The deal is you write a short 10 minute play and submit it with an application form. We whipped up a play over breakfast the other day and are in the process of editing the play.
Our play is about the stages of relationships and how your 'stuff' comes up when intimacy is involved.
This got me thinking about my only other attempt at writing a play years ago for Short and Sweet. The play example below is about my days teaching and the incident described in the play was when I was teaching in England.
It's interesting to re-read something you wrote years ago and reflect on where you are now with the story. The frustrations I experienced as a teacher seem just as relevant today. I am a lot less consumed by these frustration however, although I am still not sure how to overcome them.
I thought it would be worthwhile to share this play as an example of how the incidents and people in our lives can be muses for creative expression.
What you can do
1. Create a short 10 minute play about a theme that interests you. For example family, intimate relationships, friendships, sport, technology, differences in generations, etc.
2. Find a competition to enter your play into and submit an entry. The link below is for Hot Shorts:
http://www.drillhalltheatre.org.au
3. If you feel so inclined, try writing your play with a friend.
4. You may like to use CELTX, which is free downloadable software for scriptwriting. The link is below:
http://celtx.en.softonic.com
An example
Ink Blots
Act One
Scene One
The small classroom generates a feeling of depression and claustrophobia. Graffiti is on the wall. An attempt has been made to cover up the graffiti with students’ work. The students’ wooden chairs and desks are arranged haphazardly in two columns broken by an isle down the middle. In front of the students’ desks, at the top of the room, is the teacher’s desk, which is laminated on the top and has steel legs.
The teacher walks into the room and slowly walks up the isle and dumps her books onto her desk with a sigh. A piercing bell follows her entrance closely. She cowers over in annoyance of the invasive sound. She writes a heading for the lesson on the board and goes over to the students’ desks and attempts to tidy them up and pick up the papers on the floor. She is appalled by the state of the room.
A student comes into the room in a riotous manner. He is abusing other students. Eventually he sits at the front of the room on a chair assigned to him on the left of the teacher’s desk.
MISS CONNORS: Okay, now, students, I want you to take your hats off your heads, take your books and pens out and write the heading on the board into your books.
The student at the front has ignored all instructions except for the pens to be on the desk.
MISS CONNORS: Can you take out your book, Sunny?
SUNNY: I don’t have one.
MISS CONNORS: What do you mean you don’t have one?
SUNNY: I left it at home.
MISS CONNORS: That’s the second time you’ve left your book at home. We now have a problem. Here’s some paper. I expect your book to be on your desk tomorrow.
Miss Connor begins to hand out worksheets for the lesson. As she moves around the room she attempts to settle the students. She hears Sunny being disruptive, but ignores him. She goes back to the front of the room and begins to address the class. She notices that Sunny has taken his pen apart. She puts her hand on his desk.
MISS CONNOR (whispers): Put that away please. (To the class) Yesterday we began to look at themes in the novel. Can any one tell me what…
What are you doing?
Sunny is blowing the ink from the pen onto the table. A blue ink blob forms.
Sunny, stand up and move to the back of the room. (Slowly) Stand up. He stands up. Move to the back of the room.
He glares at her, looks down at the ink blob and puts his pointer finger in it. He stares at her again and swirls the ink blob in circles as if he is mixing the batter of a cake. When he is done, he walks down the isle to the back of the room and sits directly in line with the teacher’s views on a chair he picked up along the way.
MISS CONNORS (Shakily): Right. Those themes, anybody remember what they were? Right, ‘making choices’, ‘conformity versus non conformity’ and ‘violence versus non violence’. That’s it.
As the teacher continues the lesson, Sunny is making his way up the isle in jagged movements as he is still sitting on his chair. He pushes objects off the students’ desks.
Now, with ‘Making choices’, Can anybody tell me why that is a good theme for this novel?
Sunny, get off the chair.
SUNNY: You want me to get off the chair now.
Sunny stands up while he is still holding the chair to his backside. He moves closer to the front of the class where the teacher is standing.
MISS CONNORS: Move away from me. I don’t like the way you are behaving. Move back.
The teacher goes to move away from Sunny, but he quickly slams the chair down onto her foot. She is stuck. She screams out and cowers over in pain.
MISS CONNORS (hysterical): Get off me. I said, get off me.
The commotion has been heard outside the classroom. The Deputy Principal walks in and sees the teacher push Sunny violently. He falls backwards off the chair.
MR CRAWLEY (to Miss Connors): You need to go to my office.
Lights out
Scene Two
The office is the front of the classroom. Mr Crawley sits behind his desk. Objects on his desk are neatly positioned and are in exact order. He is a man whose contents of his lunch box are neatly packed in glad wrap and strategically placed according to the time of consumption. His elbows rest on the desk and his hands are locked together. Miss Connor sits on the opposite side of the desk, slouched slightly to the left with her right arm resting on the arm of the chair. She is indignant.
MR CRAWLEY: You are aware that violence against a student is a sackable offense.
(Pause)
MISS CONNORS: You are aware that I have applied numerous discipline strategies with the student and yet he continues to be in my classroom where his behaviour prevents every other student from learning. Not to mention the stress he causes me. You are aware that the state of public education is in disarray because classroom teachers have no control. You are aware that I feel this small. This small. And you tell me that I might be sacked. Well go ahead. Make my day.
She stands up and walks out.
Lights out
