Original Works vs. Adaptations

What is the best source for a play idea? Are there really any *new* ideas? If you look at Hollywood offerings during recently passed years, you might think the answer is a resounding NO!, what with The Addams Family, My Favorite Martian, and Titanic, to name but a few. It seems to be an industry standard that if there is a story that works, go with it, even if it's been done before.

And stage plays are no different. Take the biblical story of Job, for instance. Both Archibald MacLeish and Neil Simon wrote adaptations of that story that became J.B. and God's Favorite. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been produced many times through the years, adapted by dozens of different writers, on stage, on film, and on television. I have my version, too, A Christmas Carol.com, which was adapted from a novel by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, called Carol For Another Christmas, that was based on Dickens.

Consider also such theatrical blockbusters as Les Miserables, Cats, Rent, at least two versions of Phantom of the Opera, and the many variations of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde and Dracula.

Original Works

Sure, it's always nice to think that you've discovered, uncovered, or created something never done before, but it has often been said that there's nothing new under the sun. Nearly every story or plot ever conceived has been able to be placed under one of about 20 master plot lines.

I have written original comedies and gotten them produced and published. And personally, I think my funniest plays are the original ones. But I also thoroughly enjoy doing dramatizations of other works, too, and it's equally satisfying as a playwright.

When writing an original play, you must come up with the plot, characters, situations, dialogue, action, and every other concept and ingredient. The two original comedic mysteries I've written had to have the puzzle elements that would fit well and provide a satisfying solution for the audience.

Adaptations

Conversely, when writing an adaptation, the plot, characters, action, and usually much of the dialogue is already there, and if the adaptation is from a classic work, or by a good writer, it's already tested and is known to work.

My job, then, as an adapter, is to take all those elements, distill them to the very essence of the story, and turn it into something that can be practically done on a stage. And since I write a lot for community and amateur theater, it must also be able to be produced with limited resources. If it is produced by some group with a large budget, so much the better. It requires both technical and creative skills to find the stageable part of the story, present it so it can be feasibly done on a stage, and ensure the original soul of the story remains intact. Believe me, it's hard work.

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