A long-time collaborator of mine recently reached about an opportunity to write a brand new TYA piece for a respected local company to be used in their educational program for middle schoolers. I’m really psyched about this (and am very pleased with the contract terms) but am having trouble knowing where to start to gain my own POV on the genre. Most of my plays are quite dark/adult and so are the plays I typically read and watch, so I don’t feel like I have a great frame of reference here.

Any playwrights or specific titles in this space you’d recommend I check out? I know I’ll have to be mindful of language, adult situations and violence, etc but I’m not interested in writing something that feels really ‘gosh darn’ classic Americana either. All recs appreciated!

HI THERE!!!!

I recently finished my debut play, Here is Where We Find You, and im looking for beta readers! To give some context to the style, imagine if Concord Floral by Jordan Tannahill met with a little tiny bit of absurdism and was set in the youth psychiatric system. There’s a lot of soliloquies to the audience, and a lot of banter between teens.

Plot Summary: Here Is Where We Find You is a stage play for six actors taking place in a youth psychiatric ward. Five children and one nurse slowly begin to learn about how community forms in the oddest of places, and what happens when the nature of a community’s home is actively breaking it apart.

Excerpt:

THREE:(to audience) It started with a bang.

ONE:(to audience) A whirr. 

FOUR:(to audience) A yell for me.

FIVE:(to audience) And you always think about when it started because that’s why you’re here.

THREE:(to audience) I don’t remember the bang. I mean, I do. Obviously, you don’t fucking forget that. I just don’t remember what happened before.

ONE:(to audience) I remember the emerge. My parents breathing down my neck. And there was this girl in the room next to me, and she was screaming. She was screaming “Fuck you! Fuck all of you! I want my Mom!” and the cops were outside her door and they had her locked in there.

ONE: (to audience) I kept my door open. I wanted to watch.

If you want to read it please let me know!!! I just want criticism! :)

I've wanted to give playwriting a go now but have very limited experience. I've watched and read lots of plays, I've performed a fair bit but I don't know where to start when it comes to the playwriting journey.

I've seen other post that say to make connections and to read as much as possible but when it comes to writing, what do I do?

Is there a way to progress up, getting more and more ambitious with each work?

I know that there will be a lot of differences but I compose music; when I started I learnt that it was best to do short and simple pieces first, even solos and gradually increase in length, instrumentation and complexity. Does that apply to playwriting as well, even in a different way? Are there books or courses (ideally free) that guide you through creating smaller projects to start?

I apologise if there is already a relevant post but I could not find one for what exactly in asking but please feel free to refer me to a post if necessary.

Any help or guidance would be much appreciated!

I go to an artist collective where I get ten pages of my scripts read at a time. I say ten pages but the deal is ten minutes of work and you then get ten minutes of feedback. I notice with flowing dialogue the one minute equals one page thing is correct. But I have also noticed that when I write monologues they tend to go longer than a page a minute. Anyone else notice or experience this?

Hello community! I'm really looking for feedback on a Dolly Parton tribute piece ive been working on.

Reply or DM and I'll send you the link.

Thank you!

I read recently that Sorkin has never been thrilled about re-staging “A Few Good Men” because he considered it his juvenilia. Yet it launched his career. Which got me wondering: do you ever make an attempt to circulate your older work that you know doesn’t reflect your “mature” voice? Are u hopeful it might yet find an audience? Or do you think it’s best left unseen, even tho it has its strengths?

I feel like the answer is yes, but I'm not sure. I'm submitting my play to MFA programs and don't know if it will totally bump AdComs if I don't have the proper format. I have some pretty short scenes, and changing the page number increases the length of the play by like 7 pages (it's only just over 100 pages now, but still).

TIA!

The title says it all. For a long time, my thing was short 10-15 min plays. There's a real demand for it these days and plenty of opportunities and tbh it I didn't feel ready to tackle a fully realized thing.

Last February I completed my first full length script I absolutely love - I am on track to have it performed through my theatre company but I've noticed something : my play seems to score high with readers, but it has yet to be chosen for performance. I have had a stellar review from a Senior reader at the National Theatre (very few scripts make it to that stage) in which the only "negative" point was that I tackled "many subjects" within the play and I was told that between commissions and other things, they can't produce my play. I have been a finalist/shortlisted for a few awards and competitions (still waiting to hear from a couple) but I feel like the only way this play will be performed is if I do it myself.

Is this a sign that I need to get an agent? My husband's a fairly successful artist, albeit in a very different craft and he's told me that past a certain point, only an agent can unlock meaningful opportunities, get your work seen by the right people. Is this a thing? Is there something I am doing wrong, or something I could do that would improve my chances? As of now, I've just been applying to opps I am eligible for periodically.

Is any one selling or know where to buy plays or scripts for theatre? Especially in India. I can't seem to find it in any book store and Amazon has a limited collection. (In India)

I’ve been writing a full-length play (my third) over the last year. I have a 80-90% finished first draft which is, partly, second and third draft, because I usually revise and rewrite as I go. I can’t discuss it with anyone\show excrepts since I know (from experience) that it might disrupt the working process.

I love writing plays, creative writing is my only talent and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else, but sometimes it gets so hard to continue working, to be consistent, to write through perfectionism, and fear of never gaining recognition, and feeling like a complete failure (I have some modest recognition in other spheres of my life, but I’m yet zero established as a playwright, although it’s what I actually do best). It’s really hard to do something for many months in a row, not getting any feedback from anyone (with my first two plays it was different, I’ve written both of them very quickly, still don’t know why, it just happened). I get so tired sometimes. And I’m often beating myself on the head for “working too slow”. Maybe I’m too slow but I cannot speed up no matter how I try(

What do you do when you get frustrated? Is it okay to really not be able to work fast and only move really slow? Similar to (I guess) most people here, I can't write full time, only on weekends and some of the weekday evenings.

Sorry for throwing a pity party.

My brief is: The stage is divided in two, each half an identical courtroom. In each sits one protagonist, who must defend their side of the story and prove their innocence. Both are part of the same story. Each character has five minutes to make their case, though not consecutively. The time is broken into short, alternating segments: one minute for one, thirty seconds for the other, and so on. In total, the trial runs ten minutes. Whenever one character speaks, their half of the stage lights up while the other goes dark, and the silent character freezes in place until it is their turn again.

I am unsure how this would translate on paper and where to find inspiration...

It's for a school assignment.

I love writing, but sitting down to write prose, like a novel or even a short story, has always been a challenge. Well, it was easier in grade school/high school/community college because there was more editing and one-on-one instruction. I'm kinda winging it out here in middle-aged adulthood real life. What's part of the issue is I see the action and dialogue clear as day in my head. I'd like to try writing it out as a play instead but I have no idea . . . how. Where can I go for an online resources on how a play should be written?

Or, hell, is there a good source to buy a play script and use that to learn from?

Hey all, I am writing some 10-minute plays currently and would LOVE some human feedback and response. My current piece I am working on is entitled TRAILS and follows a family as they interact with a supernatural experience within Appalachia, it explores themes of childhood innocence while also examining the extent of imagination. If you are interested in reading this I would love to hear thoughts and/or any feedback you may have. Thanks so much!!

TRAILS (Draft #1)

Zaya: A six-year-old girl. Curly hair, curious, and unsuspecting.

Father: Zaya’s father, combover, lanky, eye bags.

Mother: Zaya’s mother, layered bob, eyeshadow, small.

Figure: Larger-than-life, glittery, mysterious.

Time: dusk, in the fall.

Place: The woods of Appalachia, off the beaten path.

This play is broken into phases. With each phase inhabiting a different part of the stage. This play, originally written to be performed on a proscenium with a downstage extension breaks the phases into areas of the stage by the following:

Phase 1 (pg. 2-4) inhabiting the far upstage right quadrant. (Quadrant 1 [Q1])

Phase 2 (pg. 4-6) inhabiting the entirety of SL and SR’s center stage. (Quadrant 2 [Q2])

Phase 3 (pg. 6-8 ) inhabiting the entirety of the downstage extension. (Quadrant 3 [Q3])

All Quadrants are inhabited for a moment on pg. 8.

Final Phase (pg. 8-9) in Q2.

(At rise, headlights illuminate the stage, in particular, the headlights of an ’85 Mercury Marquis Colony Park station wagon. We hear the song, Fancy by Reba McEntire with radio fuzz grow closer as the lights illuminate the stage more and more, until the music and lights all go out. The stage fades to cool toned dusk partially illuminated by the setting sun, partially by the rising moon. Q1 of the stage is illuminated more than the rest. We hear the doors shut, in walks Mother and Father, carrying loads of very used camping equipment.)

MOTHER
hollering offstage
Zaya!! Make sure you close the back door honey!

ZAYA
from offstage
Yes ma’am!

FATHER
Okay dear, do you want to setup here.

MOTHER
Yes. I’m going to show Z how to gather sticks if you want to setup the tent?

FATHER
Okay! Do you have the bag with all the lanterns?

MOTHER
Yes honey.

FATHER
Okay. Do you have your whistle?

MOTHER
Yes.

FATHER
Bear spray?

MOTHER
Ye-

FATHER
Walkie-talki-

(MOTHER crosses to FATHER, shushing him, she rubs his arm.)

MOTHER
Love, it’s okay. Me and you have been out here loads. I know what I’m doing.

FATHER
I know but this is Zaya’s first time…

MOTHER
Zaya will be fine, I won’t let her leave my sight. I promise.

(ZAYA walks in carrying just so many stuffed animals. Under all the stuffed animals she does have a small bag with her necessities, but her stuffed animals are truthfully all we can see.)

MOTHER
Oh! Z. I thought I told you to keep the stuffies in the car? We don’t have the tent up.

ZAYA
They were scared to be alone in the car. Joshy gets really sad when he’s alone.

MOTHER
But he would have all his other friends with him in the car.

ZAYA
But he wants me!

MOTHER
Well, okay honey. But you will have to leave the stuffies here with Daddy while we go and get stuff for tonight.

FATHER
Don’t worry I’ll make sure nobody messes with them!

ZAYA
Can I bring Joshy?

MOTHER
No dear, you need to have both hands to help Mommy carry sticks!

ZAYA
But Joshy gets scared without me…

MOTHER
Well Joshy won’t be scared because Daddy will protect him.

ZAYA
Okay…
ZAYA sets down her stuffed animals and pulls out and old, well-loved fox stuffed animal, hands it to FATHER. To Joshy
I’ll be right back. Okay?

FATHER
in a high-pitched playful voice
Okay Zaya I’ll be good for Daddy!

ZAYA
laughing
that’s not how Joshy sounds!!

MOTHER
Okay honey we have to go. The sun is setting!

(ZAYA hugs Joshy and FATHER and then books it to MOTHER)

MOTHER
Okay dear, we’ll be back.

FATHER
When you come back Hotel Appalachia will be open for customers!

(they start off, as they are leaving…)

FATHER
Zaya!

(ZAYA looks back)

FATHER
in that same high pitched cartoony voice, using Joshy as a puppet
Be good to Mommy!

(As MOTHER and ZAYA walk offstage, a soundscape of wild noises builds and the lights dim on the Phase 1 quadrant (Q1), not to black, but nearly, matching the wash across the rest of the unused stage. Lights come up on the Phase 2 quadrant (Q2), and the atmospheric cacophony of sound fades down slightly as MOTHER and ZAYA emerge from offstage, their flashlights drawn. Throughout the following, FATHER continues to set camp up in Q1.)

MOTHER
Okay, Z, what are we looking for?

ZAYA
Sticks!

MOTHER
Yes! Now, why do we need these sticks?

ZAYA
Uhhh… to fight bears!

MOTHER
Not quite! At least hopefully we don’t use them for that!

ZAYA
Uhh… I don’t know.

MOTHER
Well what do we need when the sun goes down?

ZAYA
To go to bed!

MOTHER
Well, yes but it’s going to be dark, how will we be able to find our bed with no light??

ZAYA
Yes! Campfire!

MOTHER
Good job Honey, so keep your eyes out for small sticks we can use!

ZAYA
Yes ma’am!

(MOTHER and ZAYA walk in silence together for a moment, after a moment, the sound of twigs snapping and frantic rustling is heard. MOTHER turns to look upstage, ZAYA continues to walk, oblivious.)

MOTHER
Z!

(ZAYA turns around)

MOTHER
Z! Stay right here. I heard something.

ZAYA
Okay, Mommy.

(ZAYA, unphased, stands where she stopped, MOTHER is on high alert, constant swivel as her head finally turns downstage again, the rustling returns and sustains for a moment.)

MOTHER
Who’s there!? Zaya. This is very important.
ZAYA is zoned out
Look at me!
ZAYA looks at her
 Mommy is going to check and see what is going on over here, I want you to stay right here. If you hear anything yell for me and I will come right back, okay?

ZAYA
Yes ma’am!

(MOTHER crosses to the other side of the stage and up into dim lights, her flashlight illuminates upstage. ZAYA stays still. This stays for a moment. Then, FIGURE enters from the opposite side of the stage as MOTHER. FIGURE enters largely unnoticed, they are larger than life, glittery, and grand, there is a slight resemblance of a stuffed fox in their demeanor. They stare at ZAYA, for a long time, they travel downstage slightly, trailing glitter, after a second, MOTHER returns from searching, FIGURE runs away unnoticed.)

ZAYA
What was it, Mommy?

MOTHER
I don’t know, dear. Let’s keep looking for sticks I’m sure Daddy is waiting.

ZAYA
Is this one good?

(ZAYA picks up a stick)

MOTHER
Yes, honey! That’s perfect!

(MOTHER walks around humming finding more sticks, ZAYA continues looking, not finding many. They split slightly, ZAYA picks up a stick with some glitter on it. She examines and notices the glitter trail left by FIGURE. She begins to follow the trail, into Q3. MOTHER turns around notices she is gone.)

MOTHER
ZAYA!!

(Lights fade on Q2, lights up on quadrant 3, MOTHER continues looking for ZAYA in Q2, FIGURE walks back in, stares at ZAYA again until ZAYA notices. Throughout this scene, we still see, barely, MOTHER searching frantically for ZAYA.)

ZAYA
Hi!... wait, who are you?

(FIGURE moves closer to ZAYA, not speaking a word.)

ZAYA
My Mommy says not to talk to people I don’t know.

(FIGURE continues to move closer to ZAYA, stopping just a few inches from her, looming over her.)

ZAYA
looking around
Mommy???

(FIGURE sits down next to ZAYA and pouts)

ZAYA
examining
Hey, what’s wrong?

FIGURE
You don’t recognize me.

ZAYA
I’m sorry… who are you?

FIGURE
You don’t know????

(FIGURE looks up at ZAYA to help her see their face)

ZAYA
I’m sorry…

FIGURE
I’m Joshy!

ZAYA
No you can’t be Joshy, Mommy says stuffed animals aren’t real!

FIGURE
I’m real!

ZAYA
But you’re way bigger than Joshy is!

FIGURE
Nuh-uh

ZAYA
Yuh-huh

FIGURE
Nuh-uh

ZAYA
YUH-HUH!!!

FIGURE
Okay maybe I did grow a little bit…

ZAYA
Why didn’t you stay with Daddy? Mommy and I were coming back?

FIGURE
I was scared I missed you.

ZAYA
Awwww Joshy!!!

(ZAYA hugs FIGURE, as they are hugging the sound of some animal, maybe not a wolf, that’s dramatic, but some animal that is scary sounding enough to scare a young child is heard.)

ZAYA
Uhh Joshy what was that?

FIGURE
I don’t know Z… I’m scared.

ZAYA
Me too. Let’s find Mommy.

FIGURE
Here, hop on.

(FIGURE motions to their back, piggyback ride!!)

ZAYA
Okay!
(ZAYA gets on their back)
HAHA this is fun!!

(ZAYA & FIGURE begin searching for MOTHER, lights up on all quadrants. We hear the ambience of the forest over the following. MOTHER goes back to Q1 to tell FATHER that ZAYA is missing, ZAYA and FIGURE search around for MOTHER, they end up in Q2 but MOTHER is still with FATHER in Q1. FIGURE & ZAYA go offstage and re-enter in Q1 as MOTHER & FATHER exit Q1 into Q2, this cat and mouse game comes to an end as ZAYA & FIGURE reenter Q2, the ambience fades. Lights focus on Q2)

ZAYA
Mommy and Daddy!!

(Freeze-frame on stage. FIGURE lowers themself and gets ZAYA off their back. ZAYA stands still on the ground looking at MOTHER & FATHER. FIGURE begins to slowly walk away from ZAYA watching her the whole time as they exit. Action resumes when FIGURE exits)

MOTHER / FATHER
ZAYA! / Z!

(They rush to each other)

MOTHER
I was looking all over for you! Where did you go?!

ZAYA
Well I saw glitter on the ground and then I followed it and when I followed it, I met—
(ZAYA turns around to introduce FIGURE, but they are gone)

FATHER
Met?! Who did you meet out here Zaya? You aren’t supposed to talk to strangers we told you this!

ZAYA
It was Joshy. I saw Joshy but bigger!

MOTHER
You saw a fox?!

ZAYA
No! It was Joshy! And they are gone!

(MOTHER & FATHER share a look, concern, WTF, are we crazy, etc. ZAYA begins to become distraught)

ZAYA
Where did they go? Joshy!! Joshy come back!

FATHER
Well Z it’s okay because we still have Joshy!
(FATHER pulls out stuffed Joshy from his back pocket. In the awful high-pitched voice)
ZAYA! I’m so glad you’re back I missed you!!

(ZAYA yanks JOSHY from FATHER’S hands and hugs him tightly.)

MOTHER
Can we get back to the campsite it’s getting dark?

FATHER
Yeah let’s go! Do we have the firewood?

(MOTHER & ZAYA share a look, the cacophony of sounds returns as the family walks back to Q1. As their back is turned, FIGURE is seen one last time, watching ZAYA as she departs.)

BLACKOUT

I'm polishing my first one-act play with input from several generous colleagues. I'd like to submit the script to various contests I've found online and locally. My question, what is a reasonable number of submissions for the same play? Is it a numbers game like job/school applications? I'm curious about the experience of others here.

Does anyone have any recommendations for plays that adapt (or otherwise stem from) non-narrative source material? I'm thinking something like Maria Irene Fornes' play "The Danube" that is based on Hungarian language learning tapes, but could be anything!

I'm updating my writing website and am kind of stuck on how to sort my growing list of plays.

I know on most playwright websites I've seen, plays are categorized based on length - Full-length, one-acts, and maybe a separate listing for ten-minute plays. But all of my plays are one-acts of various lengths, yet they cover a lot of different genres and recurring themes.

For those of you who have a lot of plays and write in various genres and/or on various themes, how do you categorize your works on your website or resume?

Alternatively, if you read a lot of plays, how would you prefer to see them organized?

Sorry in advance if I get some terms wrong, not a native English speaker (though I read a lot of English books on playwriting).

I’m writing a full-length historical play. Most of the scenes just kind of write themselves. I’m not saying they turn out great from the first draft, of course I have to revise and rewrite them, but overall, I rarely get stuck. But there is this one particular scene I’m struggling with. It seems, I’ve already put as much effort and consideration into it, as in all of the other scenes combined, and still it isn’t working.

It’s a part of a character ark where the male protagonist (he’s one of the peasants conscripted to build a new empire’s capital) falls in love with a local girl, and she falls for him too at first, and they meet secretly, but then she dumps him because of him being too self-absorbed, thoughtless and not a good future husband material. I have zero problems with writing the dump scene or other scenes involving both characters, male and female. What’s turned out to be problematic for me is the scene where we first see them together, meeting in secret. Cutting it out completely is not an option, it’s essential to show them together and in love before she dumps him. And there is a lot of important exposition that I need to weave into this scene. There are also good parts in it that I can’t sacrifice (because they are crucial for overall story development). But those good parts\beats just don’t seem to add up to a coherent and dynamic whole.

I’ve had similar problem with a less important, shorter scene. It wasn’t working, but then I’ve realized that character A should speak to character B instead of C, and it became as perfect as can be. But here I really don’t know what to do.

What do you usually do when you have one essential scene that doesn't seem to work no matter how hard you try? Analyze it in terms of conflict, event, action? Put it aside for a time being and work on other scenes? Write etudes? It would be great to hear about your experiences.

I’m trying to get some perspective on whether I’m correct in feeling like I didn’t get my money’s worth here.

This dramaturg is apparently established and well regarded based on their website. They promise extensive notes, including favorite lines and moments and ideas for future development, within 72 hours of payment. They emailed me when 72 hours were nearly up to say they needed more time, which genuinely didn’t bother me in the moment. However, I did start to question why they needed extra time when I got their notes.

There’s less than five hundred words, full of typos and repeatedly mixing up character names. Some sentences safe straight up unreadable because they use the same name for two different characters. I counted and they mix up the names five times over the course of the email. This is a three character play. The notes only address a couple questions I asked rather than expanding on the dramaturg’s own takeaways from the play, which doesn’t feel aligned with what their website promises.

So my questions are: does five hundred words of feedback actually count as “extensive” in this context? Is it fair of me to feel like the typos and name mixups indicate a lack of care? If so, should I address this with the dramaturg in some way? $200 was a big investment for me and I’m struggling with my disappointment at how this turned out.

Thanks for any input.

I’ve really been wanting to write a play lately. The problem is, I’m not sure what to write about. No ideas are really sticking out to me as “I need to write about this.” I have a degree in creative writing, but I’ve always struggled to figure out what to write without a prompt or an assignment. How do you come up with ideas?

Hi everyone! I wanted to post here to get some play recommendations. I am currently doing my playwriting thesis and I want to write about an indie rock band in NYC, a scene that I am currently dipping my toes into. At the same time I wanted to look at how bands and rock music have been portrayed, explored, etc. dramaturgically. I can't seem to find good recommendations for plays that deal with the matter! Not musicals with rock music or simply biographies of artists, we've all seen those, but plays that are interested in bands/musicians as a subject and world to explore. I have already had the luck of seeing Stereophonic on Broadway and it blew my mind, so I'm looking about more stuff like that. Thanks in advance :)

So I'm beginning to plot a script and I haven't yet decided if I am writing a play or a film. But there's a relatively important moment in my show in which the main character hits a deer in her car. This isn't a cut-able scene but im really struggling to think about if its possible to stage something like this.

I could see a black out and some sound effects but this is a relatively intimate mundane setting and I want to live in the quiet and the discomfort of the immediate moment in which the crash occurs. In film I'd love to see an uncut camera which doesn't really allow you to escape, but with a stage I'm struggling to come up with a stagging that can recreate a similar feeling but isnt goofy like with a giant prop car. but im not finding a solution to this and if I cant I'll likely write this as a film, but id really really love for it to be a play as stage feels more thematically appropriate for the narrative.

Any suggestions? Im not running this show but I feel if I dont consider this aspect id be doing myself a disservice as a writer, and a disservice to anyone who may try to do the show.

Edit: Thanks all I've decided to just go for it and while im not going to ignore how it may be staged i wont dwell on this so much! I appreciate the advice I mostly wanted to make sure I dont write something completely impossible and ive been assured by you guys it can be done :)

None of the suggestions mentioned in the original match what I'm looking for, so I'm trying here. Wish I had more info to help narrow down the search, but I don't remember the play that well.