Playwriting - Part 6C - The Working Process, Mixing the Processes

I've stressed many times that there is not one correct way to write a play. You write how things work for you. I was in a playwriting class where it was stressed that we had to do things in one certain way. We had to write character biographies first. We had to write plot treatments before writing the play. This is not my style of writing.

I often like to start out with whatever my initial idea was. I tmight have been the beginning where a character or a few characters speak. For a story, it might just be the opening lines of a story. I will use what I need when I need it.

If I know that I have a character and I know that I need to figure out more about the character, I'll use a character biography, but I don't force myself to fill out everything. I write down what I feel I need in order to continue writing. I may find that I need to create another character to make the play work, so then I'll use a method of character creation.

I'm not fond of plot treatments, but if I find that I'm stuck, I may use a plot treatment for some of my story to figure out where my story is going. However, it is more likely that I'll use a method of storyboarding.

It is perfectly fine to combine methods in order to write. As long as you get your writing done, ther is no wrong method. It's always up to you.

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Playwriting - Part 6B - The Working Process, Storyboarding

The first thing many people think of when they hear the word storyboarding is movies. It is understandable that they think of this because that is usually where storyboarding tends to mostly be seen. People don't tend to associate storyboarding with writing. However, if you think about it, it really is no different than a movie. A movie is telling a story in picture format and a play is first telling a story in the format of words to later be told in live pictures.

If you're not sure what storyboarding is, it is putting small parts - scenes or plot points - on a separate card or piece of paper so the points can be rearranged to where they can make a story.

This can be done physically with notecards and taping them on the wall or using pushpins to pin them to a cork board. I know that I started storyboarding by simply using a text document on my computer and moving plot points around on it by using copy and paste,then deleting the duplicate that was where I didn't want it. There are also software programs that allow people to storyboard.

It's hard to think that Shakespeare storyboarded, but maybe he did. Perhaps he did not have everything in Romeo and Juliet planned out in order at first. While it is based upon the poem The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Iuliet by Arthur Brooke and from a story in the collection The Palace of Pleasure by William Painter, Shakespeare had to write his play, too.

Maybe, at first, Shakespeare had a storyboard with plot points that went like this:

1. Romeo is in a relationship with Rosalind.
2. Romeo falls in love with Juliet.
3. Tybalt kills Mercutio.
4. Romeo kills Tybalt.
5. Romeo is banished.
6. Roslind becomes upset that Romeo is banished.
7. Juliet becomes upset that Romeo is banished.
8. Rosalind and Juliet meet and they explain why they are upset to each other.
9. Rosalind gets upset with Romeo and decides to break up with him.
10. Romeo gets Rosalind's letter.
11. Juliet is upset with Romeo, but she still loves him.

Of course, this isn't at all how the play goes, but it still would have been a valid story. Shakespeare would have moved each little plot point around and moved or edited the ones that no longer fit as he moved them.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

_{Yes, this counts as my March 30th post.}

Playwriting - Part 6A - The Working Process, The Plot Treatment

There are many playwrights who like the plot treatment. I can honestly say that I am not one of them. I may use it in part, but I do not like using it in whole. However, that does not mean that you won't like using plot treatments.

Plot treatments are esentially writing out every bit of detail in a narrative format rather than writing dialog for the play. Even if there are elements that you aren't going to include in the play and that aren't going to be seen on stage, you include them. The plot treatment includes lots of detail.

For example, a plot treatment of Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley may have started like the following example:

In the interior of a grand Catholic church where the altar is mainly white, but has green paraments hanging on each side of the altar, stands a Catholic priest, 6' high and thing with long fingernails, dressed in an all white chasubel with a green stole, stands behind a dark brown lectern that comes up to his waist. He had a mop of blond hair and wears square framed glasses. As he talks to his congregation, he nervously rubs his hands together and his eyes dart back and for as he says, "What do you do when you're not sure? That's the topic for my sermon today." As he continues to talk, he gains his composure and confidence. He clasps his hands behind his back. The rattling of paper bulletins can be heard from the congregation.

This has obviously come from my imagination, but there's the possibility that Shanley wrote it, even though he probably didn't. I included dialogue in this part that might have been written as a plot treatment. It is likely there will be dialogue in your plot treatment because it is for a play. It doesn't mean that the dialogue won't change as you write your play.

When you write a plot treatment, you make sure to label each act and scene for your play so you are able to keep them organized. The label can go above the sections or be in bold to the side of them.

You can do a plot treatment in different ways. If you like plot treatments, you may like making a plot treatment out for the whole play at once. You can also make a plot treatment for each act that you write, most likely following the three act structure, so you'd have three different times you would write a plot treatment before starting to write dialogue for a play.

Playwriting - Part 5I - Creating Characters by Treating Them As Imaginary Friends

This entry somewhat goes with the last entry, Playwriting - Part 5H - Creating Characters by Letting them Speak to You. Since your characters will become real and start talking to you, treat them like they are real people. It is always okay to have imaginary friends. It is just that when you are an adult, you have to be able to admit they are imaginary. As long as you can do that, there's nothing wrong. There's especially nothing wrong when these friends are your characters.

Talk to your characters. Where would they want to go out to lunch? Why there? Is there something special about that spot? Is it just because that is a favorite food?

What do your characters want to do with you for fun? Do they all want to be together with you in one large group? Do they all want separate times with you? Do some of them want to be in a group with you while others want to spend one on one time with you?

Sit down and talk to your characters. What do they tell you? Do they talk about trivial things like the weather and current events? Do they talk about deeper things like their dreams and aspirations for their lives? Do they let you in to their lives by letting you know their troubles and their joys? Do they hide their lives from you?

Write down the things you feel you need to remember. Perhaps the things you need to remember are everything. Maybe they are only a few things like favorite colors and relationships. Write down whatever you need to develop your characters.

It is extremely likely your characters will come talk to you when you don't expect it. This may be while you are driving or at night when you are relaxing. You may want to keep a notebook and some type of audio recording device nearby. That way you can turn to one and take notes in some way.

If somebody catches you "staring" off into the distance, don't be ashamed to tell that that you were thinking. When they ask what you were thinking about, if you feel they won't understand you talking to your characters in your head, just tell them that you were thinking about the current play you are writing.

Playwriting - Part 5H - Creating Characters by Letting them Speak to You

No matter which ways you've used to create your characters, you've obviously got characters for your play. If there are no characters, there's no play. Maybe you created characters first and then put them into a situation. Maybe you thought of a situation, and then created characters to fit into that situation.

Whether you are writing your play or you are only writing about your characters, something magical seems to happen in a writer's brain. Your characters start to come to life. They start to tell you about themselves. You may have had one idea, but your character starts to tell you that it isn't how that event happened or isn't who he or she is.

One of my writer friends literally yelled, "Shut up!" to her characters once when she was at a family gathering. She told a group of writers that I was in this story, so we all found it funny because we could relate.

Your characters will tell you who they are. If you are concerned about keeping them one way and not letting them change, then you are being too strict on yourself as a writer. Let your characters change with your writing. Let them take your writing to where you didn't know that it was going to go.

Your characters are part of your creativity. Let them speak to you in daydreams and at night when you are resting. You'll be pleasantly surprised, even if you don't like the details that your characters are giving about themselves, you'll like the way those details fit into your play.

Playwriting - Part 5G - Creating Characters with Shared Milestones

While you may have a play where characters only first meet each other during the play, that is highly unlikely. It is likely that at least two of your characters are going to share at least one milestone. Each character is going to have his or her own memories and perceptions of what happened.

When characters share a milestone, if you use character creation techniques and monologues, then you should have each character give his or her monologue about that milestone. The characters aren't going to have the exact same story. They are both only going to remember that the event happened. Let them each tell in their own way.

Once you have written a monologue for each character about the event, then you can have the two dialogue about the event. Find the feeling of how the two characters interact with each other.

Remember that just because the two character share the same milestone, it doesn't mean that they like each other. The two characters could've always hated each other and still hate each other. They could've not liked each other and then "grown up" to start getting along. On the other hand, they could have always liked each other and could still be friends. Or they could have liked each other and something could've happened to where they don't like each other.

It's your play. Any of those scenarios or even a different one is valid. Don't let others tell you that the scenario is not valid. Write your play.

Playwriting - Part 5F - Creating Characters by Having them Monologue about Backstories

If you've created backstories for characters, a way to get deeper into those backstories is to create a monologue for one of the events in your backstory. This exercise will allow you to get to know your character just as if you were talking to a new friend who is telling you stories about his life.

Since in my last entry, I used the example of a character I might create named Peter and gave him some events for a backstory, I'd take a look at those events.

• My fight with Jacob
• Winning the basketball game in junior high
• My first date
• Accidentally setting the hayloft on fire
• The time I almost drowned in the local creek

From my list, I would pick one of the events. Once I chose the event, I would start writing a monologue for Peter. Maybe I picked the event of winning the basketball game in junior high. My monologue might start something like, "We knew there was no possible way we could win against the Dragons. They had defeated every team in the state except for us and that was only because we had not played a game against them. We were afraid, but also excited about the game because we had been practicing for weeks and studying all of their moves in their previous games."

Peter would talk about the game, the way he perceived his teammmates and the other team, his feellings, and possibly more. It would depend on what came out as I wrote. Then it might end like, "And there we were. The scoreboard read Dragon 18, Haymakers 22. We couldn't believe it. No newspapers were going to print headlines full of the pun 'Dragons burn the Haymakers.' This was a major event for my junior high. It was the first time any team had beat the Dragon. As exhausted as we were from playing the game, the adrenaline kept us going and we could not settle down. We all ran around cheering and high fiving each other. The only thing that got us to come together in a group again was when the coach annoucned we were going to get on the bus and get pizza. I don't think anybody slept that night."

If you write a monologue about one event and it goes into another event, there is nothing wrong with that. It just means that they happened that way for your character. Maybe you will use some of these monologues in your play or other writing. Maybe you'll never use them and they will only be for you. It doesn't matter.

Playwriting - Part 5E - Creating Characters and Giving them Backstories

When you create characters, something that can help you identify with them is to create backstories. These are more details that are usually not known to others who read your play. Sometimes a few things may end up being mentioned in your play, but it is likely that most of the things you write for a backstory will not be mentioned.

Whlie it seems like the character biography may be a backstory, it isn't. A backstory actually tells the story of something that happened in a character's life. Start out a characters backstory by making a list of significant events the character when through in life.

Maybe my character is named Peter and grew up on a farm and rode a bus ten miles to school. Perhaps at school, he got in a fight with one of the other boys, named Jacob, because Jacob was picking on of the girls in his class and Peter wanted to defend her. That would be a significant event in the character's life. My list might look something like this:

• My fight with Jacob
• Winning the basketball game in junior high
• My first date
• Accidentally setting the hayloft on fire
• The time I almost drowned in the local creek

What are your character's past significant events? Make a list and find out. You might surprise yourself in finding that you've created more about this character than you think you have.

Playwriting - Part 5D - Creating Characters - Giving Characters Their Names

If you're a writer, you've probably done it. You've probably givena character a name that means something that is supposed to have a meaning to match the character's personality. Sometimes this works. You might give a character who is a dive the name Estrella, since it means "star."

However, doing such a thing usually becomes too specific. You try to make the character it the name more and more. It is good to have names that make you think of your characters in a certain way, but you don't want to give a name that makes you stretch the character to be almost a stereotype to fit that name.

Instead, you may think of people who know and how those names make you feel. Maybe most of the Amandas that you know are high spirited and fun loving. So, you might give your character the name Amanda if that's what you want your character to be.

Maybe all the Jonathans you know are extremely smart and are music lovers. If you want those characteristics for a character, you might name your character Jonathan. Perhaps you want a unique name, but you don't want it to become a nuisance to try to make your character fit that name.

Find a basic name and then change the spelling so that it sounds like the basic name, but it makes your character unique. Perhaps you want a character who like video games and you know a Jeremy who likes video games. Yet, you want to make something unique about the character, so you change the spelling of the name to Jairmy. That way the name sounds like the familiar name, but there's a uniqueness to it.

Whatever you name your characters, you want them to resonate with you. If you decided that the names don't fit, you can always change them.

Playwriting - Part 5C - Creating Characters from Characteristics of Animals

When I was a freshman and a sophomore in high school, I didn't think a lot about using the characteristics of animals to create characters. There must have been some books or stories that used the characteristics of animals to describe certain motions or features of characters, but I didn't think about it the other way.

However, that all changed one day during my junior year of high school. I knew one of the people who was running for a class office. A classmate of mine in my theatre class mentioned that his face looked like a snapping turtle. As much as I didn't want to see him that way, I couldn't help but think of it every time I saw him after I heard her say that. Because of this, I began to think of other ways that he might be like a snapping turtle. In a way, he was relentless like they seem to be. He would keep trying no matter what happened. At times, such as class elections, this could be good. However, when it came to relationships, this could be bad.

Choosing an animal and thinking about it's physical features, motions, attitudes and actions are ways to get ideas for a character. You can base a character purely on one animal. However, if you want to make a more in depth character choose two or three animals and pick the different characteristics you'd like for the character.

Perhaps your character has rings around her eyes like a raccoon. However, she may be as mean as a wild boar and have legs like that of a horse. While this may never match the actress chosen to play your character on the stage, it gives you an idea of the character that you are writing. It doesn't matter what type of actress a director chooses to play the character. Character creation is to help you. If you want to keep your character with all of these things, you should probably be writing short stories or novels. However, as long as these are just characteristcs for you to be able to write teh character in your play, you are doing well. Use any or all of the exercises mentioned in this blog. You can combine them or you can completely ignore them and go with your own writing habits. Whatever works for you is the right way for you. Remember, these are tools.

The Teenager Project - Mythbusting Adolescence is in Lake Charles for Four More Performances!

McNeese State University Theatre is currently presenting "The Teenager Project: Mythbusting Adolescence." This play is different from many plays because it is not one that is telling a classic story from beginning to end.

Instead, this play is full of small scenes to help people understand the teenager years. Everybody will be, is, or has been a teenager. These are the issues that teenagers are dealing with today. Some issues will still be familiar to those that are older, but others are new to today's teens.

Some of the scenes invite laughter while others are somber and serious and may even trigger tears. However, every scene is important to either learn or relate to the teenage years and learn to help teens navigate through them.

The cast, in alphabetical order by last name, is Hannah Jolivette, Himshree Neupane, Supratik Regmi, Evan Seago, Romm Silwal, Jake Snyder, Peyton Stanford, Jennifer Tolbert, and Madilyn Wright.

This play is directed by Charles McNeely and was created by the cast and other contributors. A script was written from their contributions. The play can be seen Thursday, March 22-Saturday, March 24 at 7:30pm and on Sunday, March 25 at 2pm. Tickets are available online through The McNeese Performing Arts Box Office Website or in person at the McNeese Box Office. Tickets are $10 for McNeese Faculity and staff and $15 for adults. McNeese and Sowela students get in free by showing their school IDs.

Playwriting - Part 5B - Creating Characters by Combining Characteristics of People You Know

You may know a person on whom you'd like to base a character. However, if you do not have direct permission from that person to try to make the character exactly like the person, you need to be able to create a character that uses the characteristics from that person that you want, but that does not use all of that person's characteristics.

Perhaps you know of a person who is always nice to everybody that he meets. He helps out everybody with every task that they have when he is nearby. You'd take that personality trait, but then you would find a different person for the physical characteristics. Even when using physical characteristics, you should combine at least two people's characteristics to not make the character look exactly like a known person.

Perhaps your next person has long, blond, curly hair and tends to wear long sleeve turtle necks no matter the weather. Only take those things from that person and then find another person for more characteristics.

You might find somebody who likes to golf and then find another person who has the most muscle you've seen on anybody's legs. Use all of these things and combine them to make your character.

Once you've combined these details, your character is also sure to start having a "life" of his own. If you like using character biographies, use these details with the character biography you are making. Just make sure that people may be able to tell that you put in a specific nod to them that it is not okay to use their likeness in a play unless that person has given you permission. Using a few small characteristics, habits, or hobbies is fine as long as they are combined with different ones from other people.

Playwriting - Part 5A - Creating Characters Starting with a Piece of Nature

When it comes to writing plays, it is important to know your characters. However, sometimes you have an idea for a play that is only a concept and you can't think of the character that you want to create. In this case, you need an activity to help you create a character. Here is one such activity.

Find any item from nature. It is preferable if you can hold it if you want to bring it inside to work with it. It can be a flower, a leaf, an acorn, or any other small object or even part of an object. It might be some tree bark or part of an old bird's nest. If you are working outside, you can pick a bigger object.

Make a list of the physical characteristics of this item. Make a list of words or phrases about how this item makes you feel. Depending on how long you have to create your character will depend on if you move straight to the next step or take some time. It is good to take some time such as a day between each activity. However, if you have to create a character immediately, you can still use this activity.

Once you've made your list, you no longer need the item from nature. From your list, draw anything that the words on it make you see or feel. You don't have to be a good artist and you can choose any type of medium you'd like to use. You can use a paint program on your computer, you can use paints on a canvas, you can sit and draw with marker or crayons, or you can use any other medium of your choice to create a picture. Once you've created the picture, get rid of the list you created it from and focus only on the picture.

From this picture, make another list. Once again, list all the words and phrases that describe it physically. List all the words and phrases that it makes you feel. Does the picture look like it has any feelings or personality? List those things.

Put the picture away and focus only on the list. From here, use the list to start creating your character. You probably won't use every item that you have listed, but you probably have a good start to a character. If you started with something like an apple, you might have a list that has kept the word red, but maybe the apple was shiny and through this exercise, you ended up with the word streaked. Perhaps your drawing looks angry. So, your character could be red, streaked, and angry. Maybe your character has a sunburn. You likely have many more words and phrases that can describe the character. Use the ones that stand out to you. Create your character.

If you have more time and you like sculpting, you can use some type of colored sculpting material after drawing the picture and making it's list. You don't have to be good at sculpting. This can be playdough or children's clay. After sculpting, you would create your list of words and phrases and them move on to creating your character.

Playwriting - Part 4F - Character Biographies, The Internal World

If there's' an external world for characters, that means there's also an internal world. If you can think of more things than I've listed for external characteristics and want to use them, by all means, list them for your character biographies. The internal world deals with things that the character uses to identify himself, but other characters may not know about him at all.

What is the character's personality type? Is the character mainly introverted or extroverted (Remember, nobody is 100% introvert or extrovert)? Is the characcter optimistic or pessimistic? Does the character have a hot temper or does he bbarely have a temper?

What's the character's spirituality? This is not the same as religion as in the external world. What does the character believe? It's not where he does or doesn't go to church. Does he take his faith seriously or is it something he rarely thinks about at all? What about his morality? How does he perceive it? What about his intelligence?

Does he have any major secrets that others don't know? These could be things he has done in the past or they could be things that he is currently doing and hiding. what are his personal goals? He may have shared some of these with other characters and that is okay. However, they obviously had to start as his own. What are his major disappointmnets and which are the ones that disappointed him the most? And t hen what are his special talents? These can be spiritual, physical, intellictual, artistic, or any combination of them.

If you use character biographies, you will have a complete character by filling out all of this information for a character. However, there is no one right way to create a character. I'm not a fan of writing out biographies for characters. I let them form along with the story in my head and write out parts of the character biography for myself when I need it. I'll keep my character biographies and notes for each play I'm writing in a document that I save so I can open it and refer to it when needed. You can make a character biography for every character, just your main characters, or be like me and not bother creating character biographies at first and let them form as the idea for your play forms along with your writing in progress.

Beauty and the Beast, Jr. At LaGrange Senior High for Two More Performances

LaGrange High School is currently showing a production of Beauty and the Beast, Jr.. Children of the 90s will fondly remember the story of Belle and the Beast, as well as her eccentric father and the boorish Gaston. Of course, any Disney fans will also know the story.

Directed by Shelly Buller, the whole cast is amazing. The vocals of all the cast a great because of Janie B. Williams.

There are sure to be favorites of everybody, but keep a look out for the vocal talents of Mila Bradly as Belle, the comedic and physial comedy of Ravon Guillory as Lefou, and the acting and accent of Caleb Tullos as Lumiere.

Also wonderful are the dancers as the dishes. LaGrange once more proves that the Lake Area is bursting with talent. You don't want to miss your chance to see this show.

There are two more performances today (Saturday, March 17th) at 7pm and and tomorrow, March 18th at 2pm. Tickets are $7 at the door and only cash is accepted.

LaGrange Senior High School is located at 3420 Louisiana Ave. in Lake Charles, LA.

Playwriting - Part 4E - Character Biographies, Leisure Time Activities

I've been dealing with the external world when it comes to using character biographies. One last part that I want to mention is leisure time activities. I know that it seems that this would be part of the internal world of the character, but it doesn't take long to realize that leisure time activities are part of the external world.

It is true that a person may stay to himself or herself if they like to read or do crossword puzzles. However, these are also things they can do when they areamong others. Leisure time activities can also be things like going to the movies, acting in local theatre, bowling, or playing basketball. There are probably people you know mainly by the leisure time activities in which they participate.

Giving your characters leisure time activities makes them more rounded. A character may be a lawyer, but unless that is the only thing that is important to the play for that character, there is probably more. While some of the other details that you have written can help make the character more rounded, but it is likely that the character would not be definied by anything of these things. Instead, that lawyer may want to be known asw the person who likes to roller blade. Maybe that lawyer roller blades down his street every day and his neighbors know him as the roller blader and that's who he want sto be known. Maybe he wasnts to be known in many ways.

Make your characters like real people. All of us wear many hats. Just a few of the ways that I can be known is somebody who likes to do crosswords, somebody that likes logic puzzles, a dramaturg, a playwright, a sister, and a "church girl." If you can't think of leisure time activities for your character, make a list of your leisure time activities and make a list of leisure time activities of your friends and other people that you know. See which ones fit your character.

Playwriting - Part 4D - Character Biographies, Place in the Community

If you use character biographies, another important way that a character is perceived by others is by the character's place in the community. People perceive others by a variety of ways. It depends on how those relationships are formed with each other. By putting down everything you have created about your character, you can determine how other characters and even how your audience, perceives the character's place in the community.

Things that you are going to want to include are the occupation (including how long in the field), education (quality and up to what type of degree), political affilaitions if there are any, any religious affliations, organizational memberships, and the general status in the community.

_{Picture via CJSorg using the Creative Commons Share Alike License}

I don't know if Ernest Thompson worked this way when writing On Golden Pond, but I can imagine some of the things he may have put for Charlie. The following are my guesses. You can do this exercise with characters in plays you know, too. Go back and see what you think the playwright might have put in a character biography and then think of what you would want for your characters.

• Occupation: Mailman for 30 years
• Education: High school and probably didn't do very well, a C and D student with a few Bs
• Political Affiliations: Independent
• Religious Affiliations: Whatever little local church is in the area, no real "affliliation"
• Organizational Memberships: National Assoiciation of Letter Carriers, BoatUS
• General Status in the Community: Respected as a hard working mailman, but not seen as a leader or somebody with a high status

You can see how this gives more depth to Charlie rather than just "Charlie, the goofy mailman."

Playwriting - Part 4C - Character Biographies, The Family Situation

When creating your characters, it is important to know how the other characters perceive them. I used the phrase "external world" in my last post about physical characteristics. This is because physical characteristics are part of how other characters perceive a character.

There are important details that others will use to perceive a character just like people perceive others in real life. The reasons that these are external are that they are the things seen or known by others.

Give details about the character's family. Are the mother and father alive? How old are they? Did they die? When did they die? What is the relationship that the character has or had with his or her parents? Does the character have siblings? What are their ages? What are the relationships like?

What about other relatives? How does the family function? Do people find them "normal"? Dysfunctional? Is there something unusual about the family?

Is the character married or does he or she have any romantic relationships? If there is a relationship, how do the people get along? Does the character have children? What about the relationshp between the children and the character?

Does the character have a sex life? Is there a certain way this is perceived by a partner or partners or others? What about close friends or extended family?

All of these details are things that can help you in your writing. These are most likely even more important than your physical characteristics because you will get a sense of your character. However, some people may not feel that way. Some people get frustrated when there are no physical characteristics for a character given. They find knowing age and looks important even if the actors that end up playing the characters don't match the descriptions.

Playwriting - Part 4B - Character Biographies, the Physical Features

When creating the physical features for your characters, start with the basics: name, age, height, etc. Think of what you fill out on the top of a doctor's form. Put these things down for your characters. They can help you to establish the type of relationships your characters will have with each other. Ages can help you decide if you want to go with traditional near ages for relationships or if you want to do things differently like when many arranged marriages of 50-70 year old men to teenage women or more like today when once people are adults, age is just a number and it doesn't matter. (I've met people who give me the example that Hugh Jackman's wife is 12 years his elder and I've even met people who have wives 20 years their elder and they love it). Sometimes these things matter for a play.

However, these are not the only things you are going to want to write for the external world. You will also want to write down the physical characteristics that others characters use to describe this character. These might stay as important details in your play or they may end up not being important at all. However, they can help with your ideas for writing, especially if you are experiencing writer's block. I, for one, tend to go back and forth with many different tips about writing. Then, when I am inspired to write more of my play, I write it.

Perhaps your character is female and has skin the color of milk chocolate. You'd write that. Your character may have cornrows of two colors - some that are caramel colored and some dark as the blackest night. You'd write that. You'd write the character's eye color, voice tone, weight, posture, vocal tone, grooming quality, and anything else that you find important about physical features. Write as much as you need to about your character in order to write your play. If you don't need to write so much, don't be concerned about writing it. However, if you need to picture your character, writing out the external world and physical features will help.

Playwriting - Part 4A - Character Biographies

One of many valid ways to go about creating your characters for a play is to write character biographies. Some people may write a short biography and that may be all is needed to help develop a character. Other people may need a longer biography. In general, though, these are called "short form biographies," even though they can get lengthy.

These biographies cover more than just the basic of your character. The basics are things like name, age, height, and birthday. Basically anything you would put on the top of a form at a doctor's office. However, it will also go more in depth into the character external and internal world.

The internal and external world are how your character perceives him or herself and how others perceive your character. They deal with status in the community and ways that the character identifies him or herself and how others identify your character.

Is your character a doctor? A writer? A knight in shining armor? How does this affect how the character sees him or herself? How does this affect how others see your character?

Short form biographies can be written for every character in your play or just one. This can work for any other type of writing as well. It all depends on how you write. Maybe you use different approaches and mix them together, too. There's nothing wrong with that. Just know the different ways of approaching character development.

Playwriting - Part 3 - The Dramatic Premise

The dramatic premise can be thought of almost like an abstract. There are no embellishments to it. It is straight forward. Why do you want to write what you are going to write? That's the difference between a premise and an abstract. An abstract explains why a paper was written. The premise explains why you want to write your piece and the subject matter.

I don't know any premise statements for plays or movies because people don't generally share them. They are also not necessary, but they can help. You probably already have these ideas of why you want to write what you are going to write. Of course, there are the times that inspiration just strikes and those times are completely valid. There are also the times when such things as premise statements are needed and are helpful.

I imagine a premise statement for Legally Blonde may have looked something like, "I have always been fascinated with the culture of law school and of the the attitudes that rich blondes are not smart and only depend on their parents money. I wanted to write a piece that explored both cultures and proved the stereotype of the 'dumb blonde' to be false."

I imagine a premise statement for Groundhog Day to be something like, "I've always wanted to be able to get a relationship right the very first time, but I've found that this seems impossible. What if a person were able to constantly retry relationships until getting them right, and then time would move on? I want to explore this idea."

A premise statement is simply where you start. It is your idea. It is okay if things change while you are writing. You can think of a premise statement as a "launching pad" or a "springboard." Start with your idea. Then write.

Playwriting - Part 2 - The Basic Structure

There are many different types of plays these days. However, if you want to write a play (or any other type of writing)that follows the idea of starting off with a protagonist encountering an inciting incident and going on a journey, there's a basic formula. Even though plays are usually divided into two acts, when writing using the basic traditional formula, it is good to think of a play as having three acts. It can be separated into two acts after it is written. By following this formula, you will be following Freytag's Pyramid.

The first act is the set up. This is where the audience learns what is necessary to know. The main character is introduced and the inciting incident happens so that the audience knows what is to expect. In Shrek, we are introduced to Shrek. We find out that it is Lord Farquaad causing his problems and we finally find out that Shrek has to go on the quest to save Fiona. I, personally, would put the inciting incident when Farquaad promises Shrek that he will give him his swamp back when Fiona is rescued. This sets Shrek on his adventure.

The second act is the struggle. This part deals with the main character dealing with his situation, dilemma, or challenge by encountering various struggles along the journey. Shrek has to deal with the journey and Donkey following him. There's crossing the bridge to the castle. More challenges will come and then the midpoint crisis will happen during the second act. It is probably when Shrek has a huge argument with Fiona about misunderstanding the overheard conversation. It will have some more action afterwards, too. Shrek travels with Fiona and Donkey. He finds himself falling in love with Fiona.

The third act is the solution. The main character will be forced into taking action in order to make the resolution come. Shrek figures he must interrupt the wedding. He is forced into doing this because if he doesn't, Fiona will marry Lord Farquaad.

In short, to remember how to write anything following a basic dramatic structure, it is Set Up, Struggle, and Solution.

Shrek is in Lake Charles for Two More Days!

Once there was a little ogre named Shrek who grew up and found himself somewhere in a swamp in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Or, so it seems. Casey Doucet is stellar in his performance as the ogre, Shrek. Join Casey along with Julian Quebedeaux (Donkey), Kristen Harrell (Fiona), Damien Thibodeaux (Lord Farquaad), Kelly Rowland (Gingy), and a large cast that performs to their very best.

It can be a little bit difficult to understand when the children talk or sing. This seems to mainly be due to costumes that have pieces that go over the nose. However, the story is not ruined.

^{Disclaimer: This is not a picture from the ACTS musical.}

Keep a look out for rising stars such as Abram Conner, Jackson Herbert, Haley Johnson, Mila Alcantara, Clay Corley, and McKenzie Blair Menard.

Tickets are available for Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 3pm. You can buy tickets by visiting The ACTS Vendini website

Shrek: the Musical is directed by Walt Kiser. The assistant director is Matt Tonkovich.

Warning: For those who are sensitive, a strobe light is used for some of the effects in the show. There is also a tiny bit of fog from a fog machine for the dragon's breath.

Playwriting - Part 1 - The Inciting Incident

When it comes to reading plays and playwriting, most plays have an inciting incident. Absurdist plays may not have one, but that doesn't mean a person won't be able to find one. The thing about an inciting incident is that different people will find different points that are inciting incidents. What is certain is that when a play has an inciting incident, it will be somewhere near the beginning of the play. This most likely means within the first 10 pages, although it may be a few more pages if the introductory material is engaging.

The inciting incident is an event that jolts your main charactger out of his or her everyday routine. It should be the spark that starts your plot. However, it is not something about which you need to stress. If you write well, you should automatically have an inciting incident once you are writing your play (or, honestly, any type of writing that follows a basic plot - e.g. a novel, a short story, a screenplay, etc.)

The inciting incident is not an active moment for your main character. In Legally Blonde: The Musical, most would agree that the inciting incident is when Warner dumps Elle. This happens to her and it sparks her journey to prove to Warner that she is not dumb and can make it through law school.

Here is a list of plays and what I find would probably be the inciting incident that sets the main character on his or her journey. You may disagree with me and as long as the incident that you find would set the main character off on his or her journey, yours can also be correct. Feel free to share your ideas in the comments.

• Hamlet: When Horatio tells Hamlet that he saw the ghost of his father.
• Macbeth: When Macbeth is made the Thane of Cawdor because this makes him think that what the witches say has to be true.
• The Winter's Tale: When Leontes suspects that Hermione is cheating on him with his best friend, Polixenes
• The Producers: When Max Bialystock is told that producing a Broadway play that is a flop can make him more money than producing on that is a hit.

This can also be done with novels, short stories, and movies.

• Harry Potter: When Hagrid tells Harry, "You're a wizard, Harry.
• Monsters, Inc: When Boo enters Monstropolis.
• Green Eggs and Ham: When Sam-I-Am asks the other character if he would like green eggs and ham here or there.
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: When the white rabbit has a waistcoat and a pocket watch passes Alices.
• Oedipus Rex: When Creon tells Oedipus that Laius's murderer is to be punished.
• There's a Monster at the End of this Book: At the very beginning when it says, "There is a monster at the end of this book."
• The Monkey's Paw: When the Sergeant-Major takes the money's paw out of his pocket for the Whites to see.

Try finding the inciting incident in some of your favorite plays, novels, and short stories. What are they? Why not comment and let me know what you've found?

Examples of What Dramaturgs Do - Part 8 - Pre-rehearsal Presentation

While a director may have some commentary about a play that will be given to the cast and crew, a dramaturg may be employed to look at more in-depth research and then to sum up the research in a presentation that will be show to the cast and crew before rehearsals start. This presentation would include important information about the characters of the play, the setting of the play, the playwright, any information on if it is an adaptation, information about the original play, different ideas people have about the play, and anything else that the director asks to be included.

The presentation should not be a paper unless asked. The paper is usually the actor packet. The presentation should be something like a PowerPoint presentation or maybe even a video if the dramaturg is good at this and has the available resources. However it is done, it should be engaging for the people who are going to watch it.

If a dramaturg is going to make a pre-rehearsal presentation for the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, it would probably start with a title slide. Then it would most likely move on to give an overview of all the characters. If the director wants something deeper about the characters, the dramaturg would provide that.

Since the play is a derivative of Hamlet, there would be some information about that play. It would probably quickly cover the different opinions on if Hamlet was really crazy or just acting that way. It would definitely give the information on the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. It would cover what happens to them in the play Hamlet so the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern can be understood better.

There may be a slide about the importance of language in the play so the actors understand why there are differences in the language used in the play. There may be some information about the philosophy of existentialism. There would definitely be at least a little bit of information about Tom Stoppard. Then there might be a little bit about significant previous productions of the play.

Examples of What Dramaturgs Do - Part 7 - Sitting in on Rehearsals to Help with Various Research

Dramaturgs should be an essential part of rehearsals. A director may want a dramaturg at every rehearsal, or the director may be more lax allowing the dramaturg to continue in routine activities in her daily life, but then wanting her to come into rehearsals when she doesn't have something happening.

A real life example for me is that I was a dramaturg for a production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. I would go to the rehearsals I could attend. The director understood that I could not stand the heat in the theatre with how hot it became during the summer, so I couldn't stay many times. However, I would come to check in on different things going on for the production.

One of the first things that came up was how to say the name Paravacini. While there were clips of productions where people said the name, "Pair-uh-ven-cheen-ee," I had the knowledge that in Italian, a single C in front of an I, it is said like an S and when it is a double C in front of an I, it is said like CH. (All you have to do is think of the pasta shapes vermicelli and fettuccine). I did more research on the name. I found some history and how people pronounced the name. It was always with the CH sound. I was able to bring this information back to the cast and crew.

Another important part that came up was that one of the characters says, "Jeunesse—jeunesse—as the poet says." From the French that I remembered after taking it for seven years, I know that jeunesse meant "youth." However, the actor who said those lines kept insisting that it was "je ne sais quois" as in an "I don't know what." A major problem is that this line did not make sense.

However, even though I knew this, I went back and did research into the French. Then I did research on Agatha Christie, finding out that she knew French, so this would definitely not be something where she made an error. It was definitely the French word for "youth."

Dramaturgs will take notes and do research on them when issues come up in rehearsal. The director is free to be concerned about the other aspects of rehearsal that is run by a director. The dramaturg researches into the era, the words, the language - anything that the director would like to know or okays for the dramaturg to research for the cast or crew.

Examples of What Dramatugs Do - Part 6 - Designer Packet

Hopefully a dramaturg has been in on production meetings since day one. If this did not happen, a dramaturg may be left to do his or her own research which may not be what is wanted by the production team. However, they may also take great consideration into the information provided by the dramaturg.

The musical, Hairspray is set in the 1960s. It is likely that a dramaturg will help by look up many design elements of the 1960s. It is likely that these elements will be separated by the type of things that they are.

Items that would be in the designer packet would have headlines such as Architecture, Important Items, Clothing, and Hairdos. Each headline would have many pictures under it about how those things looked during the era (or the year) the play was set. If there isn't a certain year the play was set, the dramaturg may look up when the play was written, when it was published, and when it was first performed to a get a feel for the play. There may be certain elements in the play that point to the time for it.

Hopefully all of the design team will take everything the dramaturg has researched into consideration. A Designer Packet for hairspray would probably show a lot of blocks and primary colors in pictures of 1960 architecture. Then it would most likely have things like televisions from the 1960s, irons from the 1960s, ironing boards from the 1960s, and other items from that era that are important for the play. Clothing would most likely show dresses that came down to just above the knee and flared out starting at the waist. The clothing of that era would probably be suits on men. Hairdos would most likely show a lot of updos and beehives for women and crew cuts that are slicked back, mop tops, and afros for men. It is likely that each of this pictures would have at least an attribution of where it was found, but it would probably also have a short quote or sentence about what it is. The packet could be shared back and forth via e-mail or other ways while it is being made or it could be shared only after the dramaturg has finished it. That would be up tot he director and producer of the play.

Examples of What Dramaturgs Do - Part 5 - Production Packet

A dramaturg's production packet is a packet that is shared (and most likely discussed before it is made and throughout the whole process that it is being made) with the director(s) and designers. It will an in-depth analysis of the play (if working on the play with one set, this may end up not needing to be done for this packet as it may have already been done for the research and counter text packet if that was wanted), a contextual essay that serves as foundation of the research, an annotated bibliography providing brief abstracts, and a research file of items of substantial impact (things that are "directly relevant") to the script. Of course, these can change depending on theatres and directors, but this is what is included in general. Certain directors may not want as many things or they may have an idea that they have researched and thus do not need the dramaturg's research. However, having a dramaturg that does the research frees the director from having to do it. All the director needs to do is tell the dramaturg the idea and the dramaturg can research it. Then if that aspect for the play cannot be found, the dramaturg can tell that to the director.

For an example, I am going to use Tennessee William's, The Glass Menagerie. It might start out with a paragraph about how the approach should not seem like a play that is currently happening, but how it should feel like a distant memory since it is a memory play. If it were a different play that has possible different approaches, the one wanted would most likely be mentioned or the different ways to approach the play would be mentioned.

An overview would be given. It would probably say things like, "The Glass Menagerie is a memory play. While there is a lot of action from Amanda and Laura, the play is really about Tom. It is important that the play does not lose the feel of Tom's memory." This should be a full paragraph. Then there may be another full paragraph where the dramaturg makes a proposal about the play if this has no already been decided. It could be something like, "I propose that The Glass Menagerie is about the inseparable love of siblings or it might say, "I propose that The Glass Menagerie is about the guilt of leaving your family. Details that could support the idea proposed would be included in the paragraph.

When it comes to the in depth analysis of the play, different dramaturgs will do things different and different directors will want things done differently. However, in general, this is going to go over the setting, the characters, the events, the mood, the language, the staging, and the costumes of the play. It would make sense to have each of these separated and make sure that each has at least two paragraphs that go deep into covering these parts of the play. The part about characters is not just a quick overview like is found in the personae dramatis at the beginning of the play. This section will be about the character's attitudes, ideas, relationships with the other characters, and other things that can be mined from the script.

Pictures about ideas of the sets, costumes, makeup, and props can be given in the pictures. This could be a simple picture to give a feel for the ideas or it could be in more detail to give a big picture of these things.

After this, the significant pieces of research are included. The important parts will most likely be highlighted in some way. Important notes from the dramaturg will also be written on these.

After this, the dramaturg will include an annotated work cited. The works will be cited like normal, but then the annotation will describe what each work is and why it was included. The annotations should be one to two short sentences.

Examples of What Dramaturgs Do - Part 4C - Media Packets - Talk-back Guide

In general, a talk-back guide is for immediately after a show. The cast and crew may hold the talk-back. The director may hold the talk-back or an invited guest may hold the talk-back. The way it starts is usually that at least one of the people holding the talk back will say a few things about the play and how it relates to things today or in the person's profession or personal life. It may be about why the play was chosen. Afterwards, talk-backs continue in different ways. In some talk-backs, it is opened up for audience questions. In other talk-backs, the people holding the talk-back may ask the audience questions. These usually come from the talk-back guide.

If there is an invited guest or if the director or the dramaturg is holding the talk-back, the cast and crew may not know the questions and they may be included in a dialogue with the audience when it comes to considering the answers. If there isn't a talk-back guide may be given to teachers to use with their classes after they see the performance.

The talk-back guide is a list of statements for comments or a list of questions to be answered. Since I've been working with The Crucible, I'll continue using that as an example at the moment. Here is a short example of a talk-back guide for this play. There would usually be more questions (a;though, it does depend on the theatre, the director, the person leading the talk-back, and more), but a good amount is usually about one page. The points or questions should take the audience into consideration. If you were doing this play exclusively for high school students, you wouldn't ask about the issues of voting because they don't yet vote.

The Crucible Talk Back Guide Example

• The Puritans believed in predestination. What does that mean? Is that still practiced today?
• Are there any codes of ethics used anywhere today that remind you of the code used in The Crucible
• Danforth is a representative of the state government? Is he fair? What about your representatives?
• In The Crucible the forest personifies the devil. Is there any place in your town that is used to personify a myth?

Examples of What Dramaturgs Do - Part 4B - Media Packets - Program Notes

When people see the words, "program notes," they often think of a small blurb by the director or maybe something that the playwright included with the play to put in a playbill (or program). The notes are probably about one to three paragraphs in length. There is nothing wrong with this, but a dramaturg can prepare program notes that are more in depth.

Since I started my previous example with The Crucible, I will keep using that as the example for the media packet posts. A media packet for The Crucible might start out with asking a question such as, "Have you ever been witness to something you thought was wrong?" It might continue with another question like, "Did you report the incident?" Or it might start with story about a group of people who one person thought was doing something undesirable.

From there, the program notes could go into the fact that Reverend Parris saw his niece and her friends dancing in the forest. Of course, the whole play is not given away. However, some significant plot points in the play will be mentioned. Sources should also be used in the program notes.

The notes may then go into how there is a confrontation about the Reverend's daughter, Betty, being sick and that it couldn't be natural, so it must be of the devil. Deeper research would be done to find quotes about the situations.

One or two more points about the plot or how characters respond to situations may be mentioned and deeper research to find quotes about the play or the characters would be included that support the program notes.

The end of the play is not revealed. It is only some key details are revealed in the program notes. These go along with quotes and commentary found during the research. The program notes are supposed to interest potential audience members.

They are called program notes because they are made to go into the playbill (or program). However, some theatres may not want to include such a large portion of notes. Yet, some do include them. I've heard that in Germany, they are adept at dramaturgy and when people go to the theatre, the people basically receive a small booklet to read before the play. I don't know if this is true as I have never been to Germany, but that is what one of my textbooks said.

Examples of What Dramaturgs Do - Part 4A - Media Packets - Press Release

A media packet is a packet that can be sent out to local media sources such as radio stations, television stations, and newspapers. However, it can be sent out to more places such as schools and organizations. Ideally, if media packets are sent out to schools,they will be sent out in time for the school to request educational packets about the production.

The university in the town where I live, McNeese State University, recently had a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible on stage. If I were to make a media packet about this play, it would most likely include program notes, a press release, and a talk-back guide. It may contain more parts if those are wanted.

The first part of the media packet, the item that would be the first page people would see when receiving the packet, would be the press release. In the top left corner, it is going to say "Press Release:" then under that, it is going to say, "For immediate release:" After those are done, the title comes. This is a few lines under "For immediate release" and is also centered on the page. A catchy and clever title is a good thing. Possible titles I can think of quickly that probably aren't that good follow. So, it might say one of the following:

McNeese State University To Be Tried by Production of The Crucible Stagecraft To Take Place of Witchcraft when McNeese State University Presents The Crucible
McNeese State University Accused of Planning Presentation of Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Then the opening might start something like, "A group of girls dancing among nature seems completely innocent, but things quickly turn into a large trial over this activity and the people in the town that get in trouble aren't the ones that you'd expect." A little bit about Arthur Miller would then be given.

In the next paragraph, a little bit more about the play would be given. It would mention significant details of the play without giving the play away. It might say something about how the Reverend Parris finds his niece and her friends dancing and then how John Proctor thinks Abigail is still in love with him. It is likely that this paragraph will end with a question to get potential audience members interested in coming to the play, but it doesn't have to end with a question.

The next paragraph will give necessary information. For this play, it probably would have looked something like this:

Brook Hannemann directs McNeese State University students and Southwest Louisiana residents in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The Guardian said, "Arthur Miller's drama holds particular significance in the current political environment." The Crucible runs for six nights from September 27 to October 1 at 7:30pm and one afternoon, October 2 at 2pm in Tritico Theatre in the SFAA on the McNeese State University Campus. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for McNeese Faculty and Sttaff, and free for McNeese and Sowela students with ID. Tickets can be bought on the McNeese Performing Arts Website, by calling the McNeese Box Office at 337-475-5040 or in person at the box office.