10-Minute Play Project & Black History Month

1. Please read the article on play formatting. Your 10-minute play script should be written in the standard play script format. Please note that the plays we have read were NOT in this format, because they were published scripts from a publisher, not a script meant to be used by actors or theaters. Please follow the format outlined in the article given to you today in class.

2. From last class you should have a premise (an idea about what you want your play to be about and the message that you want to share with the world), 2-5 characters, and a basic plot outline.

Today in class, please begin writing your script. A 10-Minute play script is usually about 5-10 pages in length (in proper playwriting format, see handout). The action of your script should start just before the climax of the story because we are condensing a long plot into something that will take about 10 minutes to perform (this is not a full-length script...)

If a plot event is impractical or difficult to perform on stage allow it to occur OFF STAGE. Characters in plays talk (dialogue). So a difficult to stage plot event can be TALKED about, without having to stage it. Refer back to the advice given to you in the articles you should have read on writing play scripts. Avoid cinematic writing. You are writing for the stage, not the screen.

3. If you need a break, please move on to the extra credit Black History poem project. It is detailed here:

The Creative Writing department has been commissioned to participate in the SOTA Black History month performance on Feb. 5. The music department (Mr. Gabriel) is looking for UPLIFTING, POSITIVE, and G-Rated original poems celebrating Black History. You might write about an important historical character/person, or overcoming obstacles successfully in a difficult world, or about the importance of hope and freedom and achieving your dreams. Before you write anything, spend some time today reading some examples of the form.

Please read this essay first: Jazz as Communication (essay by Langston Hughes). The poems selected will be accompanied by jazz music.

Here are a few examples:

• Homage to My Hips
• I am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra
• Still I Rise 
• Name Calling 
• The Gospel of Barbeque
• Kin
• Mother to Son
• American Income
• Won't you Celebrate with Me?

Start with an idea. What do you want to communicate as a human truth? Write down your message in your journal. If you could say something important to people who need to hear something important about succeeding in life or dealing with daily problems or social issues, what would it be? Write down as many messages as you can think of. You will be able to pick from these after you brainstorm a little.

Choose one message and consider WHO might speak this message, what the persona of your poem might SAY, and to whom is the persona speaking to? (likely our Black History month celebration audience).

The tone of your work should be positive. We are interested in your positive message. We get enough negative messages from our peers, the media, society, and our families.  

HOMEWORK: Complete reading A Streetcar Named Desire. As you read, please complete the handout to be turned in by Thursday, Jan. 10. No late work will be accepted. Black History poems are due by 1/16/13 (next Wednesday) if you write one. Poems for the concert are extra credit for this marking period.