Rational Insanity
Playi-ing it right
This weekend Marz decided he would write a play. Being his first time to do so, he was quite hesitant at first but after some convincing from he, he finally got to it and finished his play through an all-nighter. Anyway, from this experience I realized how the barriers of technicality could actually prevent someone from writing in a form that seems too technical at first. Writers are not really used to obvious technicalities such as the ones that are required in a script, however, such should not be a barrier for any writer who decides to become a playwright. On one hand though, a literaturists is oceans apart from a serious playwright. Most literaturists write pieces that are meant to be read while serious playwrights are more concerned with how their written piece would look on stage. I remember one of our mentors, Dr. Leo Deriada, saying at one writing workshop that a play, for a literaturist, should first and foremost be good reading, even before it is conside! red for production. This means that the written play should be just as entertaining read as it would be on stage. This week I would like to share ten tips to literaturists who would like to wade into the domains of stage. I may be no MFA, but I am sure that these tips would give literaturists the needed boost when writing plays.
1. PAY ATTENTION TO DIALOGUE If in poetry there are memorable lines or stanzas, and in fiction, there are memorable scenes, the same goes for plays. However, instead of peppering in beautiful words a line, a stanza, or a paragraph at a time, the decoration should be well-incorporated into the spoken lines (dialogue) of the characters.
2. DON'T BE TOO AMBITIOUS Start out with a short skit, then move on to a one act play, before you try your hand at full length plays. Some writers I know consider writing a collection of monologues to start them off because this is closer to plain fiction than an actual play is.
3. MIND YOUR TONGUE Like in other fields of literature, it is always best to write in your own language. In a play, the dialogue should be as believable as possible. If your are a Hiligaynon speaker and you write your play in English, unless you are a master of the language, you play will sound faked and artificial. You would be more at home in your own language; authenticity in dialogue can be achieved better this way.
4. WORK WITH LESS Literaturists are well aware of the challenges posed by characterization in Fiction. The same challenge becomes even more difficult in plays. While in fiction one can easily take various points of view to flesh out a character, in plays, the character needs to present him/herself on her own. Again, characterization here is dictated by the characters dialogue and hence, working with lesser characters in your first play would be much easier. Three characters would be fine for starters.
5. TAKE UP A LIGHTER LOAD Most of the time we think that comedy is the easier genre. Think again, it is easier to make an audience cry and to touch their souls and hearts than to make them laugh. Many things should be considered when writing a comedy play. Perhaps putting in a character for comic relief at first would be nice, but not to the extent of writing a full comedy. The human condition is actually very funny in itself, but try putting that on paper, and you will find that it's not that easy after all.
6. TELL YOUR STORY Don't be too conscious with directorial and production notes, initially, just write your story through your characters' dialogue. You can put in annotations later on as to the stage direction, lighting, etc., the more important thing to do first is to have a full story done. Your play will sell because of the story it would tell, and so it is more important that such is given more attention.
7. SNAP TO WIT Witty and snappy lines can be very helpful in catching the audience' attention. Remember, the mind is more receptive to shorter and more compact ejaculations.
8. DON'T OVERDO ANYTHING As is true with other forms of literature, overdoing will reveal the hand of the writer. Let your characters go and tell the story on their own, do not rush the story as well, otherwise you will end up with dragging and KSP kind of dialogue, if not didactic and moralizing. Be subtle and controlled. Leave the acting up to the actors, it's not your job anymore.
9. TAKE YOUR TIME Nobody writes a masterpiece in one sitting (except perhaps Marz). Don't squeeze out your mind just because you are overly enthusiastic to write your play; your mind works best when it is in a fully relaxed state. Well, of course, the time of day to write varies from one writer to another.
10. BE ONE OF THEM For beginning writers, it is always best to incorporate oneself into a piece. Write yourself into the play, be one of the characters; in this way, the interaction between characters would be much easier. Taking this a step higher, use also people you know as models for your other characters, at least you know how these people would react in real life.
There you go! I hope you would all turn up wonderful plays with these hints from first hand experience!
Be rational; be insane…every once in a while! TTFN!
I love you all! Byers!