"The Play's the Thing"
This is the title of a rather fascinating programme currently running on Channel 4. A very charismatic West End producer called Sonia Freidman has committed to producing a first play by a first-time writer in her theatre. They had 2000 submissions, weeded them down to a short list of 30, then 10, now 3. Winner will be announced on Monday, and the play actually opens next week, I think -- it must be being rehearsed in secrecy so as not to spoil the TV programme. The shortlisted ones have had workshops with a writer and teacher whose name now escapes me (although I have met him!) but who seemed pretty good, much in the style of Carl. I thought of you all as the people -- who had originally just submitted 3 scenes and a synopsis of the rest -- wrestled with the task of making that into a full-length play. The choice of the finalist was made more challenging in one sense since this is going on in the West End, not traditionally a venue for new or experimental work -- so the play has to be capable of pulling in the audiences. You really feel for those who are not chosen, especially the final 10 who have worked so hard and many of whom have written really interesting work -- hopefully they will get produced in studio theatres elsewhere in the UK.
You can read about it on the channel4 website http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/T/the_play/index.html
and in theory even watch it on your PC though I couldn't get this to work on mine.
Speaking of wrestling -- Maia, how's the freeze?
You can read about it on the channel4 website http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/T/the_play/index.html
and in theory even watch it on your PC though I couldn't get this to work on mine.
Speaking of wrestling -- Maia, how's the freeze?
posted by harriet at 2:27 pm
2 Comments:
I think all this reading sounds like a good idea. And don't worry yourself with concepts like 'old fashioned'. We all must do, and enjoy, what feels good and right to us, I think. And you know what they say about fashion -- what goes around comes around.
I think your experience of abandoning the central concept is quite interesting and potentially valuable. I'm reminded of the writer Richard Bean who recently had a huge hit at the RCT with a play called Harvest. It was a hugely ambitious work which spanned a man's entire life, from age 17 to age 95 or something. Many people, including myself, felt that the last scene was the play's weakest point and should have been cut. But I was told that it had been the last scene that Richard had started with -- the whole idea had sprung from that -- and that though he had been advised once the play was finished that it would be better cut, he wasn't able to abandon it. "Murder your darlings", as some famous writer once said. Easier said than done for most of us. Of course you are in a rather odd position having lost the central idea! But something will suddenly strike you one day and then the whole thing will fall into place. Meanwhile read, sleep, play, surrender etc.
xxx
Btw... I agree with Harriet on - We all must do, and enjoy, what feels good and right to us.
Just have fun I guess. It's like going exploring, you never know what might happen.
:-)
Also...
Guilt is a screwdriver, not a band-aid.
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