Reflections...

There were two parts to the deal with in terms of reflection... so I am going to split them apart.

How did it feel during rehearsal?  I enjoy that process.  We only read through the excerpt twice, but the questions from the actors before, during and after were very valuable to me.  I made some quick cuts to the dialogue and wrote myself from notes, but it is always wonderful to have an actor look at the script from the perspective of a character and ask me questions.  Those questions tell me where I need to go next when I go back to the script.  It is especially telling for the non-protagonist characters. I usually have the main character pretty locked down as to their journey, but the other characters are just as important.  If they are not real and fleshed out with purposes and objectives, they will not work.  One of the actors asked me at the beginning if I had been able to sleep the night before - nerves and all that.  I actually had no trouble sleeping - I saw the cast list and was thrilled so I was sure they were going to make it sound good!  I also liked having the director's voice there.  The last two shows I wrote I also directed and it is so nice to have an alternate voice guiding the piece so I can just be playwright.  I love that spirit of collaboration that makes the piece something more than what I just envision it to be.

How did I feel during the performance with an audience?  Nervous.  Always nervous, but very, very pleased.  I was surprised at how funny it was.  I don't of my writing as funny, but the laughs were there and they felt very good.  I loved the rhythm of the 3 scenes.  And I loved the commitment that the three actors gave to telling the story.  Nadien's face at the end of the second scene almost made me cry.  She really embraced the character.  My friend who came with me did get teary (yay!?).  It was so good.

Now what? Well, another draft and then I will send it off to Act One for further development.  I would love to get a workshop down the line to really hammer it into shape but it's not quite ready for that yet. Thanks so much, Conni and Tracy and my Circle Compadres, this was a wonderful writing experience!

And that's a wrap! For Edmonton anyway...

A big Congratulations to the Edmonton Playwrights' Circle!!
We had segments from 8 plays rehearsed and read on Monday- Phew!!!
All of you worked very hard to prepare for the reading, and it was a fun-filled, albeit busy day.

I look forward to seeing how your plays develop from here...

This will be the last 'official' posting for the Edmonton circle, but I do hope that you will all continue to keep in touch and talk shop when possible.

For those of you in Calgary- how is your circle going?
Tell us about the development of your plays, and what kinds of challenges you are coming across.

One last question:

You've now had a little bit of attention on your play- professional actors have read your words aloud to a public audience.
How did it feel to hear your words read A) in a rehearsal setting and B) in front of a live audience?
How will this experience help you in the further development of your play?

Throw in your comments, I'd love to hear how it went for YOU on Monday.

All the best,
Keep in touch-
Keep on writing!!

Tracy

Rereading, Moving Things Around, and Rewriting...

Today I finally got to work on my second draft of Little Monsters. Yes, it is due tomorrow. Yes, I waited to the last moment. I have been thinking about it and what I needed to do with the script and I admit my lack of work on it had to do with not being sure how to proceed - a blockage, if you will... so I re-read my script, and I re-read my notes from the first feedback session, and I re-read the comments from other people who had read the script. And then I started doing little fixes. There were a few lines I flagged that I felt were off so I re-worked them. Then I moved a monologue to a new place and while I was at it, I rewrote it so it worked better in the new place. Then I thought about a scene that I felt was missing and I put it in where I thought it should be. It was all these little movements and tweaks and shifts but it got me moving through the old draft and into the new one.

Is the script done and close to perfect - NO WAY - but it's closer to what I want it to be. After all the little moves and tweaks I worked through it from start to finish and I feel that I can now call it a Second Draft. The unblocking is mostly technical writing - not artistry - I can't get to that for a few more drafts, but that's okay, I am closer now.

Unblocking and unlocking

Tracey's question was perfectly timed for what I have been working on over the last week. I get overwhelmed easily and so the perceptions I have take some time to filtre through and sift into what is useful and what is not. I am easily beglamoured. It often takes a while for me to get past the surface. 
I have been grinding through the mill of my perceptions and feelings about creativity. I am learning when to stay and when to go.
     I have just written two emails bemoaning the fact that I can't make connections in the piece I am writing; that I wanted to throw it all out; and why am I doing this anyway? It terrifies me. What if I get laughed at? Poor, poor pitiful me. Ha. I realize that this is part of the creative process. When I write it down and/or talk about it then I move forward again on the piece. My learning process is so different than what it used to be. I have to write it; speak it; talk to others about it; physically act out; give it time; in fact, use all of my senses--including my brain to get it together.  What I observe, as well, is each individual is unique; especially in the journey that each person takes to get to the end product. This fascinates me.
        In answer to your question, Tracey, every draft has its own particular stumbling blocks. The exchange of ideas and constructive criticisms from others helps me begin to put things together. I am not quick; sometimes I take several months to get a point being slow of study. But that's okay. 
        When I began this piece I had three lines. I didn't believe that I would ever be able to make something out of it. I am continually jumping off cliffs. This whole experience has been an exercise in jumping and not worrying about what happens after I have jumped. To simply do. To let it happen and to leap. The secret is to hang out there; especially when preconceived ideas from my own past and what others have said buffet me about the head & shoulders with doubt, fear, and all the other negative things that happen when I don't really believe I can stand it for another minute.
         Then I see that I am still here after another minute has passed and the ideas come. They don't always come on demand--they come when they like. It seems to occur in the middle of the night. While that is very "romantic" in a sense--in reality it makes me tired. As I get better at how this all works--it will change. I only concentrate on one thing at a time. Which means that I can only focus on one thing. When I try to do more than that--I don't work--I get nothing.
          I feel so lucky. This circle is worth its weight in gold. Each week I get to hear something new and amazing and then to discuss it. Bliss. I am also taking/making this year (which has been a year of huge change for me) as my "Canada Council Grant B." Not really a grant but an opportunity that I am able to take. I do something I love and I get to play. 
           Yesterday, the blizzard was perfect for the Chronicles. The power in my building was off--so--no phone, heat, hot water, elevators, lights, internet--everything was down. Going downstairs was a descent into the hell realms. It was pitch black and I had no flashlight. Fortunately, the power was repaired after ten hours. I couldn't do much except write with pen and ink. Read. I keep a book beside me to write stuff in. After the initial panic--I just let go and wrote. It took my mind away from waiting. Waiting was all I could do. 

Week #5/6

Hello gang!

I want to send a warm welcome out to the Calgary Playwrights' Circle, who will be joining us for a few weeks as they are just starting up a new Spring group!

Now the conversation should get even MORE interesting!!

So far, the Edmonton group has been chatting about how to start your plays, how you develop your characters and how you approach writing dialogue. If the Calgary bunch has some comments to post about any of these topics, please feel free to join in- we'd love to see/hear your thoughts!

Now, for a question for both circles:

The Edmonton circle is about halfway through it's Winter/Spring session and will have a nice Easter break- time for doing some writing, of course;)

I wonder about the following questions to all of you writers:

Is there a point in the development of your play when you feel stuck? How do you push-through, stay focused and keep going to finish yet another draft? Is it more challenging to finish your first draft or subsequent ones?

Alright, I'm very excited to hear from both Edmonton and Calgary on this one- a provincial chat!

Talk to you all soon and Happy Easter!!

Tracy

Putting the First Draft to Bed

I finished the first draft of Little Monsters tonight. That's a good feeling. I know it isn't done as a play, but the first draft is such a monumental step in the process. I have a hard time leaving it right now, but I know I should leave it until Monday when I hear it aloud. Very exciting, and scary too... I am looking forward to it. For now, however, the voices are quieter.

Jacobean Tragedy

Okay, I have since found out that I got the mords wixed. I meant John Webster--who was alive from the late 1500s to the early 1600s and may have been a contemporary of Shakespeare. During the reign of King James he wrote a few amazing pieces before disappearing into obscurity. I didn't know this BUT  "The Duchess of Malfi." is all about incest, murder, exhumation and total weirdness. 
            Wanted to correct that. Cheers. Jain

Thanks for the memories.

I want to thank everyone for their input last night. It was---Wow! Amazing, wonderful and useful. It will take me time to sort through all the remembered and written conversation that we got into! The evening was on fire. I found the other two pieces very inspiring, complete or not, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.
         I certainly was and (either that or the Spring Equinox)--I stayed awake and wrote until three this morning. Not something I do often. 
         Anyway, hartfelt thanks to all of you. Your responses, feedback and ideas (not just verbal but what I could see and sense) on so many other levels were a great help to moving this piece forward! Do you know the Revenge Tragedies of James I? Lots of blood and total weirdness but I believe takes place offstage or in the past (I am drawn to James Webster). Webster is not literal about his buckets of blood   ( I don't think)--but they are definitely there. Of course, now I will have to go back to them to really see if that is correct or not. Even if it isn't I still would rather not be throwing the buckets around. A time-honoured (?) combination of Sex & Death. Now, for the comic relief.
           I spent some time last night watching some Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter--searching for a guide to pauses and so on. Mamet's quote: that Rhythm is meaning; is a truth.  And part of the pauses, silences, beats, etcetera. A bit too pat to my way of thinking but true nonetheless. Rhythm plays a part in all of our existence--conscious or not. We move to it even when we don't think about it. Bringing that to the conscious mind is part of making a play and the characters therein. It is essential to building beginning, middle and end and differs with every character; every piece written; and, every playwright. Like the creative process itself--the rhythms in us are as individual as the way we get to the end product--whatever it is. Finding those rhythms and acknowledging them is part of what helps the playwright to speak to an audience. Whether it is Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, or, Mr Mamet. 
            Mamet has never been one of my favourite playwrights. I say this without prejudice (i.e. personal baggage interference). I do agree with him, however. 
             The second question of where the characters' voices come from was beautifully covered by Kristen. Part of my way to absorb and remember new information is to read things aloud a lot. Especially with characters in a piece. That also disengages them from me and then they can be separate and talk to me about what they are and what they need, want, get. It may take awhile and hearing from other folks helps to make their voices clearer to me. No Kristen you are not mad--or, if you are then I am too! You are not alone in this. One of the things about madness is that I believe I am the only one to feel like this. Not so.


Thanks again, everyone. 
Jain

Words, Words, Words...

It's probably because I started as an actor, but I hear the words and often I speak the words as I type them. Yesterday I had to do that, because I was writing a character unlike myself, so I after I wrote what I heard in my head, I had to read the words aloud to see if it tracked. This really ties into character for me, because I do hear voices in my head (no, I am not crazy) and what I hear is the voices of my characters. When the character is not as clear in my head, the words are more practical and less organic, but often I will hear a specific voice with a specific way of speaking.

I love when it becomes a scene with urgency, either a fight or excitement, because I find that affects the dialogue - short, fast, choppy, louder, this word, that one. I like playing with how much one character says compared to another - what does that say about how each of them feels about the situation (it's not about counting lines, that's for sure...). I like it when I can hear the "ums" and the "ers" and I put those in. They feel important.

The proof comes in the reading. I am looking forward to next week, because I will hear someone else say the words and I will see how closely it matches up to the voices in my head. I am nervous, too, because I know this play is nowhere near done... a skeleton, really. But I am looking forward to putting the flesh on it's bones.

* submitted by Kristen Finlay

Week #3/4-

I apologize for getting behind on my 'weekly' questions...

Let's catch up here as I post a double-whammy- a question and a statement for you to comment on.

The conversation has been great so far, keep the comments coming!!

OK, many of you went to see the play RACE by David Mamet last week. Here is a quote from him:

"Rhythm is meaning." Discuss

Secondly, my last blog question to you all was about character creation and hearing your characters' voices. Inspired by David Mamet, who is a master at writing dialogue, I have the following question for you:

How do you approach writing dialogue? Do you find that you can hear the voices of your characters and simply let them talk, or do you have a more planned-out approach, plotting out what they need to say for the desired effect for the play?

Looking forward to reading your responses...

Hope the development on your plays is coming along smoothly.

See you soon!

Tracy

Creating the Who...

In the past I have used a variety of tools to create my characters. The thing I do most frequently is STEAL. Sometimes I am more subtle than other times. I cobble together qualities from some people and mix them with qualities from another person. That tends to create a whole new person. When I am writing female characters I usually have their entire history in my head - I know them - I know what made them who they are and why they relate to the other people and the circumstances the way they do. When I get stuck on a moment or a point of plot or character choice, it is usually because I need to go into them and figure out something about their past that I don't know.

I will admit, I find this harder with men. My male characters are more of a struggle for me and I always try to work at that. If I get stuck I STEAL again. I think of actors that I know that I thin would be good in the role and think about what would work if they were playing that character. Usually this is someone I know (a local person), but sometimes it's a famous person (I have used Anthony Hopkins as my muse...). I find that when I STEAL from life I like the results. I get different voices and diction and that helps making it seem like a real scene between people and not just an abstract discussion.

The characters change too - sometimes the way I picture them in the first draft is very different from who they become in the last draft. This is because I have to let things go that do not work. I think that can be tough because sometimes you become really attached to the people you create.

I have stolen a lot in my play writing. The script that I am working on now steals from my own life but mostly I steal from other people's lives... that too helps with the creating the who...

Characters--where do they come from?

Here it is Week #3. I send my regrets for not attending this week. Hugh/Eric, I will read your piece again when I can and send my comments to you sometime this week.
         As to characters--it feels like an organic process for me. I have ideas--sometimes just a title and then as I learn more about what it is I might or might not use I let the characters come to me and tell me what they want to say. These people in this piece have been around for many years but only in the last two have they bothered to separate from me and tell me what they want. They are sometimes from people I have met; from experiences I have had or things I have seen read or written in the past. I like the fact that the group requested that I make each of these characters "real" and "alive." Michelle, that helped me to make connections in the back stories that I didn't know before. And so what you tell me affects what happens in all three scenes--so it keeps evolving.
        I feel like a biographer. It is a bit schizoid but then the other seventy-three of us don't seem to have a problem in here. 
        For anyone who is interested--one of the members of the Firesign Theatre, Peter Bergman, passed away from Leukemia on March 9, 2012. The game show that I had originally wanted to use is from Firesign Theatre "Beat the Reaper." Go to this site to see/hear a cut of this and other off the wall and wonderfully punny stuff:
             Peter Bergman 1939 - 2012. 
I will not be using that particular game show--but that is the idea behind the game I want to use. Thanks to you Hugh/Eric about what questions to use--that has sent me off in another direction.
Okay, gotta fly.
Evam

Characters

"Here is the question for week #2!
Characters- how do you differentiate their voices? How do you choose their names? Do you find that you model a real person when creating a character?"

The answers to all these questions varies based on what I'm writing and where I'm coming from.

Sometimes they just come to me - voices, names, personality, etc. 

Often for my fiction writing I do some research to have the character's names have a deeper meaning; with an idea of the 'journey' the character is on through the story.

I have also modeled characters after real people. In my prose I have 2 characters named specifically after people I know (they wanted me to use their names in stories), however as I work with the characters the personality, and voice, become distinct. The play I produced at the 2007 Fringe was based on real people, names changed, and a couple of the characters were true to form.

Generally to help differentiate the voices of the characters I actually visualize them - whether they're based on real people, or not, they become more real to me in imagining them and understanding something of their life or back story. From there I try and bring their voices to the page.

For this play, Joe (Joseph) and Carl (Carlos) were the names from the start (as was Dr. Van der Hauk), though the characters did go through a flip in role. Maria had other names before deciding on her name. All of their voices come from my imagined presence of them. The other names in the play - Maria's classmates, etc, - had only the thought of balancing the alphabet through the play - with a little more thought on a few odd characters (Alyssa, Hugh, Blaine, and Mr. Fordom).

Week #2!

Hello all!

It was so nice to meet you all last night. It is a lovely group and I look forward to hearing about the progress on your plays...

Great discussion was started last week with the question of the greatest challenge- it seems that finding time and getting stuck on a part of your play are two issues that are common struggles...

The fact that you are part of this circle and taking the time to focus on your work is wonderful! Hopefully you can work through any kinks that you have in your plays through this process.

Here is the question for week #2!

Characters- how do you differentiate their voices? How do you choose their names? Do you find that you model a real person when creating a character?

Alright, post your thoughts...

And all the best with the development of your plays!

Talk to you all soon-

Tracy

Thanks

I just want to thank you all for the great feedback yesterday. The comments were inspiring, so much so that I woke up several times in the night with ideas of what to change/add. This is a great group and I can't wait till next week.

Pitching and Playing

I am looking out over the River Valley and it is snow bound and foggy. I enjoyed reading Kristen's post from last week about asking questions regarding our own pieces--how does what happens in the play help Alix to move from misery out into a different life. What does each character do to help her and in turn each other move out of the vortex of despair? Without being esoteric or stretching the "suspension of disbelief" too far. I have been letting those things roll around in my brain for the last week or so. I started keeping my "canada council A grant" book and a pen beside my bed. I sometimes wake up with ideas or have them when I can't sleep and if I don't write it down then it is gone. 
All the new information received last week takes me a while to process. Now I feel like I get it. I am really glad that we did the "pitch" thing this last week--and will be working on two pieces per week. That gives me the opportunity to focus on whoever is presenting on a particular Monday--and to use the points made about other pieces for my own--if applicable. 
I also do not want to forget that, for me, this is literally 'play' writing. Playing is very important and it sounds and looks like I have found some good playmates. I want to enjoy what I and others do. I have always been fascinated by the different ideas people write about and how different the individual creative processes are.
I look forward to this evening.
Cheers.
Evam 

Celtx scriptwriting software information

As I mentioned when I sent my script to everyone to review, I use Celtx software to write my scripts. I thought I could add a blog post for anyone interested in knowing more about the software. This is not intended as a sales pitch for the software, just information on it for those who have never heard of it.

I have been using Celtx for about 6 years, and every time I go to their website it is different (mind you I don't go that often): https://www.celtx.com/

The software is open-source or free-ware. Either way it's free to download and use, however I just noticed as I explored their site this time, that you are suppose to register (for free) to get the download (free), though I found a download link through another site by googling "celtx free download" - if you want to check out the software yourself.

Why I use and like the software:

• There are a variety of preset script formats (Film, Audio-Visual, Theatre, Audio Play, and some others)
• It is more of a project binder than a document, so you can have pages of notes with your script but not part of your script (i.e. more than one 'document' are in the project). I have a page of links related to my research as one page in my project
• There are sections you can add where you can fully define your characters, props, settings, sounds, lighting, and many more (again all kept within the same main file / project binder)
• The script can easily be marked with all the props and settings, etc and a report / list of all of them is generated
• When I first started using Celtx they had free online storage, where you also share your script with others / collaborators. At one point that became a paid feature. With my brief look now I can't tell if they went back to free or still paid
• It is available on all 3 major operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux).

If you'd like to know more, check out their site or feel free to ask me.

the biggest challenge?

the moment when the initial idea loses steam...

we all know that feeling: you wake up one morning OBSESSED with something; your fingers and brain begging you to write. you blow off the whole day or stay up all night diving headlong into an idea and then... BAM! you hit a wall! hard. the well feels like it's run dry and you stare at that page or the computer and your head feels empty.

that.

or when you get that first round of notes from your dramaturg.

that.

or making time to write in a busy life that is perhaps, not the most inspiring.

that.

or learning to write without inspiration.

that.

or...
or...
or...

for me at least.
but amidst all these challenges there are few things as satisfying as writing...

Hearing the Stories to Come...

It was great to hear all the 'pitches' last night. I am excited to read what will come in the next few weeks. It was also good for me to hear the questions I should be asking myself. Those questions like: "Who is this play about?", "What's the worst that can happen?", and "What are the stakes?" are so key in focussing the work and often when you get stuck in the writing, those are the questions that you need to ask to get yourself to move forward. I can't do much writing today because of looming work deadlines, but I am anxious to go back to my script this weekend to ask myself those necessary questions and push it along to the next step.

*submitted by Kristen

Getting Started?

This is my first experience as a blog. So here I go. Getting started seems to be the most difficult thing to do but once the first step is taken then it seems to be the most joyful experience in the world.
There are times when ideas don't come and I can't see the forest for the trees. For me--writing backstories for each character has connected them in strange and unusual ways. I have found out about their motives and reasons for existence and then they might tell me what they want to say and do. 
This may sound slightly schizoid but I couldn't really look at the piece as a whole or write much of anything until I did some background research and stories on the people in the play.
This particular piece I have been working on for a while. I have now got to a point in my life where I can use my time to write and rewrite. (I have never been able to just put it all down in one go.)
I really look forward to this opportunity to listen to other ideas and points of view about life, the universe and everything--and to get feedback and direction. 
I don't know yet about this blog thing but I suspect it will help me move further into the twenty-first century. I am a dinosaur (one of the little fast ones) when it comes to all the technology AND have decided not to let that stand in my way.
So here goes. 

Biggest Challenge?

For me, probably the biggest challenge is getting pen to paper (or fingers on keyboard). After that, nearly everything else is still a challenge.

I have always had a good imagination, but haven't been good at getting the ideas down. Most of my previous writing has been more along the prose, so one of my secondary challenges in writing a play is ensuring the flow is appropriate; not switching scenes too often, keeping a flow of dialogue with any on stage action, ensuring the characters are not static on stage (either intent to move, or possibility to move if director so decides)., and keeping the dialogue interesting / on topic.

That sums up the challenges I thought of last night while contemplating the question.

I am also looking forward to the Playwrights' Circle and meeting you all tonight. :)

- Hugh Kemeny

Getting started

What isn't a challenge? I've only written prose before, so getting the rhythm right (pacing), and the wordiness out is challenging. I'm used to describing everything in detail, including what the characters look like, so just letting go of my own vision and allowing the drector and actors to visualize the play will also be interesting. I'm really excited about the workshop.

Getting Started...

There is nothing like a looming deadline to get me writing. I don't know about you, but the calendar drives most of my productivity. On that note, I spent many hours yesterday working on my Pitch and the first act of my play, Little Monsters. I know already that I have written scenes and lines that will not make it into the final script, but I also know that I have to write the bad play before the good one will come. At this stage I try not to think about the quality of the writing. If I did I would not get much done because I would spend too much time trying to finesse each line. Who cares if I have 3 great pages if I only have 3 pages? I can do that after... when I have the whole thing out there. Then I can go back and be tough on the writing. The Pitch writing was a great exercise as it made me think of where I want the script to go. I often start with a theme or concept I want to explore and it takes me awhile to push that into a plot so actually having to think about what happens next gave me a lot of momentum. I know things will change from what I wrote in the pitch, but it is a great leaping-off point.

I am looking forward to Monday. To meeting the Circle and hearing what everyone is working on. I am glad to have this push to get me moving on the keyboard.

*submitted by Kristen M. Finlay

APN Edmonton Playwrights' Circle Blog

Welcome to the first ever APN Playwrights' Circle Blog!!!

This is the place where you can post ideas about writing - your writing, writing you observe on stage, topics you talk about in your circle meetings etc.

Conni and I will post weekly questions or topics about the writing process that you can comment on.

Let's kick this off right away-

First question for all of you:

What are your biggest challenges when you are writing a play?

OK, get on here and comment away!

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this question and will keep the discussion going for the 10 weeks of your circle.

Looking forward to some good chats!

Talk to you soon!

Tracy