...back to the writing...

Wednesday. Half way through the retreat and I've finally been able to make it into some of our workshop rooms. This morning I sat in on the workshop for Carbon Black. Terry's been making great strides and it's an amazing experience watching actors breathe life into her words. It was a great energy in the room.

I then sat in on Rob's Writing Workshop and it was an incredibly enjoyable experience. Although it was designed with playwrights in mind, it really helped expand my vocabulary in regards to script analysis, which is part of what I do for Native Voices. Rob even did a one-man rendition of Hamlet which I wish I would have recorded!

Right now, I'm observing Patty's workshop. I've only been in here a few minutes and I've already learned a ton! New term: discovery draft- just write and write and write in order to discover who your characters are and what your story is. When you begin actually crafting your play, then you'll be moving towards what can be called a first draft. "Anything that gets ink on the page is good."

I think that's an important decision for playwrights to understand. I think some playwrights get caught up in how the play should look and feel and forget that theatre is simply storytelling. It's finding the story you need to tell and giving it life. It's not about how many projections you can get on stage or how pretty the costumes will be. It's about story and if you don't pay attention to the story, then you've got nothin'.

So, focus on the story first. Listen to your characters. Don't get caught up in trying to make your story into a "thing" just yet. Be patient and eventually a play will come to you.