My play SISTER CALLING MY NAME to open in Minneapolis...

Here's a little personal horn tooting...

My play Sister Calling My Name opens October 16th at the Open Window Theatre in Minneapolis.   I thought I'd announce the production in case there's some readers of this blog who are within striking distance and who might be interested in seeing it.

For a full description of the play and for reserving tickets go to the theatre's website.

The play won the National Play Award several years ago and has been produced all over the country and Canada in productions large and small.  What makes this staging special is that the play is set in Minnesota (my home state) and this will be the Minnesota premiere.

I also appreciate that the theatre has brought me in on early production meetings and are flying me out for rehearsals the week of the opening.  I'll be doing Q & A's with the audience opening weekend, October 16 and 17.  I would rate Open Window as definitely playwright friendly.  

If you manage to catch the production, I'd love to get your feedback.

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I'm the Program Director of the low-residency MFA in Writing for Stage and Screen being offered by the New Hampshire Institute of Art.  Our next residency runs January 3-11, 2016 and we are now considering applications for starting the program in January.  I'm also a playwright and screenwriter, producing partner in my production company Either/Or Films (The Sensation of Sight and Only Daughter), and a professional script consultant.

The negative and positive premise

     If you've been following this series of posts on premise, I hope you're starting to get a sense of why it's important to add this tool to your toolbox.  Here's yet another consideration.

     There are basically two kinds of workable dramatic premises. The first conveys a lesson by showing the negative consequences of a certain mode of behavior or action.  It leaves the audience wiser about what not to do if they want to avoid the central character's fate:  ruthless ambition leads to destruction, jealousy leads to ruin, suspicion leads to disaster, chasing after worldly success leads to disillusionment.  A good number of classic plays and films contain this type of premise.  The best of them are enormously powerful and have the potential to affect audiences profoundly.

Scriptwriting retreat in New Hampshire...?

           I wanted to put a bug in your ear about an interesting possibility.  Recently I’ve been approached by a couple of potential scriptwriting clients about the idea of coming up to my farm in New Hampshire for an intensive script consultation with me on a project of theirs.  We’re talking about a period of time ranging from a weekend to a couple of weeks.

I love the idea (obviously on a limited basis) because this in-person work is a very productive way to really dig into a script and make enormous progress in a relatively short period.  I’ve done this numerous times with writers at playwright/screenwriter conferences around the country, but never at my own place in the hills of southwest NH.  At least not with scriptwriting clients.  I’ve held many script pow wows here with my own producing teams on our film company’s projects, but this will be the first time I’m actually opening up this possibility to my writer clients.

My rambling spread is in the hills of Stoddard, NH in the heart of northern New England.  We’re on a high ridge overlooking the famous Mt. Monadnock to the south.  From our big front porch (where we’ve conducted countless script and production meetings) we overlook the Green Mountains in Vermont 60-70 miles away to the west.

 We have a private beach on Granite Lake just down the road and our property borders on 15,000 acres of forest preserve.  Suffice it to say, it’s conducive to the creative spirit and to harnessing that special energy that comes with it.  An added bonus is that I might be able to pull in my producing partner, writer/director Aaron J. Wiederspahn, to join us on the porch for a session or two, especially if we’re discussing a pertinent film we’ve just screened together. 

I’ve investigated several possible housing arrangements and there are ample opportunities to rent a place nearby for a short-term stay.  This is a major laid-back summer vacation region, so finding a B&B or other accommodations is very doable.  Prices run the gamut.  

Just thought I’d throw this out there, seeing I have clients already suggesting it.  Let me know if you’d be interested in discussing the possibility further.  Best way to reach me directly is at buzz@eitherorfilms.com or contact me through my website at www.buzzmclaughlinscripts.com.  Could be a fun way to get a lot of good work done on your project in a very short period of time.

More thoughts on premise...

            In all my years working with playwrights and screenwriters, the one thing that’s helped the most in getting to the heart of a script’s problems is focusing in on what the writer really wants to say.  Without a clear sense of where you want to land with your story it’s almost impossible to proceed in figuring out how to put it together or rearrange it so it will arrive there.  Successful invention happens because the inventor has a passion for creating a specific thing that, once made, functions in a specific way.  It’s no different with a successful script.  This is why giving some serious thought to your dramatic premise early in your writing process is worth the effort.  

            Here are some further tips to keep in mind as you work at formulating your premise.

Why think about your premise early on?

     There’s a somewhat silly argument swirling around out there about the importance of thinking about what you’re trying to say with your piece as you start developing a new story idea.  Silly because it’s obvious that there’s an interrelatedness between theme and structure.  That it’s important early on in the development of any story idea to attempt to come up with—as accurately and as simply and clearly as possible—the universal truth you think you ultimately want to communicate.  In scriptwriting this is generally referred to as the dramatic premise.

It's all in the story

Recently there’s been a lively discussion on my production company’s Facebook page about the scriptwriting process and the order in which writers should learn the elements of the craft. 

 

Of course, the difficulty in learning the skills necessary to write a good play or screenplay is determining where to start.  All the basics are important.   However, towering over everything else is the story you want to tell and how you want to tell it.  It all starts here.

One-day Scriptwriting Workshop

I’m offering a special workshop on Saturday, May 21 in Keene, New Hampshire.  Here’s the basic information: 

SCRIPTWRITING MASTER CLASS / WORKSHOP

                  WITH BUZZ McLAUGHLIN

An intensive and lively one-day scriptwriting workshop for playwrights and screenwriters that will take participants through the A to Z process of writing a play or screenplay:

·        laying down the basics and formulating your dramatic idea

·        In-depth character exploration

·        Analyzing and charting out dramatic structure

·        Format and techniques of good dialogue

·        Writing the first draft and beyond

Utilizing numerous exercises and handouts to guide you through the writing process as it unfolds, the day is designed for both beginners and more experienced writers looking for a solid review of the basics. 

WHEN:  SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2011  10am - 5pm

               (with 1 hour lunch break in downtown Keene)

WHERE:  EITHER/OR FILMS OFFICES

                 7 MAIN STREET, KEENE, NH

                 #11, THIRD FLOOR

COST:  $125

TO REGISTER:  CALL 603-313-4872

                           or email buzz@eitherorfilms.com 

Join us if you can! 

Why another blog on scriptwriting...?

I decided to start this blog to share some of what I have learned about scriptwriting over the past three plus decades.  My career runs the gamut from independent film producer to playwright to screenwriter to artistic director of a professional theatre, to author of a popular book on playwriting, to scriptwriting workshop leader, to university professor of playwriting, to script consulting.


Through these various facets of my career (most running simultaneously) I’ve learned a few things about how to put a play or screenplay together and how a writer in the entertainment business can best maneuver the often turbulent and tricky waters of creating a brilliant script and then see it get produced in a beautiful and professional way.  So now I figure, as Neil Young hints at in one of my favorite songs ("Tell Me Why"), I’ve reached a point when I’m “old enough to repay” but still “young enough to sell.”