Reading Playwriting Master Class by Michael Wright... interesting to study the processes of other playwrights... although at the same time, valueless. Every writer has their own unique process... though Wright's premise of dividing writers up into three categories of process (dreams... journeys... cut from whole cloth) does bear some scrutiny if for no other reason than a chance for each writer to query the specifics of their own process. Possibly there is a fourth, perhaps even a fifth and sixth.
Research proceeding apace on Bridge/Berkeley's monologue... found a huge trove of research on Berkeley's life, including some accidental parallels between certain relationships with women in his life and relationships of my protagonist and women in his life. I couldn't have known this beforehand, yet somehow it seems to gel so perfectly.
And of course the job is knocking me flat so I'm grateful to even write this blog, nevermind a script. The day I leave the job, aye, indeed thah will be a blessed one.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Monday, July 28, 2003
Wow... four months since my last post... guess i suck at this blog thing. sorry everyone...
good news is that Praxis Theatre Project - a terrific NYC company that had a hit this Spring with How His Bride Came to Abraham - has designated me their Genesis playwright in residence for 2003-2004... they've got a real cool process for developing plays that's sort of up the alley of any active hands-on type of playwright.
Their process in a nutshell... their Artistic Director, Matt Bray, meets with the playwright over the course of the summer to coalesce some thematic material. it's a suggestion-built-on-suggestion process that's very interactive and leaves a lot of the gathering to the playwright... and Matt's a fascinating and charismatic personality and a great talker on his own.
You enter the Fall development period with a two things decided (1) the skeletal themes of the play to be (2) a basic rundown of the actors who will participate.
That's it. The rest is up to the process.
Actors meet weekly with the playwright as moderator to read script in the works, discuss themes and ideas, argue, whatever works. The playwright is unleashed with the actors, without a further need for artistic moderation on the part of the company... the degree of trust implied by the process is very impressive.
And since I have this blog thing... perhaps I will record a portion of the experience and insights that come with the process here for all of you... perhaps it will even capture some of it for you.
good news is that Praxis Theatre Project - a terrific NYC company that had a hit this Spring with How His Bride Came to Abraham - has designated me their Genesis playwright in residence for 2003-2004... they've got a real cool process for developing plays that's sort of up the alley of any active hands-on type of playwright.
Their process in a nutshell... their Artistic Director, Matt Bray, meets with the playwright over the course of the summer to coalesce some thematic material. it's a suggestion-built-on-suggestion process that's very interactive and leaves a lot of the gathering to the playwright... and Matt's a fascinating and charismatic personality and a great talker on his own.
You enter the Fall development period with a two things decided (1) the skeletal themes of the play to be (2) a basic rundown of the actors who will participate.
That's it. The rest is up to the process.
Actors meet weekly with the playwright as moderator to read script in the works, discuss themes and ideas, argue, whatever works. The playwright is unleashed with the actors, without a further need for artistic moderation on the part of the company... the degree of trust implied by the process is very impressive.
And since I have this blog thing... perhaps I will record a portion of the experience and insights that come with the process here for all of you... perhaps it will even capture some of it for you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)