galleries and many musical venues, but very few theatres willing to even talk to a playwright about producing new work. I'm going to try and NOT be discouraging, but to also be honest. Here comes the ENCOURAGING part: Put an ad in the local trades, Craig's list, etc. advertising auditions and info about the reading. Perhaps the easiest thing to do is contract a local director and let him/her do all the work. They will most likely know actors who can play the parts. If you are really interested in the LA scene, check out www.laplaywrights.org and for NYC see www.truonline.org. Now here comes the I’m-trying-not-to-be-discouraging part: You might spend your time trying to get an actual production in your town (however small or difficult) rather than a patch-work reading in LA or NYC. While you might feel an LA or NYC audience (if you can get one) or producers (if you can get them) or directors (if you can get them ) would do more for your career, it is possible that some reviews and production credits in your own city would go further. My point being, don't buy into the hype that LA and NY are the only places for dramatic writers. It’s just not true. Often we are looking elsewhere for new writers, productions, etc. Also, the money spent flying actors out to either coast could be better spent on producing your own work. In other words, a great production at home is far better than a mediocre reading in LA or NYC, and I mean that sincerely. You say there is a great art scene, so what about a low-budget production (even if only for one weekend) in an art gallery? Surely there are also actors who will work for free or low pay just for exposure. And if the gallery owner likes your play enough, perhaps you could get a deal since it would bring people to the gallery. Invite loads of people with a suggested donation ($5) and promise loads of wine after the play. Or even write a series of one acts that take place in an art gallery. You could then send it not only to theatres but other galleries or acting companies. Tough times call for getting creative. Take advantage of what you've got available even if it doesn't immediately seem like an obvious choice. You don’t need a theater to make theatre. |
