Friday, April 30, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
CORNER CONE Soft Serve Playhouse's 10-Minute Plays Festival
10-Minute Plays Festival
Announcing CORNER CONE Soft Serve Playhouse's 10-Minute Plays Festival
Compact Theater for the Easily Distracted.
Submit plays now for 10-Minute Plays Festival
Submissions: Submit script, synopsis, or video of your ten minute play proposal by June 1, 2010 for priority deadline. All accepted plays will be performed Saturday, August 14 at the Corner Cone in Yellow Springs, Ohio at the ten-minute play festival. Submissions will be reviewed and accepted by a selection committee.
$100 best under 18
$100 best drama
$100 best comedy
$100 Crowd Favorite
Playwrights of accepted plays will organize or arrange the production of their plays for the festival. Plays should require zero to a minimum of set, props, and costuming.
Submit scripts/synopsis/video as attachments to karani1100 (at) yahoo (dot) com.
Subject of email should read: "10 Minute Play Entry". Body of email include: name, title, age group, category and description of play, phone number and email address, and list of props/set/costume requirements. If you need to submit your play in a different manner from email, call 937-241-5938 to make arrangements.
Announcing CORNER CONE Soft Serve Playhouse's 10-Minute Plays Festival
Compact Theater for the Easily Distracted.
Submit plays now for 10-Minute Plays Festival
Submissions: Submit script, synopsis, or video of your ten minute play proposal by June 1, 2010 for priority deadline. All accepted plays will be performed Saturday, August 14 at the Corner Cone in Yellow Springs, Ohio at the ten-minute play festival. Submissions will be reviewed and accepted by a selection committee.
$100 best under 18
$100 best drama
$100 best comedy
$100 Crowd Favorite
Playwrights of accepted plays will organize or arrange the production of their plays for the festival. Plays should require zero to a minimum of set, props, and costuming.
Submit scripts/synopsis/video as attachments to karani1100 (at) yahoo (dot) com.
Subject of email should read: "10 Minute Play Entry". Body of email include: name, title, age group, category and description of play, phone number and email address, and list of props/set/costume requirements. If you need to submit your play in a different manner from email, call 937-241-5938 to make arrangements.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
April 24 Meeting:Thank you!
What a fantastic meeting! Thanks to the writers Rick Hole and Dan O'Reilly for the outstanding work at Saturday's meeting. Also, thanks to the legion of actors who came to read: Carla Gibbs, Judy Fortman, JoLayne Campbell, Patty Winbush, Aaron Martin, Truman Winbush, Rich Stadler, Tom Fortman, Guy Jones, Scott Tobin, John Calig, Leslie Robinson, Diana Dailey, Megan Burkeholder, and the best for last Tom Shafer ;-) We are truly fortunate to have so many great actors in Columbus who give their time to help develop new work. Stay tuned for next month's meeting.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Call for Entries: The Deck Plays Project
The Deck Plays
Ten minute plays set on, near, or about the deck at 198 Walhalla Rd., Columbus, Ohio
Guidelines:
All plays must utilize the setting in some way; images of the deck and its setting are available at www.walhalladeckplays.blogspot.com
Plays must include the phrase, “Walhalla ravine” and refer in some way to the flatness of the geography of Central Ohio that is relieved only by the series of glacial ravines, of which the Walhalla Ravine is one.
Plays may be submitted via email (in Word, pdf, or rtf format only, please) or in hard copy. If submitting hard copy, please send two copies of the play to
Walhalla Deck Plays Project
198 Walhalla Rd.
Columbus, OH 43202
Deadline for submission: July 15, 2010 (postmark)
To submit via email, send to:
Walhalladeckplays (at) gmail (dot) com
Hard copies of scripts will not be returned unless sufficient postage is included with the submission. There is no fee for submission.
By submitting scripts, the author agrees to permit two performances of the play by the Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, during the fall of 2010, without any royalty payments, and to permit the duplication of the script in only enough copies for performers.
All performance and publication rights remain the property of the copyright holder, not controlled by the Walhalla Deck Plays project, the Department of Theatre.
For further information, see www.walhalladeckplays.blogspot.com or contact the project coordinator, Dr. Alan Woods, at woods (dot) 1 (at) osu (dot) edu
Ten minute plays set on, near, or about the deck at 198 Walhalla Rd., Columbus, Ohio
Guidelines:
All plays must utilize the setting in some way; images of the deck and its setting are available at www.walhalladeckplays.blogspot.com
Plays must include the phrase, “Walhalla ravine” and refer in some way to the flatness of the geography of Central Ohio that is relieved only by the series of glacial ravines, of which the Walhalla Ravine is one.
Plays may be submitted via email (in Word, pdf, or rtf format only, please) or in hard copy. If submitting hard copy, please send two copies of the play to
Walhalla Deck Plays Project
198 Walhalla Rd.
Columbus, OH 43202
Deadline for submission: July 15, 2010 (postmark)
To submit via email, send to:
Walhalladeckplays (at) gmail (dot) com
Hard copies of scripts will not be returned unless sufficient postage is included with the submission. There is no fee for submission.
By submitting scripts, the author agrees to permit two performances of the play by the Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, during the fall of 2010, without any royalty payments, and to permit the duplication of the script in only enough copies for performers.
All performance and publication rights remain the property of the copyright holder, not controlled by the Walhalla Deck Plays project, the Department of Theatre.
For further information, see www.walhalladeckplays.blogspot.com or contact the project coordinator, Dr. Alan Woods, at woods (dot) 1 (at) osu (dot) edu
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Actor shout: Saturday April 24th Meeting
Dan O'Reilly has 6 excerpts being read for this Saturday, April 24. He has opened the parts for actors who are interested in coming to read. Here they are:
6 pieces:
1. Blithe Heroine Quartet (End's Rope 2nd excerpt) 4 minutes, 3 readers
2. Blithe Heroine Quartet (new wife, fake guru excerpt) 6 minutes, 6 readers
3. Blithe Heroine Quartet (ring finger feminist excerpts) 3 minutes, 2 readers
4. Blithe Heroine Quartet (ring finger feminist, 3rd excerpt) 5 minutes, 2 readers
5. Satan Beleaguered (blithe style experiment excerpt) 5 minutes, 4 readers
6. Idiot-Savant & Alice in the Martian Rendition (blithe style) 8 minutes, 5 readers.
Here is a breakdown of the 22 roles: 8 Women, 13 Men, 1 Narrator:
1. Woman, Man, Man
2. Woman, Young Woman, Man, Man, Man, Narrator
3. Woman, Man
4. Woman, Man
5. Woman, Man, Man, Man
6. Woman, Woman, Man, Man, Man
If you are interested in reading, let us know.
6 pieces:
1. Blithe Heroine Quartet (End's Rope 2nd excerpt) 4 minutes, 3 readers
2. Blithe Heroine Quartet (new wife, fake guru excerpt) 6 minutes, 6 readers
3. Blithe Heroine Quartet (ring finger feminist excerpts) 3 minutes, 2 readers
4. Blithe Heroine Quartet (ring finger feminist, 3rd excerpt) 5 minutes, 2 readers
5. Satan Beleaguered (blithe style experiment excerpt) 5 minutes, 4 readers
6. Idiot-Savant & Alice in the Martian Rendition (blithe style) 8 minutes, 5 readers.
Here is a breakdown of the 22 roles: 8 Women, 13 Men, 1 Narrator:
1. Woman, Man, Man
2. Woman, Young Woman, Man, Man, Man, Narrator
3. Woman, Man
4. Woman, Man
5. Woman, Man, Man, Man
6. Woman, Woman, Man, Man, Man
If you are interested in reading, let us know.
Monday, April 5, 2010
David Mamet's Master Class Memo to the Writers of iThe Unit/i
David Mamet's Master Class Memo to the Writers of iThe Unit/i
Reposted from Movieline.com. Written by: Seth Abramovich
Photo by: Colonel's Crypt
CBS’s drama The Unit, about the lives of the highly trained members of a top-secret military division, was canceled last year, but a memo to its writing staff from its executive producer David Mamet has just surfaced online. (The source appears to be the online writing collective Ink Canada.) If you think you know where this is heading, you might be wrong:
Besides the fact that it’s written in all-caps, there’s nothing particularly ranty, pejorative or potty-mouthed about it. Rather, Mamet lays down an extremely sensible case for what makes good television, imploring them to avoid expository writing for what he characterizes as authentic “drama.” Along the way, he refers repeatedly to the “blue-suited penguins” (probably the copious-note-givers at the network), while passing along some very useful advice (“any time two characters are talking about a third, the scene is a crock of shit”) and helpful writing exercises (“pretend the characters can’t speak and write a silent movie”). Screenwriters, take note: You may think you knew this already, but there’s nothing like Mamet for a good kick-in-the-ass reminder.
“TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT
GREETINGS.
AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.
THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DRAMA AND NON-DRAMA. LET ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.
EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR. WE ARE TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION INTO A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.
OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION — AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.
BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU WOULDN’T, I WOULDN’T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE GOAL.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.
IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE DRAMATICALLY ACTED.
THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS, REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER. YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC.
THIS MEANS ALL THE “LITTLE” EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT ON THE FIRST DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE.
SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST. IT IS YOUR JOB.
EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW UP IN THE SCENE.
THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO FAILURE - THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.
ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.
ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE (THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.
YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF WRITING IN ALL THAT “INFORMATION?”
AND I RESPOND “FIGURE IT OUT” ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND IS) TAUGHT TO SAY “MAKE IT CLEARER”, AND “I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM”.
WHEN YOU’VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS HAPPY, BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB.
THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, “BUT, JIM, IF WE DON’T ASSASSINATE THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN FLAME”
WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO REALIZE THAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THIS INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
YES BUT, YES BUT YES BUT YOU REITERATE.
AND I RESPOND FIGURE IT OUT.
HOW DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND VOUCHSAFING INFORMATION? THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE DRAMATIST. AND THE ABILITY TO DO THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LESSER SPECIES IN THEIR BLUE SUITS.
FIGURE IT OUT.
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING “BOB AND SUE DISCUSS…” IS NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE DRAMA FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.
THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN TRUTH, YOU ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.
HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS. ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER “AS YOU KNOW”, THAT IS, TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
DO NOT WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE IN BEL AIR AND HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.
REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. MOST TELEVISION WRITING, OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE RADIO. THE CAMERA CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR YOU. LET IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS DOING -*LITERALLY*. WHAT ARE THEY HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION, WHAT ARE THEY SEEING.
IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.
IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED, OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)
THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELVES TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO START.
I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF “IS IT DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.
IF THE ANSWER IS “NO” WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT. IF YOU’VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.
LOVE, DAVE MAMET
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05
(IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO ASK THE RIGHT Questions OVER AND OVER. UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)”
Reposted from Movieline.com. Written by: Seth Abramovich
Photo by: Colonel's Crypt
CBS’s drama The Unit, about the lives of the highly trained members of a top-secret military division, was canceled last year, but a memo to its writing staff from its executive producer David Mamet has just surfaced online. (The source appears to be the online writing collective Ink Canada.) If you think you know where this is heading, you might be wrong:
Besides the fact that it’s written in all-caps, there’s nothing particularly ranty, pejorative or potty-mouthed about it. Rather, Mamet lays down an extremely sensible case for what makes good television, imploring them to avoid expository writing for what he characterizes as authentic “drama.” Along the way, he refers repeatedly to the “blue-suited penguins” (probably the copious-note-givers at the network), while passing along some very useful advice (“any time two characters are talking about a third, the scene is a crock of shit”) and helpful writing exercises (“pretend the characters can’t speak and write a silent movie”). Screenwriters, take note: You may think you knew this already, but there’s nothing like Mamet for a good kick-in-the-ass reminder.
“TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT
GREETINGS.
AS WE LEARN HOW TO WRITE THIS SHOW, A RECURRING PROBLEM BECOMES CLEAR.
THE PROBLEM IS THIS: TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DRAMA AND NON-DRAMA. LET ME BREAK-IT-DOWN-NOW.
EVERYONE IN CREATION IS SCREAMING AT US TO MAKE THE SHOW CLEAR. WE ARE TASKED WITH, IT SEEMS, CRAMMING A SHITLOAD OF INFORMATION INTO A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.
OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION — AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US.
BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU WOULDN’T, I WOULDN’T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA.
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE GOAL.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.
IF THE SCENE IS NOT DRAMATICALLY WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE DRAMATICALLY ACTED.
THERE IS NO MAGIC FAIRY DUST WHICH WILL MAKE A BORING, USELESS, REDUNDANT, OR MERELY INFORMATIVE SCENE AFTER IT LEAVES YOUR TYPEWRITER. YOU THE WRITERS, ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE EVERY SCENE IS DRAMATIC.
THIS MEANS ALL THE “LITTLE” EXPOSITIONAL SCENES OF TWO PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD. THIS BUSHWAH (AND WE ALL TEND TO WRITE IT ON THE FIRST DRAFT) IS LESS THAN USELESS, SHOULD IT FINALLY, GOD FORBID, GET FILMED.
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE.
SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST. IT IS YOUR JOB.
EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW UP IN THE SCENE.
THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO FAILURE - THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.
ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.
ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE (THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.
YES BUT YES BUT YES BUT, YOU SAY: WHAT ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF WRITING IN ALL THAT “INFORMATION?”
AND I RESPOND “FIGURE IT OUT” ANY DICKHEAD WITH A BLUESUIT CAN BE (AND IS) TAUGHT TO SAY “MAKE IT CLEARER”, AND “I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM”.
WHEN YOU’VE MADE IT SO CLEAR THAT EVEN THIS BLUESUITED PENGUIN IS HAPPY, BOTH YOU AND HE OR SHE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB.
THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
ANY DICKHEAD, AS ABOVE, CAN WRITE, “BUT, JIM, IF WE DON’T ASSASSINATE THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE NEXT SCENE, ALL EUROPE WILL BE ENGULFED IN FLAME”
WE ARE NOT GETTING PAID TO REALIZE THAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS THIS INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT SCENE, BUT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WRITE THE SCENE BEFORE US SUCH THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
YES BUT, YES BUT YES BUT YOU REITERATE.
AND I RESPOND FIGURE IT OUT.
HOW DOES ONE STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN WITHHOLDING AND VOUCHSAFING INFORMATION? THAT IS THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE DRAMATIST. AND THE ABILITY TO DO THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LESSER SPECIES IN THEIR BLUE SUITS.
FIGURE IT OUT.
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.
LOOK AT YOUR LOG LINES. ANY LOGLINE READING “BOB AND SUE DISCUSS…” IS NOT DESCRIBING A DRAMATIC SCENE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR OUTLINES ARE, GENERALLY, SPECTACULAR. THE DRAMA FLOWS OUT BETWEEN THE OUTLINE AND THE FIRST DRAFT.
THINK LIKE A FILMMAKER RATHER THAN A FUNCTIONARY, BECAUSE, IN TRUTH, YOU ARE MAKING THE FILM. WHAT YOU WRITE, THEY WILL SHOOT.
HERE ARE THE DANGER SIGNALS. ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER “AS YOU KNOW”, THAT IS, TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.
DO NOT WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE IN BEL AIR AND HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.
REMEMBER YOU ARE WRITING FOR A VISUAL MEDIUM. MOST TELEVISION WRITING, OURS INCLUDED, SOUNDS LIKE RADIO. THE CAMERA CAN DO THE EXPLAINING FOR YOU. LET IT. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS DOING -*LITERALLY*. WHAT ARE THEY HANDLING, WHAT ARE THEY READING. WHAT ARE THEY WATCHING ON TELEVISION, WHAT ARE THEY SEEING.
IF YOU PRETEND THE CHARACTERS CANT SPEAK, AND WRITE A SILENT MOVIE, YOU WILL BE WRITING GREAT DRAMA.
IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED, OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING)
THIS IS A NEW SKILL. NO ONE DOES IT NATURALLY. YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELVES TO DO IT, BUT YOU NEED TO START.
I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF “IS IT DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.
IF THE ANSWER IS “NO” WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT. IF YOU’VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.
LOVE, DAVE MAMET
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05
(IT IS NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO ASK THE RIGHT Questions OVER AND OVER. UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)”
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Drama Foundry Writers' Group Meeting: April 24, 2010
Who: Drama Foundry Writers' group Meeting
What: Script readings, finger food, and feedback
Where: Upper Arlington Main Library, Meeting Room B
2800 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221
When: 1:45 to 4:45pm
Why: To hear Johnrick Hole and Dan O'Reilly's work read.
Johnrick Hole will be having an excerpt of a new full-length play he is working on. Dan O'Reilly will be having 5 or 6 excerpts from several shorts read, each running between 2 and 8 minutes. John has already casted the parts for his work. However, Dan has opened up the parts for his pieces. (THAAANK YOOU DAN!) There will be between 12 to 15 parts available if you are an actor interested in reading. If you are planning on coming to the meeting, please drop us a line and let us know. Depending on demand, parts will be drawn at random.
What: Script readings, finger food, and feedback
Where: Upper Arlington Main Library, Meeting Room B
2800 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221
When: 1:45 to 4:45pm
Why: To hear Johnrick Hole and Dan O'Reilly's work read.
Johnrick Hole will be having an excerpt of a new full-length play he is working on. Dan O'Reilly will be having 5 or 6 excerpts from several shorts read, each running between 2 and 8 minutes. John has already casted the parts for his work. However, Dan has opened up the parts for his pieces. (THAAANK YOOU DAN!) There will be between 12 to 15 parts available if you are an actor interested in reading. If you are planning on coming to the meeting, please drop us a line and let us know. Depending on demand, parts will be drawn at random.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
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