(upbeat music)
-: Hello, I'm Rachel Atkins.
I'm a playwright and a teaching artist,
and this is a lesson to help you to write your own play.
Today I'm going to be giving you a series of prompts
to help you write your own short play.
So you're going to need something
to write with and something to write on.
It can be paper and pen
or it could be something electronic, computer.
You can even write on your phone.
You might want to have your phone nearby
even if you're gonna write on something else
so that you can take a picture of some of the prompts
that I'm going to show you,
so that you're able to write at your own pace.
If you've already done some of my earlier lessons,
you know some of the important elements
that make a really strong play.
If you haven't taken any of those lessons, that's okay.
I'm gonna give you a reminder right now.
Some of the elements that make a really strong play.
You have clear, distinct characters
who have different points of view.
All of your characters have objectives.
They have something that they want,
and those objectives, those things that they want,
are specific, they're immediate, they're important,
and they have consequences for the characters
if they don't get them.
There are different actions, different tactics
that characters use to get what they want,
no matter what their objectives are,
and every line of dialog that you write
should be really specific.
Should have new information to raise the stakes
and make things more important for characters.
You can also use stage directions,
putting things in parentheses to help us know
how a character's feeling or what they're doing
while they're talking.
If you've done any of those previous lessons,
you can use any of the ideas
that you came up with from them
in this play that you're about to write.
If you didn't or if you just feel
like starting new, that's great.
You can use any ideas you want to write your own play.
If you happen to be doing this lesson
with one or more other writers,
you can do this activity by passing the paper around.
You'll be doing the same prompts,
but everybody will start at the same time
and then you'll keep passing your paper
so that you'll be adding on to each other's plays.
If you have another writer to do that with, that's great.
If you don't, no problem.
You can do this whole series
where you are writing every single part.
I'll try to remind you at points
when you could pass it though
if you have somebody else to write with.
So I'm gonna give you a series of prompts.
This is where you're gonna want
to have something to write with or on
or where you're gonna wanna be able to take pictures.
You might write as I'm giving you the prompts,
but I might go more quickly than you're writing
because everybody writes at their own pace.
So if you are writing more slowly than I'm prompting,
don't worry about it.
All of the prompts will appear on the screen
so that you can just track them as they appear.
Again, by writing them down and taking a picture.
You can even let me go through all of the prompts,
then take a picture of the whole thing,
and just wait and do your writing when I'm done talking
or you can start to do your writing
while I'm talking and then finish up while I'm done.
I'll try to pace it out so that you can take notes
on what you need, so that you've got all the prompts
by the end and you can write your play.
Your first prompt is setting.
Write the word setting.
You're going to come up with an idea
of a place where your play will happen.
Write a one to two sentence description
of the place where your play takes place.
You wanna include what the specific place is.
You can include time of day, time of year,
time period if it's relevant.
You're writing one to two sentences
to describe the setting of your play,
whatever that is for you.
Here's your next prompt.
You're going to come up
with your first character for your play.
The character should be somebody who belongs in the setting
that you just described who might be there,
although you might have an idea for somebody
who really doesn't belong there, and that's fine too.
You're going to write the name of this character
and a one sentence description of who this person is.
Although, of course, a character
doesn't have to be a person.
It could be an animal.
It could be an imaginary creature.
It could be an inanimate object.
You're going to come up with one character,
the first character who will be in the setting of your play.
Write their name, and write a one sentence
description of who they are.
If you're writing with somebody else,
this is where you will pass your paper to the next person.
When you get somebody else's paper,
you read what they've written
and now you're going to add on to that play.
If you're not passing the paper,
if you're writing on your own, great.
You're gonna keep going with the next prompt.
The next prompt is to come up
with a second character for this play.
The second character should also belong in the setting
that you've described, and they should have some kind
of relationship to character one.
They might have a relationship to start with that person
or they might have a relationship that develops
in the play that you're going to write.
So you're coming up with a second character for your play.
You're writing the name of that character,
and you're writing a one sentence description
of who that character is.
Next you're going to think about the character's objectives,
the conflict between these characters.
Each of your characters wants
or needs something from the other character.
What is it?
The objectives should create a conflict
between your characters.
The characters can't both get what they want.
Remember that every objective should be immediate,
important, specific and have consequences.
You're going to write a sentence for each character
describing their objective and why they need or want it.
Remember each character should have their own objective.
If you're writing in this play
with other writers or with another writer,
now you should pass the paper again.
If you're doing this pass the paper version,
when you get this next paper
read everything that's been written from the beginning
and then you're going to add on to this play.
If you're writing this on your own, great.
You're going to keep going with the next prompt.
Your next prompt is to write
the opening stage directions for your play.
Remember that you put stage directions in parentheses.
You're going to write one to two sentences
describing what's happening on stage when the lights go up.
This is going to be a pretty short play,
so you don't need a lot of setup.
You should start with the action.
Start with the characters on stage or making an entrance.
Start with something happening.
In parentheses, write one to two sentences
of the opening stage directions describing what's happening
when the lights go up on your play.
For your next prompt, you're going to start writing dialog.
Write a total of six lines of dialog,
three lines for each character going back and forth.
It's up to you who speaks first.
You can use stage directions within these lines if you want.
For each line write the character's name,
then a colon, and then their dialog.
If you're using stage directions, it goes in parentheses
at the beginning of the character's line.
So you're writing three lines for each character
going back and forth for a total of six lines of dialog
between the two characters.
If you're doing the pass the paper version of this activity,
now you should pass the paper
after you've written the dialog.
Again, when you get a new play
you read everything from the beginning
and then you'll add on to that play.
For your next prompt, you're going to write
a short monologue for either one of the characters.
The monologue should be related
to the character's objective.
Remember a monologue is a little bit of a longer speech
where one character speaks without interruption.
The monologue could be for the next character
whose turn it would be to speak
in your dialog going back and forth,
but it doesn't have to be.
Your monologue could add on to the last character speaking.
So it's up to you whose monologue it is.
You're going to write a monologue of up to four lines
for either one of the characters related to their objective.
If you're doing the pass the paper version,
after you write the monologue you should pass the paper,
and again, read the whole play that you get to add on to it.
For your next prompt, you're going to write
a one-line response to the monologue
from the other character.
So whichever character was not speaking the monologue,
they get one line to respond to what the character
who is doing the monologue said.
After the one line response, something happens.
You're going to write another set of stage directions.
Something happens on stage.
This could be something extraordinary like a bank robbery
or it could be something ordinary like a phone ringing.
Whatever happens, it should make sense
in the world of the play.
You're going to put these stage directions in parentheses
and write one to two sentences describing that event.
If you're doing the pass the paper version,
you've written the one-line response
and the stage directions,
and then you're going to pass the paper.
For your next prompt, you're going to write
two lines of dialog, one for each character.
The dialog might respond to what just happened
in your stage directions or it might respond
to the previous dialog.
Again, it's up to you who speaks first.
Each character gets one line of dialog.
So you're writing a total of two lines
of dialog back and forth.
If you're doing the pass the paper version of this activity,
you should now pass the paper
so that the original writer gets their play back.
So no matter how many people you're writing with,
you should wind up with the play that you started.
Everybody now gets to end their play using as much dialog
and as many stage directions as you need.
So no matter where you are in your play right now,
you're going to write an ending for it.
It can be short.
It can be long.
It is up to you, but you can use as much dialog
or monologue or stage directions to end your play.
When you have finished your play,
write the words "End of Play" at the end,
and then go back to the top, and give your play a title.
Congratulations!
You have a written a play
or maybe you haven't finished it yet, but that's okay.
When I'm done talking, you can now go off with those prompts
and take as much time as you need to write at your own pace.
When you're done writing your play,
you should find someone to read it out loud with you
or even better, get two people and have them read it for you
so that you can hear your work.
Even better with this one,
if you have a bunch of stage directions, get three people.
One person to read the stage directions
and the other two people to read the characters of the play
so you can hear everything out loud.
I'm gonna show you those prompts again all in one shot
so that if you didn't get to take note of all of them
or you were writing at a slower pace
and you didn't catch them all, you'll be able to see them.
So once you've got all the prompts,
again, you can keep writing at your own pace.
If you finished your play
or when you finished it using my prompts,
you might even decide to go back
and expand what you've written into something longer.
It is totally up to you.
(upbeat music)
My name is Rachel Atkins.
I thank you so much for joining me.
I hope you feel a real sense of accomplishment
because you just wrote a whole play.
Well done.
Thanks, and I hope to see you again.
(upbeat music)