I am in the process of writing a script. I have the full idea down, complete with most character analysis and a rough write of a few scenes. Admittedly, the scenes I have rough written are not chronological. I am absolutely enthralled in my idea as it so near to my life. I worry that that is causing an issue in perfectionism in my writing, me from expanding on it. I’m currently struggling with choosing which scenes to be after which and how to actually fluff out my idea. Should I just spend a few hours free writing all of my ideas in the page and go back for continuity and perfecting it later?

Any advice at all?

Curious about thoughts on this one. A local, semi-professional theater is hosting their annual one act play festival this summer, and are charging a $15 submission fee for playwrights to submit plays. They posted about it on Facebook, and the post was inundated with hundreds of people from around the country slamming them for this decision, to the point that they had to turn off comments on the post.

I can see both sides of the argument; on the one hand, it isn’t fair that playwrights have to pay while directors and actors do not. It also limits the pool of applicants, possibly limiting the diversity in submissions as well, because $15 might be a genuine hardship for some people.

On the other hand, it does bring in some much needed money for the theater. Theaters were hit especially hard during the pandemic, and I really don’t want to see one in my area go under. Charging a fee also helps pay production staff who will undoubtedly have to sift through hundreds of entries, amongst many other production costs for such a festival.

What do you think?

Hoping for some feedback on this, even if you only read a few pages.

Title: Southbound: Part One

Page Count: 100 pages, but comment on as little as you want to

Format: Musical

Genres: Comedy, Drama

Setting: The Appalachian Trail

Description: Three very different people, each delusional in their own special way, meet in the Maine wilderness while hiking south on the Appalachian Trail and help each other complete the two-thousand-mile journey to Georgia.

I'm going to (attempt) to produce this myself with a bunch of friends, so the logline is not super important to me, but if you think it's complete garbage, definitely open to suggestions! I'm also not super worried about formatting it strictly at this point, but if something is to the point where you can't tell what's happening, let me know. Converting to PDF pushed a bunch of description lines around, so it looks slightly choppier than it should.

Feel free to comment on as little or as much as you want to read. Someone already mentioned that Jake's fantasy creature references get to be a bit much and that it would be helpful to have some physical description of the main characters.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NEpDyAoEMSnm2-fsa4f3ZYh8iK9F5Hjj/view?usp=drive_link

Thanks for anyone that takes a look!

So I am writing my play that is reaching 74 pages and I think its getting too long. I'm only on act two and I am afraid when I hit that 100 page marker which I probably will at this rate its gonna be somewhere like an hour and half maybe 2 hours and that's got me worried about audience retention. So is it okay to have a like a long script? Whats the maxium would you guys think?

Is anyone here familiar with the practice of "copywork?" It's when a writer literally copies another work that they admire, either in part or in its entirety, typing or longhand, in order to garner the feeling of creating a great piece, likely examining the work more intimately--and thus, in theory, the craft--in the process.

I know this mostly from prose fiction writing circles (and I don't know that it's necessarily widely practiced there). I think the most famous case of a writer doing this is Hunter S. Thompson, who typed out works like "The Great Gatsby" and "A Farewell to Arms."

Does anyone know if many playwrights have done this? Have you tried it? If so, how did it feel and how did it work for you as far as developing your own craft? If not, does it sound like something you'd try, or does it sound dumb af? Curious to hear any and all thoughts on this.

I wouldn't mind taking a shot at retyping, say, Fuller's "A Soldier's Play," or Parks' "Topdog/Underdog," Mamet's "Glengarry/Glen Ross," maybe Morgan's "Frost/Nixon," definitely Cormac McCarthy's "Sunset Limited," and literally anything by August Wilson or Tracy Letts. (pardon if these selections make me sound like a newb)

TL;DR - What would y'all think about typing out your favorite plays to get a feel for what it would be like to have written them, as a lateral way to develop your own craft?

Through a random connection, I've got the chance to grab a coffee with a famous UK playwright. It seems like a great opportunity to learn more about the craft and the industry from someone who's made a great career out of it, but I'm struggling to come up with productive questions. What sort of things do you ask a playwright whose level you hope one day to reach?

I live in the US but a small amateur theater company in London is putting on four of my short plays a couple of weeks from now. It isn't the West End or anything but I decided on a whim to go over and see the plays and do some sightseeing. I haven't visited London in decades so it will be fun. But I also wondered if there was a way I could contact some theaters or theater groups while I'm over there and perhaps have some informal meetings to pitch them on my plays. This is very last minute but does anyone have advice on how to do that? Is it even possible to get in to see someone on such short notice?

I recently received a fantastic opportunity to pitch one of my plays to a theater company. They're looking for a one-page pitch. What resources have you studied on building a pitch and is there any advice anyone can pass along?

I’ve been working on this play for a few years. I began the first draft, as I recall, back in 2020, and I’d had the basic idea for longer than that. I completed a handwritten draft last year, typed it up and got feedback, and this year I began a second draft, dashed off two acts in a few weeks, then within the last couple of weeks wrote the second draft of the third act after having a revelation about the ending.

I finished that just today, having written at a pretty furious pace last night and this morning. I’ve started sending it to friends for feedback (I may put it out here in the future, but one step at a time), but I’m just very proud of getting it done and of, I think, making it even better than it was before.

Over the last 20 years or so, I've written 5 one-acts, all but one of which have been accepted and performed for our state's high school one act competition. I'm looking for feedback on these - as honest as possible, please. I'd be interested to hear the take from other playwrites. Here's the NPX link: https://newplayexchange.org/users/87758/virginia-appleman

I’m not sure if this is the right place for this (I’m new at this whole Reddit thing) but here goes. I’m working on my creative writing thesis (a big senior project that you must complete and defend before you graduate) I’m pretty new to play writing in fact the first few drafts of my project were in a short story format, but long story short my advisor/1st reader it was determined that I should instead write the same story as a stage play. The problem is that the story needs at least two scene where two characters receive and read letters from each other. The information in the letters needs to be communicated to the audience, and it’s important to the plot that the two characters are physically separated and the show takes place pre-telephone. How can I make these scenes less boring? I mean I could just the character stand onstage and read the letter out loud but that feels…boring? Any thoughts on how I could make this more interesting?

The question says it all. Since it's so common in fiction for people to want to have a fancy pen name, or maybe they just want to keep their personal and professional life separate, I'm curious how common it is in theatre to find works produced by people using pen names.

I am a playwright who's been writing for about 10 years now, but I am finally at a point where I am ready to start submitting my full-length plays to theatres. Unfortunately, I live in one of the smaller metro areas where there aren't many opportunities for active playwrights.

Most prominent theatres here rotate through Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, Tenessee Williams, and then Shakespeare again, with a popular musical thrown in every once in a while for pizazz.

Assuming I do not have the resources to independently produce my plays from start to finish (because I don't), how would you go about getting these plays on their feet? I want to be produced outside of just my city, but a lot of theatres limit their season submissions to local playwrights or those willing to travel to NYC or Chicago or LA, etc. Open to any and all actionable tips!

Apologies if this has been beaten to death already …

When writing dialogue for characters who speak dialect/non-standard English (Cockney, Cajun, Afro-Caribbean, for example), would you write their dialogue as the character would speak it, or in Standard English - and let the actor deliver the line in dialect.

For example, a Cockney character (so designated):

Standard: “It’s nothing to get excited about, Governor, isn’t it?” Dialect: “Nuffink t’get excited about, guv’nor, innit?”

That sort of thing. Thanks for your critical commentary!

Hey everyone, I want to have one of my characters puttering around the set while the audience comes in. How would I format that? Would it be considered part of ACT ONE even though it's before the play "starts"?

Thanks

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Pros and cons? I get the impression that there’s more immersive theater in London, is that true? which is better for playwrights?

Recently I was looking for a copy of the script for Suzan-Lori Park's play White Noise. I'm a member of a few libraries and none of them had it in their collections.

Most college libraries have selections of play scripts because of their theatre programs, but outside of Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller, there's not much at city or community libraries.

I'm wondering if there is some remotely accessible library out there that does have a good selection of play scripts, more than a handful of the classics.

I have an awful urge to introduce characters via monologue at the start of plays and then continue the play in a standard way. I get critiqued a lot that this is jarring for an audience yet I’m compelled to still do it. Does anyone know of any plays where this is done well? I know I should be introducing the characters by their actions but I just love doing it this way. There must be plays out there where characters have monologues within the linear action of a play.

Can I get some recommendations? I think Downstate by Bruce Norris and Blasted by Sarah Cane are fantastic plays despite the subject matter. They’re well written and compelling. Has anyone any suggestions for similar?

Hello, so I'm in a playwriting class at my college. Out final assignment is writing a play at follows the three act plot structure, but doesn't have to be three acts just kinda vaguely got told short play . I got scene one down and ran into the problem of scene transitions. I want this play to take place in one room, with two main characters with tops three more coming in here and there but it happens over the span of a school year. I don't know how to make this passage of time seem smooth in any way because what I have is jumping between points in the year between scenes but it seems extremely choppy. I took this class because it filled a credit and I like theater but despite how desperately I wanted to be one was never a theater kid so I'm all types of lost.

Curious how people react to this.

When did plays stop being straightforward characters on a stage in a decorated room living and dying by the story they told?

You go see plays now and they're trying to be these art shows with heavy metaphors, interpretative dance, interactive audience props, songs apropos of nothing, and overwrought direction yet minimalist staging that is all supposed to "mean something."

I'm left feeling cold and pushed away by modern theater. What happened to just seeing a well told story? It doesn't all need to be a giant production. Stop trying to compete with cinema and just do what theater does best.

And part of the sickness in theater is trying to adapt movies for the stage. Used to be the other way around.

Hey again!

I'm trying to craft (get it?) a strategy for myself to work on the craft of writing plays and screenplays. I'm not very experienced (you could say I wrote two short screenplays - one a long time ago and the other recently) and I am working on a play at the moment. I had an idea of trying to write a short film/play every day for a year, or something like that, but I'm wondering if maybe speed shouldn't necessarily be THE THING I'm working on... Maybe it would just be a distraction from the "serious" play I'm trying to write? Should I just focus on one project at a time?

Hey! I started doom writing a series of monologues about different thoughts of death (terrible, I know).

I want to compile them all into a one act, but can’t find a cohesive way to do so in terms of world building and set, or how I want to display them as they talk.

I know this isn’t really a place for ideas, but do you guys have any suggestions?

Hello. I'm writing a play currently that's a dark comedy that takes place in the Appalachian south. It's my first two-act play I'm writing by myself, so I could use some advice.

I know what I want to happen, I know the plot and characters and how I want it to end. I just can not figure out how to start it. I orginally had the idea of a sort of prolouge scene that takes place in the future that introduces the main antagonists, then have a scene that takes place in the present that introduces the protagonists and upcoming conflict.

I feel like I'm having two introducing scenes back to back. I want them to be more than just "here's who your about to watch." How should I start? Should I take out the scene that takes place in the future? I really liked how it turned out so I'm kind of hesitant to take it out. Any advice to an amateur playwright would be greatly appreciated!

I’m working on a western play right now about a few people being stuck in a storm together and at the very beginning of the play, it comes off as funny but as the play progresses, I wanted to have a very serious tone. Is that OK for me to do?

This isn’t the first time this has been asked, but does anyone have an up-to-date list of fully funded MFA programs? I know of some but I know I’m missing a few.

(Yale, UCSD, UT-A, Brown…)

My fiancée has been accepted to both programs and we're figuring out where she should accept. Both are excellent opportunities so she's having trouble deciding. We're hoping that maybe some of you might be able to offer some guidance. I'll be posting this in a few subs so apologies if you see it a couple times...

Northwestern is a fully funded program and Columbia has offered appreciable scholarship. So for the sake of this discussion, we're hoping to remove the financial barrier and compare strictly the program and possible connections to be made. I am able to work in either city so my career is not a limiting factor on her choice.

Are there any alumni from either program here? If so, would you be able to offer your general impressions about the programs, campus culture, network, and job opportunities after?

Thanks!!

Out of curiosity, is pitching a stageplay to a theatre the same process as pitching a tv show to a network? If not how do they differ?