The Initial Test of Your New Script

One of the things I've observed in my career as a writer of plays and screenplays and as a producer of new scripts is the critical importance of that very first test of new material with other artist/collaborators.  In other words, there's a lot at stake when your new script is being given voice for the first time.  This phase in the life of a new screenplay or play is--for you, the writer--often a make or break moment.

When I founded the Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey many years ago, my primary motivation was to help writers with this delicate first "release" of their new script to the wider world.  I knew that the actors assembled to give the work its first read had to be carefully chosen for each role and had to be very good at bringing words on the page to life with little or no rehearsal.  I knew that to do otherwise would risk the writer concluding that they'd lost their hearing, as playwright Wendy Wasserstein told me when she described her response to a first reading of a new play of hers.  Some of the actors were simply not right for the roles and she had trouble recognizing the play she'd just finished writing.

Or as playwright and Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley told me when he first released his wonderful play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea:  "I thought [it] was a dead loss on the basis of a reading.  I heard the reading and I said, 'Well, I guess I was wrong.  I thought it was good.'  Then I did another reading and I thought, 'Well, it's better.'  And then I got some good people and I thought, 'All right, now we're talking!'  So you have to be very careful not to write off a [script] on the basis of a bad reading."

Just realize that your initial launch with new material--allowing other artists to connect with it for the first time--is more significant than you may at first realize.  As eager as you may be to hear your script come to life for the first time, be careful to gather actors that are talented, are a good match for the character they're reading, and know what their character's function is in the play or screenplay.

Screenwriting and Playwriting Teachers Can Make the Difference

When I was asked to put together a new low-res MFA in Writing for Stage and Screen, the first question I asked myself was: who could I bring in to teach and mentor students?  And the answer was an immediate no-brainer, because one of the great blessings of my career has been the long list of talented professionals I've gotten to know and have worked with over the years.

To my mind, nothing is more important in a graduate degree program in scriptwriting than to gather a powerhouse group of dedicated working professionals who are in the thick of their careers--playwrights and screenwriters and other artists who are out there on the front lines getting their work consistently produced and applauded.

I've been fortunate to have made a lot of close and productive connections with these kind of artists. And so it was a pleasure to make contact with a select group of them and ask if they'd be interested in joining me in launching a new MFA. To a person, they all immediately and enthusiastically wanted to be a part of this adventure and suddenly, as Program Director, I knew I had a first-class and not-to-be-beat program in the making.

One of the great features of a low-residency program like this is that it's possible to attract working professional writers and other artists as teachers and mentors without requiring them to commit to a full-time faculty position.  In other words, these individuals can continue in their active careers as they also lend their expertise and experience to the program, both at the 10-day residencies and in semester-long mentoring that takes place between residencies.  These artists love teaching and helping emerging writers find their own voices, and so I wasn't really surprised when everyone I contacted said they'd love to be a part of the program.  In fact, to a person, these pros can't wait to start giving back and to share what they've learned in a hands-on and no-nonsense program like we've designed.  Naturally I'm excited because students in the program will be surrounded by a talented group of nurturing and challenging teacher/mentors dedicated to equipping each student with what they need to excel in their careers.

Hope you check out who they are!

Why a Low-Residency MFA?

Since announcing our new low-residency MFA program, several people have asked me what exactly is a low-residency degree program and what are its advantages.  Here's a short list of some of its attractions, at least regarding our program:

-- Anyone considering an MFA in playwriting and/or screenwriting has one looming decision to make from the get-go--namely can I afford both the cost and the time involved with going after the degree?  The low-residency MFA came into being as a credible alternative to the two- or three-year graduate programs requiring full-time residency by all students for the duration of the course of study.  Full-time programs require turning one's established life upside down as students have to move to within shouting distance of the institution offering the program, quit their job, and put life as they have come to know it on hold until they've earned the degree.  The low-res programs, in contrast, require students to attend one short intensive residency each semester of the program (ours is for ten days every June and January for four semesters) where a carefully worked out series of courses are taken in a workshop format under established working professionals and then throughout the following semester students work one-on-one with a faculty mentor from their own home workspace.  The student's life and livelihood is not significantly disrupted and a writing schedule can be determined that fits each student's particular set of circumstances.

--In our low-res program, another distinguishing feature is the focus on testing student work at each residency in a lab-like environment with an ensemble of working professionals (think Sundance Playwrights Lab or the O'Neill or New Harmony to name a few).  Having spent my career developing new scripts with actors, directors, and other artists, I know the absolute necessity of having a writer's work given voice and having the opportunity to feel and hear feedback to new material.  A student writer works all semester on projects knowing that at the next residency his or her scripts will be put through an exploratory development process.  I can't think of a better arrangement.

--With the line-up of faculty/mentors and other working artists that a professionally-oriented low-res program can attract, a natural benefit for students is getting connected to a vast network of people working actively in the field.  This, of course, is also true in the best of the full-time residency degree programs, but no more so than in the low-res programs.  In fact, in our low-res program, we've designed it so that students make direct contact with a large number of working professionals at each residency. This networking component will always be a major consideration for us, and an important measure of our success will be the degree to which we can help launch students into successful careers.

--Finally, when push comes to shove, the final determining factor for the majority of potential students considering an MFA program is cost.  The low-residency approach in most cases runs about half as much as full-time programs with the return on investment being about equal.  To me it's a no-brainer and why I jumped at the opportunity to put together this new program.

Announcing a New Low-Res MFA in Scriptwriting

Since my last post I've been busy with many projects, not the least of which is putting together a new low-residency MFA in Writing for Stage and Screen  that's being offered through the New Hampshire Institute of Art.  I've welcomed this opportunity as it's allowed me to design a graduate-level playwriting and screenwriting program that will be the most hands-on and practical program of its kind in the country. The focus is on learning and developing craft, of course, but what makes it unique is its lab-based approach to testing student work with an ensemble of theatre and film professionals at each residency, allowing for scripts to be given voice and to provide extensive and realistic feedback to our student writers. We've gathered a stellar faculty of proven pros and are launching the program this coming June 2013 in beautiful Peterborough, NH nestled in the heart of the famous Mt. Monadnock region of New England.. Please take a look and spread the word to any potential students you may know who might be looking for an MFA program that will give them a very special professional launch as well as their graduate degree.

Developing great characters, Part 9: personality and sense of self

     Continuing my ongoing series on initial character exploration, here are a couple more aspects to consider when looking at what I’m calling your character’s internal world.

    

personality

     Starting with the obvious, it's useful upfront to determine a general indication of personality type.  Is your character an extrovert, outgoing, and naturally friendly?  Or just the opposite?  If he or she is somewhere in between, where in between? 

Think about the character's basic attitude toward life.  Is it upbeat, generally positive and optimistic or is there a tendency to wallow in gloominess, negativity, and depression?  Does he see the bright side of things and look at problems as opportunities or just the reverse?  Does your character tend to see only the good side of people and give others the benefit of the doubt or, rather, to be judgmental and critical?  Does he get angry easily or generally keep his cool?  Is she fun to have around or, more often than not, a pain to spend time with? 

     Of course most people fall somewhere in between these extremes.  However, successful characters often push the limits in at least some areas, and this is generally always true for central characters.  That's what makes them interesting and alive. It's what helps to propel them through the story and create the dramatic sparks that ignite scenes.  So in this initial pinning-down process, I suggest you make a conscious effort to give your characters personalities that make a definite statement one way or another.

     sense of self

     Another significant early choice is to determine the degree to which your characters generally like themselves.  There are a number of important self-esteem related questions you need to ask, such as:  are your characters comfortable with who they are?  Are they at peace with themselves?  Do they enjoy being alone?  How self-confident are they?  Where do they fall on the self-esteem curve?  Do they feel superior or inferior to others?  Are they riddled with self-doubts or do they have an inflated opinion of themselves?  Are they burdened with feelings of guilt?  Do they like how they look in the mirror?    

     All interesting characters are struggling in some way with their own sense of self.  In fact, most great scripts are, in some way, dealing with this struggle. Let’s look at three of the greatest American plays for example, all of which later became successful films.  In Death of a Salesman Willy Loman pushes himself to despair as he progressively loses his self-confidence and self-respect.  We watch a man who increasingly is unable to live with himself.  In The Crucible John Proctor is ultimately driven to accepting death in order to restore his self-respect. And in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Martha finally admits she's afraid and needs to embrace herself honestly for the first time in her adult life.  You don't stand a chance of writing a play or screenplay that will be truly alive if at least your main central character isn't at war with himself or herself in some way.

     Next:  A look at sexuality and spiritual life 

Developing great characters, Part 8: The internal world

     Another critical part of early exploration work is making an initial probe into your characters' psychological and spiritual makeup.  In other words, to begin to view them from the inside out, pondering what's going on inside their heads and hearts. When it comes to writing good, truthful dialogue for these people, you’ll need to merge with each of them, to feel comfortable living inside them.  You’ll need to be able, ultimately, to formulate and verbalize their every thought, presenting in words and actions their unique intellectual and emotional worlds.

     My next few posts will hit on various aspects of a character’s internal world that are worth considering early on.

Developing great characters, Part 7: Leisure time

     Ah yes… leisure time.  Or extra time.  Blogging time.  Something I haven’t been able to find for many weeks now.  Hence my absence from this blog as I’ve been working on getting my film company’s three active projects up and running.  Still at it, but I also want to keep this blog from going into a deep freeze.

 

So here’s my next musing on character development:

     Another important angle from which to view a character's relationship to his or her external world (see my previous posts in this series) is to look at how and with whom the character spends his or her leisure time.  Although occupation will often influence leisure time activity, this is the one area where a person, at least to some extent, has the freedom to choose what he or she wants to do.  As a result, you have the opportunity here to make choices that will truly individualize your characters.