The Chocolate Affair

If you're hurting for some last minute inspiration, I encourage you to read "The Chocolate Affair," a ten minute play by contemporary playwright Stephanie Alison Walker. You can download on my Siena Webpage.

Peer Review Workshop

Peer review, if taken seriously, can be immensely helpful in crafting one's work. Peer review is more than going through a checklist of requirements or checking for correct grammar. It is about responding thoughtfully to someone's work as an authentic and truthful audience member. Does the piece honestly do anything for you? If you want to help your peers, you would answer that question truthfully. And if you do happen to really enjoy someone's work, you must say more than this: it was good. Take your time. Read the script twice. Be specific in your responses.

PART I: Written Peer Review

Just follow the worksheet


PART II: Verbal Peer Review

After reading someone's play, please discuss the following with the writer:

1. The strong points of the play

2. The weak points of the play

3. What you think the play's message is

HW: Please complete your 10 minute play. Tomorrow in class you should have the following items:

1. Your 10 minute play, typed (6-10 pages)
2. Peer review worksheet
3. Rubric (please print out here if you lost your original copy)

While the Auto Waits and Workshop Postponed

Well, we've changed things up quite a bit today. The peer review workshop has been moved  to Thursday due to technical difficulties.

I would like to remind folks that there is NO excuse for not having something  typed and ready to be reviewed by a peer during tomorrow's class. We spent three classes writing in the computer lab at school. You've been allowed to email your work to yourself, save it on flash drives and even print out your work when necessary.

Today, we will read  and discuss O. Henry's "While the Auto Waits." This 10 minute play will hopefully give you greater insight into how to develop a short, effective piece. We need to get away from the idea that this assignment is asking you to write a full length play in the span of 6 pages. You are writing a short play, which requires a narrower focus, rather than trying to have your characters complete the "Greatest Hits" of dramatic situations in the span of a couple pages ( for example: saving the world, curing a disease, solving a double homicide, while making time for the family)

FINAL LAB DAY

This was your final day in the computer lab.

HW: Please complete at least (that means at bare minimum), 2/3 of your 10 minute play. PLEASE BRING TO CLASS TOMORROW FOR A PEER REVIEW SESSION.

LABWORK: DAY 2 (and some helpful hints)

We will continue to work on our plays in the lab, but first let's go over some advice/reminders.

1. Here's a phrase I put on several of your scripts: Too cinematic. Cinematic means that the way in which you're presenting your play is more appropriate for film (the use of a camera). So, when your scenes are too cinematic, it means your play is taking on a form that is not well-suited for the stage.

examples of too cinematic: constantly switching scenes, explosions, the use of  vehicles, sets that are far too complex (a shopping mall where characters keep going into an out of stores, a street on which characters walk down for the duration of the play...how big of a stage are you working with here?)


2. In light of those comments, KEEP YOUR SETS SIMPLE. Believe it or not, this will spark creativity, rather than snuff it out. Keep in mind, 10-minute plays are usually performed in black box theaters, much like the space that we had created for our production of Our Town in Rm. 120. I'm not saying abandon props and set design. Just keep it simple.

3. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are VITAL, ESSENTIAL, CRITICAL, IMPORTANT. Choose any one of those words, they all suggest the same thing!

A note on grammar: Keep your stage directions in present tense (so, not "she was", but "she is") You may have fragments, however, because people don't always speak in complete sentences: "You hungry?"

A note on spelling: Enough with the "Hellooooooooooooooooo's" and the "u's" instead of writing out the word, "you." Those are distracting to the actor who is trying to learn the part. You may spell words incorrectly, but only to convey accents or dialects. Remember "Saturday," looking like "Satiddy" in Our Town?  Or "liquor" looking like "likker?" Those misspellings were to help the actor with the accent. Is it necessary to do that? No, but you certainly are allowed to.

A note on punctuation: Don't be afraid of the period, ladies and gentlemen. Many of your scripts lacked them. Lack of (and excessive use of) punctuation is also very distracting to actors. Many of you will insert the comma between two independent clauses (two complete thoughts) because you want the lines to flow, but that is actually called a comma splice. Take this sentence, for example: "She went to the store, she likes it there." This is actually a run-on. It should read like this: She went to the store. She likes it there. Each sentence is a main or independent clause, meaning, each phrase completes a thought, requiring a period between the two, NOT a comma.

Also, the use of hybrid punctuation is confusing, and therefore should be avoided: You're here?!?!?!

And please, for the love of God, one punctuation mark will do when concluding a sentence (of course, the exception being the ellipsis to signify trailing off: Excuse me, can you me find the. . .

HW: Please read Play Rubric and fill out the slip. Continue to work on plays at home. 

LABWORK: 10 Minute Plays

We will be in the computer lab today working on our 10 minute plays.  Please stay on task because it is A.) part of your participation grade and B.) you'll be cutting down the amount of time you have to devote to this outside of school.

Please do not access the internet because permission to do so has not yet been granted by our technology guru, Mr. Moore.

Please reference the 10 Minute Play Formula handout to make sure you are hitting all the necessary points of this type of play. If you've misplaced the original copy handed out in class, it is on my webpage. Click here.

HW: Continue to work on your 10 minute play.

*Please note: excessive off-task behavior in the lab will result in a sooner deadline for this writing assignment.

Play Script Format

Today in class we'll be running a script formatting workshop.

HW: Please complete a one page scene, which can be absolute nonsense, but must maintain correct playwriting format throughout. See handout given in class for assignment details.

Forget your script format sheet at school? Don't panic. Click here to get it.