On writing
A stand up comic can write a wonderful 10-minute play out of one routine. All you need for a play are two characters in an interesting conflict. Theaters offering a 10-minute play festivals primarily select comedies, and often appeal to the same audiences that love stand-up. Nearly all ten-minute play festivals explicitly reject monologs. After … Read more
Theater is a collaborative process, of course, at the end of which everyone should be happy, not just the playwright and audience. We want to give actors interesting roles in an interesting play, not a menial chore. We can give them a head start towards success and satisfaction by following these suggestions. Help the actor … Read more
10-minute plays: Embrace minimalism Plays happen on stage, but they also happen in the imaginations of the audience. The less there is on the stage, the more there is to imagine. Go for the great strength of the short play — a spare, intense, concentrated experience arising out of the irreducible essentials of theater: actors … Read more
10-minute plays: What audiences want Audiences want to be entertained They don’t want to be lectured or hectored. They want their attention kept on something interesting that someone else is doing. As an old Hollywood hand simply advised, don’t be boring. Start with interesting characters in an interesting situation, and then keep your play moving … Read more
Traditionally the climax of a play has been thought of as a matter of plot. A plot usually has a central dramatic question that the audience wants answered, their curiosity keeping them awake and attentive during the play. When the big plot question is answered in the climax, the play seems over and the audience … Read more
The playwright David Ives appeared Feb. 24, 2010 at a Barnes & Noble in New York City, on a panel (promoting the new book The Play That Changed My Life) and made an interesting observation. Ives said that he had thought a lot about what David Mamet wrote in an article in The New York … Read more