Playwriting Challenge #1—Amongst playwrights, the “dialogue,” or the talking which occurs between characters in a play, is known to be very different from the way “real” people talk. As an experiment in this, have two members of your group sit down and have a short 5 minute conversation about something—such as favorite music groups,—and tape record this conversation. Then, take the tape and “transcribe” it, or write down everything that was said during the conversation, word for word. Write down what was said in typical “play” manuscript form, Then, have two other members of your group memorize these “lines” and then perform them as if it were a play. How does this “play” sound? Interesting? Boring? Now, read a short scene aloud by Neil Simon. Do the actors sound boring here? Why not? Demonstrate this to the class and then discuss how playwrights change “dialogue” so it sounds more interesting for the stage. Playwriting Challenge #2—Playwrights can choose to write about a subject in many ways. For example, they can write about a subject such as “love” either by making up a story and essentially telling it with actors, or by simply writing down words and actions in a more “abstract” manner and having the actors portray the emotions of the subject, rather than tell a “linear” or “straight line” story. Divide your group in half. Have one half of the group write a short 3 or 4 minute scene about “falling in love” as a kind of linear or “story telling” play. Have the other half of your group write a “non-linear” or more “abstract” piece about falling in love which does not tell a “story.” Get the idea of falling in love across to the audience through words, actions, sounds and other things, but do not have a concrete “story.” Perform these scenes for the class and talk about the difference between linear story telling on stage and abstract plays for the stage. ‘Which do you like better? Which “works” better for the audience? Playwriting Challenge #3 Once upon a time, playwrights had the luxury of being able to write very long plays. They didn’t really care how “long they ran” when performed on stage and sometimes these plays could go on for days! In modern times, however, audiences generally will “not sit still” for a play longer than 2 hours so playwrights must be careful to keep their works to the point. On average, one page of words of a script equals about one minute of acting on the stage. Knowing this, write a scene, with dialogue which members of your group can act out and “time your writing” so that the scene is exactly 4 minutes long. As you rehearse your scene, you will need to either add more to the play or cut the play so that it ends up being exactly 4 minutes long. Perform this scene for the class and talk about your process for creating it with time as a factor. ¢re Inventions WorkshopActors and Actresses a Challenge #7: What are the Tony Awards? What is their history? Who are they named for? When were they started and why? Who are some of the recent winners? What categories are judged? ‘Where are they held? Compile your findings into a four page written report. Be prepared to present highlights to the class. Actors and Actresses Challenge # 8: Celebrity impersonation is a big business! Have each member of your group choose a celebrity to impersonate. Dress the part and perform in a short “press conference” with these celebrities. Let the class guess who you are! One member of your group may be the interviewer (although, you could be a celebrity interviewer!) Actors and Actresses ‘Challenge #9: Choose one of the following performers and research their life, career, training, influences, and major accomplishments. Be prepared to present ‘Your findings to the class in an oral report of minimum five minutes and maximum ten minutes. All group members must be actively involved in the presentation. Helen Hayes Henry Fonda Charlotte Cushman Eva LeGalliene Orson Welles Geraldine Page James Earl Jones Sarah Bernhardt Edmund Keene ‘Dame Maggie Smith John Malkovich Diana Rigg Theatre Inventions WorkshopPlaywriting Challenge #7 Playwriting has changed a great deal over the years particularly in terms of the length of plays. How long did the typical performance of a Greek comedy last? How long did the typical performance of a work by Shakespeare take to perform? How long did a play by George Bernard Shaw take? How Iong is a typical play by William Inge? How long is a typical play by Beth Henley, amore modern writer? What trend do you see in terms of length of plays and where do you think this trend is heading? What influence has television had om this trend? Do you think this is good for theatre or not? Write a formal, typed 5 page report on this topic and be prepared to discuss it in front of the class. Playwriting Challenge #8 Many older plays have been “adapted” to suit more modern times and customs or lanquages. Using the kind of language common among American teenagers today, “adapt” the old story of Cinderella and write a new script for this play. Try to give your adaptation a “new twist.” Have members of your group take part in the performance of this ‘adaptation for the class. LINES MUST BE MEMORIZED! You can make as “much” of the production as you want, including costumes, lights, sound, props, and so forth. Have members of your classroom audience “critique” this adaptation in terms of its success. Did it tell the story well? ‘Was the adaptation “true” to the original story or was it “fresh” and new? Playwriting Challenge #9 All playwrights find materials for their plays in their own lives, Perhaps one of the most influential American playwrights and most autobiographical playwrights was Tennessee Williams. Prepare a biography about his life and then read several of his plays. Were there things in TW’s plays which resembled things in his own life? In what plays can you find these “biographical elements?” How do you think TW’s life affected his playwriting? Prepare a formal presentation on TW’s life and have members of your group read excerpts from his plays which demonstrate where his life may have become the subject of his plays. Note: as many of the plays of Tennessee Williams have some “adult themes” and language, talk with your teacher about which excerpts from the plays you will read out loud to the class! ‘Theatre Inventions WorkshopPlaywriting Challenge #4 Long ago the Grecks determined that all plays had to have certain distinct parts—an Introduction which sets up the action and the characters, a Plot that progresses or moves the story along, a Conflict which gives the play a meaning or an “objective,” a Climax which brings all the action to a high point, and then a Conclusion, which winds the play down to the finish. Using the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams as your study model, read the play and then determine where each of these play elements occurs. How many pages or lines of script does Tennessee “need” to introduce the characters and the situation? ‘How does the Plot progress? What happens? What is the conflict? When and how does the climax occur, and how many pages into the script does it occur? What is the conclusion of the play? Write a formal, typed, report on your study and then present your findings to the class, What parts of the play are the most “boring” or slow? Is there a reason for this? Which parts are most exciting or “fast moving?” Is there a reason for this? Playwriting Challenge #5 The last line of a play by George Spelvin is: “ But Marian, you didn’t tell me the duck’s name was Steve!” ‘Your_group is George Spelvin. Write a 5 minute scene, using all your group members as actors in the scene, which eventually ends with this “famous” last line! Your scene must “make sense!” and it must appropriately “finish” the play, in that it must conclude or properly “resolve” the story or conflict! Act the scene out for the class and then talk about writing the play so that you serve this “objective.” Have the class vote on whether or not you wrote a play which “satisfied” this Playwriting Challange # 6 Have all the members of your group talk about their favorite holiday and take notes about these memories. Then, based solely on these memory speeches (called “soliloquies”) , write a 10 minute “memory play” about these holidays, in which each of your group members acts the part of another group member speaking “in soliloquy.” Make all the different stories “make sense” to the audience by finding a common theme and then writes an introduction and conclusion to the piece which pulls all the themes together. Have one group member give this introduction and conclusion as if they are the “narrator” of the play. For examples of this kind of playwriting refer to the play “Spoon River Anthology.” Theatre Inventions Workshop