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- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
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- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
In this chapter “Writing the ten-minute play” Starkey explores some very different ideas from the other chapters that we have read. Starkey mentions on page 234 that “another natural advantage you have as a building playwright is that you constantly watch people interact” and I happen to agree with this statement. I agree because I have been a part of playwrighting and plays in general, and it is all about interacting with other people which makes it fun. Later, Starkey discusses five different elements of play writing which are Structuring the ten-minute play, creating believable characters, writing convincing dialogue, crafting a theme, and onstage: the elements of production. These are all important elements that playwrighting entail. Also, Starkey discusses The ten-minute play: Three models, and mentions A one-act-play. A one-act-play is a play without an intermission which can range in length from a couple of minutes to more than an hour. I enjoyed reading about this because I have actually seen a one-act-play in person at my old high school. They are really cool to watch because there is no delay, it is just straight forward. Overall, this chapter has made me explore playwrighting or the ten-minute play, which is something I have not really done before.
ReplyDelete-Alec De La Garza
Within this chapter, Starkey talks about the five different elements of play writing which are Structuring the ten-minute play, creating believable characters, writing convincing dialogue, crafting a theme, and onstage. All of these elements are what make play writing important. Starkey also continues by explaining what a ten-minute play: Three models, and what A one-act-play is. Starkey’s definition of A one-act-play is a play is a play with no intermission which can last up to any time, so an hour or even more. Reading this chapter made me reminisce on the one-act-plays I would watch back in high school. Our theatre program was very talented! What made them even better was there were no interruptions, just one straightforward play. My thoughts about this chapter overall were positive, and it made me want to advance my knowledge about play-writing and the different types of acts you can incorporate into plays.
ReplyDeleteClarissa Partida
After reading Starkey and the different kinds of plays I feel like I have a better understanding, especially after all the plays I have read in middle school and high school. When he talks about the one act play and that characteristics that make it up I remembered that I had participated in the UIL of the one man play and it was so frustrating being 2 different characters and just having to change your voice or the way you were facing.
ReplyDeleteI feel like writing a play one has to be more descriptive since people will be seeing that and will have something to match the play it isn't just a story where you visualize everything yourself.
I feel like I have more knowledge in play writing, and even though it isnt the same as a creative non-fiction story one can implement those ideas but express it in a different format.
-Cecilia Cantu
I think this chapter is going to be the hardest one for me. Which is ironic since the reading says that most people who think they will be bad at playwriting, are usually pretty good at it. However, I think writing dialogue in a play will be the hardest part. I usually describe the emotions of the characters in my writing and describe the setting so the idea of letting actors dictate the emotion their lines give off seems a bit terrifying to me. As if I lose some sense of control. I really enjoyed Sure Thing. It felt like it was trying to tell the audience that every opportunity you get comes only when you say the right thing at the right time to the right person. Trying to Find Chinatown was very interesting to me. When Benjamin reveals that he was adopted by Chinese-American parents and was raised by them, he considers himself a part of Asian culture despite the color of his skin. When Ronnie brings up the color of his skin and how he can’t possibly believe that he is Asian, it brings up a good question. If you are raised in a certain demographic, does that make you part of it? If a baby with Mexican parents, is raised in China all his life and only knows Chinese, does that still make him Chinese or does it still make him Mexican/ Hispanic?
ReplyDeleteBethanee Campos
What I liked about writing a 10 minute play it is that seems it looks like really hard task to do but for me its kind of easy. A individual only have to use few words to make a 10 minute play because you will only take 1 minute to say 100 words. I feel when it comes to doing a playwright being dramatic is something good for that can help to perform a good play its a talent you can use in the stage. In other words is a good attribute. I liked how the author is giving the reader an insight of what is a playwright. Screenplay, Conversation, Rant and an esaay are not a playwright. Now the Author gives more information to the about how a playwright will look and start talking about the elements of playwriting like the structure of the ten minute play, create realiable characters, writing a good dialogue that will convince the audience, themes and the elements of production in the stage.
ReplyDeleteWhat I did not like about the playwright is that an individual have the freedom to write whatever they want. However, a creative writer you need to show a lot of dedication, effort and commitment. Sometimes writing a 10 minute play can be very time consuming because you need to memorize tge dialogues, you have to start practicing and studying them all day and all night until you already memorize them and know what say without making any mistakes is quite challenging. Its takes a lot of practice to become a expert in the matter.
Oscar A. Jacome Serrano
With this chapter Starkey introduces us to playwriting, something completely opposite of what we have been seeing along the readings. Along with five essential elements, Starkey gives us the tools to have an easier going experience while attempting to create a ten-minute play or any playwriting in general. personally, this is definitely going to make me go out of of my comfort zone since i do not recall having to do any sort of playwriting in the past. However, with the key points Starkey provides for us through the chapter it indeed changed my perspective towards how hard it should or it might be to compose a ten-minute play. since plays are obviously known for having dialogue i might be able make something work since i talk a lot and would love to make others talk and create fun settings for that! playwritng is nothing similar to our other genres however one can still implement their imagination while creating a play.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Rodriguez
This is a section I’ve particularly looked forward to. Playwriting seems to me to be one of the most accessible forms of literature. Because of this, as Starkey says, I think it’s strange that playwriting is not practiced at most every level of creative writing. Something about the medium seems to resonate with students across all different levels of education. One act plays are generally thought to be the best way to go about showing this. A student writing a one-act play has a surprising chance of seeing it preformed which I find uplifting. I find it strange then, that both contemporary and ancient authorities on the art have a rigid structure to it. Good writing has come to be seen as anything which can be made to work, for an audience. It is important then, to not hold yourself to the can and cannot(s), but rather to the how(s). Starkey’s comments on backstory and dialogue are fairly standard. Nothing too strange or revolutionary. I find theme to be as much help to the author as to the reader. Finding something worth writing about and being able to nail down on the feeling of it throughout your piece can help you through some troublesome slumps.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Hinkle
This is a section I’ve particularly looked forward to. Playwriting seems to me to be one of the most accessible forms of literature. Because of this, as Starkey says, I think it’s strange that playwriting is not practiced at most every level of creative writing. Something about the medium seems to resonate with students across all different levels of education. One act plays are generally thought to be the best way to go about showing this. A student writing a one-act play has a surprising chance of seeing it preformed which I find uplifting. I find it strange then, that both contemporary and ancient authorities on the art have a rigid structure to it. Good writing has come to be seen as anything which can be made to work, for an audience. It is important then, to not hold yourself to the can and cannot(s), but rather to the how(s). Starkey’s comments on backstory and dialogue are fairly standard. Nothing too strange or revolutionary. I find theme to be as much help to the author as to the reader. Finding something worth writing about and being able to nail down on the feeling of it throughout your piece can help you through some troublesome slumps.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Hinkle
Starkey talks about the five different elements of play writing, which are as follows structuring the ten-minute play, creating believable characters, writing convincing dialogue, crafting a theme, and onstage. Play writing is so much fun to me because I used to write plays with my cousins when I was younger and act them out in the backyard of my house. Dialogue is easy to write for me because I am better at describing through dialogue than I am with descriptions. I am not much of a theatre person at all and find that I would rather create them than watch and be in them. A ten-minute play sounds like a lot of fun because I do consider myself to be quite hilarious once you get to know me. I can make anyone laugh if you just give me the time to get know you better. Also, the play writing I would want to do would have to be like dark humor because that is like my specialty. When I tell a dark joke I always get told, “That’s messed up, but hilarious.” I hope to be able to dig into this creative outlet and see what can possibly be done with my dialogue and hope I get a couple laughs out of it.
ReplyDeleteKrista Olivarez
I have written a play before. It was not great, it was not Shakespeare, but it was motivated by past events in my life. Not to be too critical, as I am not a play writer myself, but the plays in this section were kind of bad in my POV. I fell asleep while reading them and they seemed like something, if it were put into a short visual play, on the stage, they would not have gotten above a 3 star critique. My favorite probably has to be that last one, mainly because it confused me as to why the photographer started acting up in that way. It kind of changed the whole relationship dynamic that was going on between both him and Dorothy. What I liked about the section was that it explains how to write a 10 minute play. The instructions kind of guide you into actually being able to create a piece despite not having any or minimal influence in the dramatic art that is play writing. I understand why the author included these three plays, mainly to show the differences in my play writing styles and such, but I think he could have searched or maybe put better ones.
ReplyDeleteJonathon Morin