The Focus on Process

Tomorrow morning we will host the culminating presentation for the Acting Workshop class as part of the Summer Theatre Camp at Playwrights Theatre of NJ. This event will mark the end of a two-week process in which six elementary school students created and developed two original short plays under my guidance. We've been meeting in the rehearsal/conference room at the PTNJ offices, which yesterday I transformed into a performance space. We don't often hold class and perform in the same space, but a last minute scheduling issue made it necessary. While skeptical at first, the students have enjoyed the quirkiness of the room, which I think has been an interesting challenge to which they needed to adapt. I also think this arrangement is appealing because it helps to downplay the traditional emphasis on performance and focus the students (and our audience of family and friends) on the work that has been done the previous nine sessions.

Our classroom spaced transformed for performance.

The spotlight on the development process (of scripts, of students, of imaginations...) is what is at the core of the educational work that we do at PTNJ. This is not to say that our programs don't value a product like a final presentation, but rather we see it as a part of the creative process that began on the first day of class. This idea is supported by the concept of a play as a tranche de vie ("slice of life") of the larger story of the character's lives. Part of our play development includes explorations of characters' lives before the script begins and after. Similarly, the performance itself is a slice of the actors' and audience members' lives: they come to the presentation with a certain understanding and expectation and leave with new thoughts and feelings based on what they have just experienced. It is fascinating to watch 7-10 year olds struggle with and understand this concept. I've also challenged them from the start to think of a play being a story that is communicated from one group of people to another; that all we need to do this is a story, some actors, and an audience. The rest is just extra fun. That's not something that is easy for a 7 year old to take, especially when their primary point of reference when developing a character is what props they need or the costume they will wear. We've struggled with that to the very end, but overall, I think they get it and that their work demonstrates this.

To further emphasize the development of the work, I've lined the walls of the room with the notes, ideas, lists, pictures, and other brainstorms that helped propel the students' original concepts into the works-in-progress that will be performed tomorrow. This modified lobby display is something that the other teaching artists and I have talked about for years, but only began to put into practice about two summers ago. The impact has been great as students and parents alike have noticed and commented on just how much work has been done and as a result, how much has truly been learned. And in the end, that revelation and reflection is what the whole thing is all about.

 

These papers outline the first ideas and drafts for each of the group's stories.

Read out, Louise!

Just spoke with the mother of one of our Elementary division finalists. The playwright has been working on her script this week and tonight the family will read aloud the current version at the dinner table. The playwright's mom said that hearing it read aloud during the writing residency was so helpful, they have been doing it to help her work on the rewrites!

I was so happy to hear this and wanted to share it with all of you. If you haven't done so yet, get a group together and read the play out loud.

And don't forget, finalists - revised scripts are due soon:

• High School revisions due Friday, March 6
• Elementary revisions due Wednesday, March 11

Don't worry, Junior HS playwrights. We're still working on your plays. There were SO many of them this year that your division is a little behind. We should be in contact with the Junior HS finalists by the end of March. Hang in there!

Accepting "works-in-progress" for 2015 NJYPF

You may have heard that the submission deadline for the 2015 NJ Young Playwrights Festival is one month earlier this year than it has been in the past. We realize that the new December 15 deadline may be too early for some playwrights who are writing their scripts in a school classroom, or residency program, so we're accepting partial script submissions for this year only.

Playwrights who may not finish in time for the December 15 deadline need to send us whatever draft they are currently working on and identify their play as a "work-in-progress" on the submission form. That indication, along with some additional information about the play, will help our readers better understand the play as you intend it.

If you have any questions about the work-in-progress submissions, please contact the PTNJ Education office at 973-514-1787, ext. 21 or via education@ptnj.org.

Happy writing!

Summer playwriting

Our summer playwrights are back at it during these final two weeks of August. I'm working with two young playwrights on their new one-act plays, which have quickly taken off from ideas to multiple pages in a few short days. Looking forward to getting full drafts by the start of next week and to involving some actors in the revision process.

Oh, and we're working on some exciting news about the 2014 NJ Young Playwrights Festival. Details coming soon!

Building... suspense!

“There is nothing more frightening than a closed door.”

Imagine that you are watching a play or a movie in which a character approaches a closed door, but has no idea what he or she is going to find behind it. Maybe this is Alice in Wonderland and Alice is facing the small door through which the White Rabbit just disappeared. She is curious to follow the rabbit, but uncertain what is going to happen on the other side. What should she do? What is going to happen on the other side? Alice doesn’t know and, if we as an audience are invested in the story, we share in that moment with her because it is familiar to us. We have all been in a position where we are faced with something that is unknown. In that moment we might think: What do I do? What will happen when I do that? We may feel any number of emotions at that point – anxiety, adventure, fear, excitement, or maybe all of those at once! Creating that tension for a character can create a sense of suspense within the audience. That draws them in and leaves them wanting to know more. This is called “suspense”.

At the heart of suspense is the idea put forth in the quote above: when a character is faced with something that is unknown, the audience’s imagination will create a scenario that makes the situation personally suspenseful to them. That is probably why the quote above is often attributed to Alfred Hitchcock, a filmmaker who created some of the iconic horror and suspense movies of the 1950s and 60s. (However, it is not clear that Hitchcock is actually the speaker of this phrase giving the phrase its own unknown quality!) Radio plays have also used this idea to trigger an audience’s imagination. This was important because the audience could only hear the story and had to “see” it in their minds. The audience for your play will be able to both hear and see the action, but using suspense and the idea of the unknown can be useful to keeping them (and in some ways, your characters) invested in the story.

This is related to the idea of “raising the stakes”, which was talked about in a previous post (linked here). When you raise the stakes for a character, you are challenging him or her in the quest to get what they need/want. As I discussed before that might including doing things that a character doesn’t think is possible, but it might also mean having to face something, or someone, whom they are not sure about. That leads me to another thought about silence…

… which I will share in the next post!

And now I have you thinking: What is he going to say about silence? You don’t know, or maybe you might now. Either way, your imagination is running and the thoughts are flying. The suspense is building, but you’ll just need to tune in again next time to find out…

Until then, happy writing!

Conflict and Raising the Stakes

Originally published on December 12, 2008

Conflict is what drives the story of your play forward. This is the tension created between the main character and the obstacles that stand in the way of the character achieving his or her goal(s). Conflict starts with what the character wants. This can be something as simple as a character wanting to earn enough money to get a present for his or her mother. But remember, a playwright wants to get the audience to care about the main character and really root for him or her and that can be done by “raising the stakes,” or to put it another way, challenging the character’s desire to get what he or she wants.

Let’s use the example of the character who wants to earn money for a present. We’ll call her Penny. Keeping in mind the outline from a few posts ago, we need to identify Penny’s WANT and EMERGENCY. We know that she wants to earn money to get a present for her mother; I will leave it to you to decide why she needs to begin that journey (the Emergency). The next step is to figure out what she will do to earn the money. To do that, consider what are some things that people do to get what they want. These are the ACTIONS. Some examples might be:

ASK
WORK
STEAL

You might be able to add more ideas to this list, or to change some of these suggestions to be more specific. “Ask” could become “borrow.”

Do you see how each action gets more serious? Not everyone will be comfortable to try each of these things, so the idea is not to choose one of these actions for the character, but to have them try each kind until they reach something that the character is not comfortable doing and needs to make a choice. For example, Penny might try asking a friend, or relative for the money, but is unable to earn enough to the present that she wants. So, she gets a job, but finds that she won’t earn the money quick enough. Then perhaps a friend mentions to Penny that she could steal the money, but Penny knows that stealing is wrong and is not comfortable doing that. Now she needs to make a decision. Does she steal the money so her mother has a present? Does she try something else? Does she get a different present? Not get a present at all?

Presenting your character with these different challenges raises their stakes in the story and creates greater tension. The result may be a play that draws the audience deeper into the story and gets them more invested in the outcome. And it is the outcome, or what the character decides to do and how they experience the consequence, which delivers your theme or message to the audience. But that’s for next week. For now, raise the stakes for your character – push them to the limit and see how they respond!

Happy writing!

Character Wants and Needs

Originally published on November 17, 2008

Now that you have become familiar with your character, it is time to put them into action. One way to do this is to focus on the character’s goals or, what it is that the character WANTS or NEEDS to achieve. To organize a story around this idea, I suggest trying the following organizer. Definitions of each term are provided, but we’ll take a look at an example a little further down the page.

CHARACTER – Character name goes here. You may also include any information from the Character Biography that you feel is important.

WANT/NEED – A better life.

EMERGENCY – What makes this day different from other days? Or… why does the character suddenly decide to go and get what they want/need?
OBSTACLES – People and things that stand in the character’s way.

ACTIONS – What the character does to get past the obstacles.

CONCLUSION – How the story ends.

Now, let’s take Cinderella as an example of a character.

The story of Cinderella has multiple versions, adaptations, and retellings, so when I have approached this in workshops everyone has a slightly different take on the story. (For three versions from the Russian, Chinese and Algonquin cultures, check out Cinderella: The World’s Favorite Fairytale by Lowell Swortzell.) To make things easier, we’ll go with a version that most people are likely familiar with - the Perrault/Disney version.

Cinderella wants, or it may be more appropriate to say that Cinderella NEEDS, a better life. She is trapped in a horrible home with a stepmother and stepsisters who demand that she do all of their work – cooking, cleaning, and making their clothes. It is an abusive situation and she needs to get out.

One day, a message arrives from the palace. The Prince is looking for a wife and plans a ball to which he is inviting all of the young women in the kingdom. Cinderella sees this as an opportunity to achieve her goal of a better life, but her Stepmother and Stepsisters prevent Cinderella from going. However, Cinderella gets help from her Fairy Godmother who magically transforms the animals and objects in the house into the coach, gown, and attendants who assist in getting Cinderella to the ball. However, this assistance comes with a catch. Cinderella must leave the ball by midnight. At that time, the magic will wear off and everything will turn back into what it once was.

So, Cinderella attends the ball, avoids being spotted by her Stepmother and Stepsisters, dances with the Prince, and leaves the palace just as the clock strikes midnight. However, she loses one of her glass slippers at the palace, which the Prince then uses to find her.

That’s enough information for us to go back to the organizer. Given that version of the story, I might fill things out in this way…

CHARACTER – Cinderella

WANT/NEED – A better life

EMERGENCY – The invitation to the ball asks for all young women to attend. Stepmother and the Stepsisters cannot overrule the Prince, so she has a chance to go to the ball, which just might offer her the opportunity to get a better life.

OBSTACLES – Stepmother, Stepsisters, Time.

ACTIONS – Completes the tasks her Stepfamily gives her, Accepts help from the Fairy Godmother, Dances with the Prince, Returns home as the magic wears off, but now is disappointed.
CONCLUSION – ??

We know how the classic versions of this story end, but I will leave the conclusion undecided to demonstrate that the story does not need to end one particular way. Depending upon the author/playwright’s theme, a story can end any number of ways, based on what the author wants the audience to learn. But we can get into theme another time.

Now back to your character. Try to place your character into this outline and see how the story might unfold. I encourage you to try some different versions by changing the character’s want, obstacles or action. How does that change the story? What do you think an audience might learn from each version of the story?

Another thing to consider is just as each character experiences obstacles along the way, they might also find help. Help can come in the form of people like Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, or things like Dorothy’s ruby slippers, or information like a Jedi Padawan’s training in the ways of the Force. See what works for the story you want to tell.

Happy writing!

Making characters into people

(portions of this post were originally published on November 11, 2008)

Characters should function in the world of your play as a real person, or being, inside that world. They have certain ways of moving, thinking, and interaction with other people or beings, just as we all do in “reality.” Giving a character a name is a simple way to begin fleshing them out.

A few years ago, I led a playwriting workshop for teachers at the NJEA Convention in Atlantic City. Each of the participants completed a Self-Questionnaire similar to the one in the previous blog post. After that, I asked everyone to take their own name and recreate themselves as a new character by changing at least their last name… some changed both. (I learned this activity during a workshop run by Young Playwrights, Inc., an organization that runs an excellent national contest for young playwrights. I would encourage you to submit your play there, too - http://www.youngplaywrights.org/.) If you are stuck for a character idea, or a character name at least, this is a simple way to get started. Some of the names the Atlantic City group came up with were:

Jean Mercedes
Nicole Moodie
Fran Active
Fresca Visions
Calliope Sky

These names give a sense of something specific about the character. It could be a characteristic, a favorite color, an environment, and on and on... Do you have an idea of what some of these characters might be like? How old are each of these characters? What do they do for fun? Do they work? What kind of work might they do? What does each character want in life?

Another way to get deeper into a character is to use a Character Biography Sheet. In his book The Playwrights Process, Buzz McLaughlin provides samples of mini-form and long-form biographies. At Playwrights Theatre, we use an adaptation of his Mini-form biography that asks a playwright to consider the character's dreams, secrets, fears, and conflicts. These are all great places that might spark an interesting story idea.

I’ve often found that when I can envision my character I have an easier time writing for him or her. Then I write a description, or even a short (very short) story, to place that person in a location and to get a sense of how they move, think, and interact with others. This doesn’t need to be something that becomes part of the play, but just something that I can use to get a clearer sense of who the story is about and how they function. Once that is set, its time to give them something to want and a problem to face. More about that in a few days.

Happy writing!

Let's get ready to rumble... er... write!

You may not be a wrestling fan, but the phrase is probably familiar to you: “Let’s get ready to rumbllllllllllllllllle!” Today we’re just a little under six months until the submission deadline for the 2013 New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival and its time to get writing. Specific dates and details about the 30th anniversary installment of the Festival will be posted in the coming months, but for now the best thing to do if you’re thinking about submitting a play is to get started!

There may be some of you who have an idea and are ready to dive right in, but there are others of you who may be struggling to get started. Maybe you have a lot of ideas and don’t know which to choose. Or maybe the opposite is true and you just can’t think of a thing. These are common blocks that affect every writer at some point in time. The important thing when you are struggling is to pick something and start writing. You don’t necessarily need to start with the play itself – just put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and let the ideas flow.

No matter where you are with an idea it may help to jot down a few ideas in a list, or an outline, or a synopsis. What are you interested in? What ideas come to mind when you think about a story? What kinds of plays do you like to see – OR – what kinds of stories do you like to read? Do you have an idea for a plot, or a character? (or both?) What do you want to say about the world, or to the world? What is important to you? Whatever you have in mind, wherever your brain takes you, get those ideas down on paper and see what happens. Before long you may find that you are developing an idea for a play that you feel passionate about – something that moves you deeply.

Over the next few months, I will share some ideas for writing your play from beginning to end. I hope that some of these suggestions will be helpful to you as you write, but please know that not everything that is mentioned here may work for you. There is more than one way to write a play and it is important that you figure out what works for you and what works for the story that you want to tell. With this in mind, I’ve asked a number of the playwrights, directors, actors, and other theatre folks who work with Playwrights Theatre of NJ and the NJ Young Playwrights Festival to share some of their thoughts about plays with you. I’m collecting their ideas now and will post them to the blog along with writing tips and ideas. I encourage you to share your ideas and your progress by commenting on the posts as we go. I can also be reached at njypf@ptnj.org if you have any comments that you don’t want to share publicly, or to answer any questions that you might have.

I look forward to getting started with you and to seeing the finished pieces in January.

Happy writing!

Presentation of Summer Playwriting Workshop scenes

Our three summer playwrights worked on two individual projects during this past two-week session. First, a short scene for which each playwright collaborated with two or three students from the Acting Workshop class. The second project, is a longer piece which each playwright is writing independently.

The summer playwriting class reading and critique each other's plays.



The short scenes were presented by the acting class during a final presentation this morning. Pictures from the presentation are to the left.

The longer scenes are currently in progress, but the playwrights have been encouraged to continue writing throughout the summer with the end goal of submitting the scripts to the 2013 New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival.



 On the last day of camp, the playwrights read the current draft of each classmate's script and answered basic questions provided by the author. While this is a bit earlier in the writing process than I might have liked, the playwrights enjoyed hearing other people read and respond to their work. In fact, hearing the acting class read their work was the most impactful part of the session for them. Over the next few weeks, I will read each draft and provide my own feedback, but I also hope the playwrights will continue to send drafts to me throughout the summer. Each has done remarkable work and I cannot wait to see how the plays turn out down the road!

Summer playwriting

Today begins our Summer Theatre Camp at Playwrights Theatre. For this first session, we have seven acting students and three playwriting students. The classes are working separately throughout the morning, but will come together toward the end of the session to collaborate on short scenes that will be presented as part of the acting class' final presentation. This is the first time that we are trying this arrangement with the camp classes and look forward to sharing some of that work here.

What are your plans this summmer?

Guest blogger - Summer Dawn Hortillosa, 2007 Winner of the NJ Young Playwrights Festival

Over the past year, we've been fortunate to reconnect with some of our former NJ Young Playwrights participants and have witnessed some of the excellent work that they are currently doing. In advance of our next Festival experience tomorrow, I thought it would be great for us to hear from one of our alumnae about her experiences and current projects.

Please welcome our guest blogger, Summer Dawn Hortillosa, whose play The Not-So-Lovely Tale of Strawberry Fructose was featured in the 2007 Festival, our first in co-production with Premiere Stages @ Kean University. Summer offers some excellent insight into the possibilities of creative life in the "real world" for a young artist and helpful suggestions for our current batch of playwrights.

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My name is Summer Dawn Hortillosa and I'm a 21-year-old playwright and journalist from Jersey City. In 2007, I won the New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest with my fractured fairy tale comedy, The Not-So-Lovely Tale of Strawberry Fructose. Recently, I directed a production of the latest play I've written, Secrets; Love, which was selected for the Downtown Urban Theater Festival (DUTF) in New York City.

Simply winning the contest doesn't necessarily launch you into the world of theater, but PTNJ offers valuable experience and inspiration for many young playwrights, including myself.



Secrets; Love lead actress and Assistant Director Liliane Wolf,
DUTF Artistic Director Reginald Gaines
and Summer Hortillosa at the opening night of DUTF.

There was something so magical about seeing my characters come to life, feeling the energy buzzing in the room because of my words and hearing the audience laugh at my jokes. I saw my idea completely realized - it grew in my brain, budded on the page and was born on the stage. Many young playwrights don't ever get this chance; it's something every festival selection's writer should savor.
After the festival, I decided I wanted to be involved in theater in any way I could and ended up being involved in six productions that year - writing, directing, producing, acting, whatever I could.

To succeed, I had to take things I learned from the festival - how the audience's eye follows movement, how actors are sensitive to criticism, and that a line is funniest when the characters don't realize how funny it is.

I try to take everything I learned from all these productions and put them into whatever my latest project is. For example, Secrets; Love was a passionate crime drama about a man whose wife and best friend are kidnapped and how his daughter and next-door neighbor get to the bottom of some mysterious events.  

Detective Williams (John Stevens), the Reporter (Katie Colaneri)

and forensic examiner Mira Woldmichael (Alexandra Poncelet Del Sole)

listen as the Prosecutor (Max Zawlocki) delivers his closing statement.

Doug Bauman: photo.




Marcus (Stan Guingon) and his wife Rizalia (Siouxsie Suarez) have an intense argument.

Doug Bauman: photo.

Without everything I learned in the festival and in the other productions I've worked on, I don't think I would've been quite as equipped to write a play worthy of getting into any festival, much less DUTF, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

While directing, I keep in mind things I learned from participating in PTNJ's read-through of my play and from watching it. For example - in 2007, I asked that an actor reading something differently instead of speaking to the director. They told me that actors are very sensitive and that notes should only be given by the director. Even then, the director must respect the actor and focus on what better fits the character and the scene, not what the actor is doing "wrong." Today, I try to word my notes carefully and make sure my actors know I'm not doubting their talents - I just want what's most suitable for the scene.

For those fortunate enough to win and participate in PTNJ's contest and festival, I recommend paying keen attention to the production process. You'll only get a glimpse of it (there's a lot more behind-the-scenes stuff many of the playwrights don't see) but whatever you can witness - soak it in and store it away.

For more information about Summer Dawn Hortillosa, visit her arts, writing and photo blog http://www.summerization.com or follow her on Twitter @SummerHort. For more on her play, visit http://www.secretsloveplay.com.

And remember that you can follow along with the Festival this week on this blog, but also on Twitter @PTNJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/njypf.