The Real New Play
On Sunday night I came to work excited because I had this dialogue running through my mind and I couldn't wait to write it and see what happened. I knew that it amounted to a bunch of friends sitting around an apartment in New York talking. No conflict, no plot, nothing, but a few characters and some dialog. I couldn't wait to start writing.
So I did. I'm on page 18. Around page 12 I figured out who of 4 characters had a problem and what it was. It happened before she arrived and explained why she was jumpy. What I still don't know is if there's actually a conflict to speak of. I don't know that I have the makings of a plot. I don't know much except that I really like these characters and I love writing their interactions.
So I've been thinking about a few things about writing in general. First is what is my job as a writer versus the job of the director or actor. What I'm starting to realize is that my job will never be finished. I create and develop characters, but the director and actor finishes that job. In each production, the characters I create will be different because each director and actor will see them different and bring different aspects of those characters to life. I can finish the story (which is the other part of my job), but I can only go so far with my characters. It's almost unfair because the bulk of my work is spending time with the characters.
The other thing I've been thinking about is can you tell a story without conflict? IS there really such a thing as a show about nothing? I personally am so fascinated with my characters right now that I don't care if one character ever thinks about her experience at work again tonight. But the question I keep asking myself is whether or not that's a story. The thing that Dave keeps telling me is that basically all playwriting is is telling a story. Is a story without conflict really a story? Or, is the story of one person's evening hanging out with friends and trying not to think about work a conflict in itself?
All night I've been trying to think through this. My plan has been to get to the part of my night where I can copy the script for the show I'm ASMing and then get online to learn the answers to some of these questions. But when it came time to look it up, all I wanted to do was work on the play. In the end, it may not matter that I follow correct dramatic structure, or that I spend too much time showing the rapport between these characters, or that there's no theme or throughline. All that matters is that I get what's in my mind on paper and then start the process of reading and revising until I have something that I like.
So I did. I'm on page 18. Around page 12 I figured out who of 4 characters had a problem and what it was. It happened before she arrived and explained why she was jumpy. What I still don't know is if there's actually a conflict to speak of. I don't know that I have the makings of a plot. I don't know much except that I really like these characters and I love writing their interactions.
So I've been thinking about a few things about writing in general. First is what is my job as a writer versus the job of the director or actor. What I'm starting to realize is that my job will never be finished. I create and develop characters, but the director and actor finishes that job. In each production, the characters I create will be different because each director and actor will see them different and bring different aspects of those characters to life. I can finish the story (which is the other part of my job), but I can only go so far with my characters. It's almost unfair because the bulk of my work is spending time with the characters.
The other thing I've been thinking about is can you tell a story without conflict? IS there really such a thing as a show about nothing? I personally am so fascinated with my characters right now that I don't care if one character ever thinks about her experience at work again tonight. But the question I keep asking myself is whether or not that's a story. The thing that Dave keeps telling me is that basically all playwriting is is telling a story. Is a story without conflict really a story? Or, is the story of one person's evening hanging out with friends and trying not to think about work a conflict in itself?
All night I've been trying to think through this. My plan has been to get to the part of my night where I can copy the script for the show I'm ASMing and then get online to learn the answers to some of these questions. But when it came time to look it up, all I wanted to do was work on the play. In the end, it may not matter that I follow correct dramatic structure, or that I spend too much time showing the rapport between these characters, or that there's no theme or throughline. All that matters is that I get what's in my mind on paper and then start the process of reading and revising until I have something that I like.