Playwriting Is Not Literature
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- jigsaw65
- filvayer
- Devereaux73
- filvayer
- Devereaux73
- zaph690
- filvayer
- peterpop
- filvayer
- todr
This archived discussion is "read only".
» jigsaw65 - Shakespeare and modern theatre
I wonder if Shakespeare would have used more SD if he were writing for today’s theatre rather than for his own company, which I believe he directed himself. In his time, I doubt that he thought about his plays being published and produced around the word. He needed his actors to know what to say, when to say it, and when to enter and exit. All the blocking, I think he could do on his own during the directing and rehearsal process.I admire the Bard’s sparse use of SD, instead relying on dialogue to carry everything, but when I write, I feel like I have to use some SD to get my vision across so that theoretically any director can read the script and produce it. At the same time, I challenge myself to keep any SD to a bare minimum, using Shakespeare’s tradition of dialogue carrying the load.
-- posted by jigsaw65
» filvayer - Re: Shakespeare and modern theatre
In response to message posted by jigsaw65:You have a very sensible approach. And you're probably right with how Shakespeare put on his own plays.
The beauty of his works now is that there is so much flexibility for directors to take on different approaches, such as Hamlet in the Old West or MacBeth in a fast food restaurant.
While times and theatrical practices have changed much since his time, his writing is still a good model. I, too, try to keep stage directions to a minimum, but find at times that some directions are needed beyond the dialogue.
-- posted by filvayer
» Devereaux73 - Slight issue with the article. . .
While I agree wholeheartedly that plays are meant to be seen and not read, I have trouble with comparing a play to a recipe or a sheet of music. Certainly there is art to the way a recipe or sheet of music is interpreted, and the same can (and should) be said of plays.However, there exists within a printed play the same imaginative possibilities that are within a well-written novel. Great plays can be read for enjoyment in the same way that great novels can be. Yes, it's a different process to read a play. Yes, it's more difficult to read a play. But neither negates the artistic merit of a well-written play.
The fact is, most (if not all) plays will be read more times than they are ever performed and seen. They are interpreted and visualized in our heads long before and even longer after they are seen on the stage. It is vital that artists, especially writers, realize and appreciate the important artistic value to our written work as having as much merit as what's staged.
-- posted by Devereaux73
» filvayer - Re: Slight issue with the article. . .
In response to message posted by Devereaux73:I absolutely agree that plays are read for enjoyment. I read them constantly, both for enjoyment and research. I also agree that plays are read far more often than they are produced. That's a matter of economics.
However, I firmly believe that playwrights must always keep production elements in mind when writing their scripts. Nobody writes a play merely to be read (with the possible exception of G.B. Shaw's later works).
Based on the hundreds of scripts I've read by modern playwrights (novices and professionals), many are doing themselves a disservice by assuming the directors will 'take care of things,' or by basing their writing on movies and television. Playwrights must know and vividly describe what they envision in their heads, if they ever want to see it on a stage. They cannot assume that the director or actors will intuitively realize things, nor can they include special effects or visuals without having some idea how to create such a thing. These days, most theaters have limited budgets, and a director reading a script with such unexplained effects may simply toss the script aside and move on to the next one.
Scripts are definitely meant to be read (at least by the director, actors, and stage crew), but the play, the live action presentation, is the ultimate goal, the real work of art.
-- posted by filvayer
» zaph690 - Play-Wrighting and collaboration.
In response to message posted by filvayer:There is something magical that happens when a play I've written is performed that only a director and ESPECIALLY the actors bring to it. Live theater is truly an actors medium. Movies and Television are generally directors mediums.
Writers construct (hence play-wrighting) the scaffolding and structure, it is up to the others to finish the building.
That said, I have heard many pros and cons about staging of special effects. If it is an essential part of the script, and flows with the dramatic motion, what could be wrong with something like "he disappears"?
Too often I find Directors and Actors considering themselves mouthpieces or tradesmen. They are every bit co-creative artists with the writer, each giving their particular focus a unique spin.
The only caveat I have with your emphasis on knowing and vividly describing what Playwrights envision in their heads is the risk of becoming that misguided writer who forgets that plays are collaborative in nature.
-- posted by zaph690
» filvayer - Re: Play-Wrighting and collaboration.
In response to message posted by zaph690:You make many valid points, particularly with regard to the collaborative nature of theater. And I do agree that there are many playwrights whose works I've read that put in far too much directing. That's the key, really: knowing how to describe something that may present a challenge to a director or group, and knowing when not to micro-direct with far too many italics.
Generally, if there are some technical issues, I place them in a Production Notes section. That way, it doesn't distract from (or interrupt the flow of) the reading of the script. It's there if people want it, but it's not intrusive.
-- posted by filvayer
» peterpop - Production Notes
Dave, what do you typically do as far as production notes on a new play? At the beginning or end?I have never done any such thing, but my new play seems to be drawing resistance due to false perceptions about the difficulty of staging it. So I think I would like to include notes about how to achieve the simple effects called for.
-- posted by peterpop
» filvayer - Re: Production Notes
In response to message posted by peterpop:As a rule, I try to make the reading of the play easy for the reader. That usually means putting the production notes at the end. However, in the title pages (and sometimes in the script), I reference the production notes, so the reader can quickly turn to them if necessary.
For example, the setting may be described as: "The action takes place in various locations around New York City (see production notes)." Then, in the production notes, it can describe more about the set design, special effects, or whatever it is that requires more explanation.
-- posted by filvayer
» todr - Re: Re: Production Notes
In response to message posted by filvayer:For me, I've acted on stage for many years. I have found it very helpful for the playwright to put down in the script what they are thinking or wanting on stage. Too many times I have had a director pretty much say, "you're the actor, make it up", or "not that way, give me something else, blah, blah, blah" without really telling what they want. What I really want or need was the director to tell me exactly what they want so I can focus on more important matters at hand. When this is already in the script, it gives me an upper hand on the staging movements the playwright is trying to get across. Especially in large productions - like the director has time to answer what my motivation is...
This is why I write my expressions and stage movements in the script. Come on, like they always follow every script to every detail in them. We all know that this doesn't happen. And I can really live with it. An example: the play I've finished (and has interest from several theatres) calls for an upstairs railing, so the audience can see the actors coming and going from the upstairs. Now I know that not every theatre will be able to have this do to limited height space in their theater but I'm absolutely sure the director will get around this problem. But on the flip side, I feel by writing staging movements and expressions in the script, there is no confusion as to what I'm trying to get across. And I know that if it doesn't work for them that most likely it will be changed - that is theatre.
-- posted by todr
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