In
the new play development process it is important to keep working on the script,
even as it goes into production. This
handout is a guide to help playwrights, directors, and actors navigate that process. Each play, playwright, director combination
is different—so with each step you should get to know each other—and just like
the dating process—learn as much as you can about each other!
1. Analysis of the script is exploratory rather than
prescriptive. This is a time for the
playwright and director to develop a common understanding and agreement on what
the play is about.
2. This requires that the director look closely at the
script thinking about the play’s intention
(what it’s trying to communicate); its elements
(the world of the play, and its story, issues, chain of events, characters, and
patterns); the play’s emphasis, that
is, what weight or priority is given to particular elements; and finally, what
kind of experience the play will
create for its audience (in other words the fulfillment of the script’s
intention).
1. Work simply
at first, reducing scenes, actions, and characters to their essential
values. You are trying to discover the
essential structure of the play and its elements.
2. The whole point to a developmental process is to
remain flexible as a director; you
may give your playwright ideas about their play, and s/he may throw out a huge
chunk of the play or revise it all the next day. It can be very difficult to work this way,
but you should be willing to work with these kinds of changes. You have to decide, however, when you need to
set the bulk of the play, and focus on more minimal changes as production
approaches.
3. Stay open-minded
about the script; let it become what it needs to become without forcing it to
be another, better-known play. Part of
the way to do this is to be aware of your own biases and to make sure that you
are facilitating the playwright’s play
and not another play you want to write.
4. Developmental directing is different from other
directing in that your work as a director must aim at transparency; you want
the play to be visible, not what you
have overlaid directorially. You can do
this by 1) refraining from applying a heavy-handed concept to the script that
is not organically inherent from the playwright’s words, and 2) resisting the
temptation to use all of your director’s tricks and techniques to make the play
work.
The play will either work or it will not; dazzling the audience with
directorial fireworks will not help the play or the playwright.
5. This does not mean that you have NO concept. No director should approach any script
without a serious matrix of ideas on how the acting, directing and design grow
out of the dramatic action of the script. It’s important to note that the
director is the central contributor to the production process regardless of
whether a play is new or a revival.
However, it’s also vital to remember that in the developmental process
for a new play, it’s the script that should be the center of the experiment,
and not some elaborate production concept.
II. For The Playwright:
A. Basic Rights & Responsibilities
1) You own your Play.
i) No one, according to Dramatists Guild
Production Contract Guidelines, can change a word of your play without your
permission. Use the magic words, “I’ll
think about those changes,” before you actually change your play. On the other hand, don’t ignore your director
or dramaturg – don’t assume that they’re wrong; take notes now and agree or disagree later.
ii) Any idea, suggestion, line, or bit of
business that becomes a part of your play is owned by you, unless there is a
pre-existing collaboration agreement with your director, actors, or dramaturg.
iii) You never have to change your play to
other people’s demands. You retain the
right to withdraw your script at any time with no legal penalties if you are
unhappy with a production.
2) Keep the
premise of your play in your mind,
taped to your typewriter, or on your bathroom mirror while you are within the
development process.
i) As you get ideas about your script,
keep asking, “Does this work with the premise of the play I have written?” Always keep in mind what your central
character wants and what is keeping the character from getting it.
ii) Keep asking yourself whether the ideas
or comments you have received will forward the action of the play, keep the
audiences’ interest, and stimulate your own thoughts about the play.
iii) A really soul-killing remark should be
ignored; even so, write all comments down. Never
defend your script (you don’t have to), always try to get respondents to your
play to talk about their experience of the play as written and not as they
would rewrite it.
B. Working With A Director
1) Trust a director who asks you a million
questions, but who doesn’t tell you how to write your play. The exception to
this rule is a director who gives you wonderful ideas to explore, or asks you
to dig deeper into your characters without telling you how to do that. If the director isn’t asking you questions,
beware.
2) Trust a director who suggests cuts
rather than one who tells you what to write.
A good director doesn’t want to dictate ideas to a playwright. They want to be surprised by your changes to
your script in response to their questions.
A great development director will edit the play for the thousand
incremental redundancies that occur in an early draft of a script, but who
doesn’t hack off huge chunks of your play.
3)
Ask the director
at least these basic questions:
i) Who do you think is the central
character of the play, and what do you think s/he wants? What or who is keeping this character from
this goal?
ii) What do you think is the premise behind
my play? What do you think this play is
about?
iii) Why did you choose my play to
direct? What draws you to my play?
If
you don’t like the responses or you think they are contrary to your own, get a
new director.
4)
Break down the
script with the director, or at least ask to see how the director has broken
down your play. This will give you a lot
of insight into the director’s process.
You want to know where the director thinks the beats are occurring, what
the main action for each character is per beat, and what kind of backstory the
director is inventing for your play.
III. Areas of responsibility
A) The director is
responsible for:
1)
Choosing the
script.
2)
Analyzing the
script dramaturgically.
3)
Specifying the
development process with the playwright.
4)
Scheduling
rehearsals and public presentations.
5)
Casting actors
in consultation with the playwright (playwright can’t insist that a particular
actor plays a role, but s/he can veto an actor).
6)
Keeping
participants working within their appropriate areas.
7)
Working with the
designers.
8)
Meeting with the
playwright afterwards, and after most rehearsals to summarize, reflect, and
decide on next steps.
B) The playwright
is responsible for:
1)
Providing the script and necessary copies.
2)
Participating
in the development process and attending
all readings, workshops, and rehearsals of the script.
3)
Working
with the director to determine rules of behavior during rehearsal; with the
following suggestions:
i)
The playwright should take notes during rehearsals and approach
the director after rehearsal, rather than deal directly with the actors. This is usually the case for the first two
weeks of rehearsal. The director may opt
to allow the playwright to talk to the actors but should mediate this
experience and keep a firm hand on the rehearsal process itself.
ii) It is often a good idea for the
playwright to step out of the process for a week or more and give the director
some time to work on his/her own before the play is fully staged. This is up to both of you and should be
mutually agreed upon before rehearsals begin.
iii) It is important for the playwright to
attend rehearsals once regular
run-throughs begin.
4)
Do all the
rewriting, cutting, and writing necessary as the need grows out of the readings
and rehearsals for the play.
5)
Making sure that
the work of the company is acknowledged in publications of the play.
C) The actor
is responsible for:
1) Discovering the character’s journey through the
play.
2)
Determining whether the character’s actions and responses make sense.
3) Establishing the character’s
relationships with others in the play.
4) Seeing if the playwright provides enough clues to
develop a character.
5)
Testing the character for performability, plausibility, interest, and
theatricality.
6) Being open and available
for changes in the text.
The
ideas in this outline are based upon Scriptwork:
A Director’s Approach To New Play Development written by David Kahn and
Donna Breed (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1995). They were assembled by David Crespy and the
team from KCACTF Region V.