Things You Learn Other Places

Was working today on a new piece and how to shape it, thinking about organizing principles and asking myself "what's my aesthetic?/do I have one?"

Thought about another set of tools that I use often onstage as an actor and how they might translate into my work as an actor. Yes, the oft-used, oft-misused Viewpoints.

Anyway. Here are a series of elements that might be useful to keep in mind when playing with your play.

Architecture -- what are the architectural elements of the space? This could mean a lot of things -- what kind of theater do you envision for the play? What would be the architectural elements of imagined space? What kind of set would best allow you to tell your story?
Spatial relationships -- between characters, between set elements, between actors and audience, etc,
Topography -- what kind of floor patterns can people make through the space?
Shape -- The shape of lights, space, actors themselves, the shapes actors make with their bodies, the shapes actors make together with their bodies...
Gesture -- what is the physical language you imagine in your play...and how does that translate to/work with/counterpoint the play's verbal language? Think both behavioral and psychological gesture. Does the play live in realism? Something more heightened? A ping-pong between the two?
Repetition -- repetition of words, of scenes, of images, of themes, elements, music, light, arguments, jokes. Repetition WITHIN the play of these things, or borrowing from stories, plots, cliches, fairy tales that are shared within a particular culture (maybe your own, maybe borrowing from others) to call to mind other things
Duration -- how long does a scene last? A moment? The play? The intermission?
Tempo -- Fast, slow, languid, choppy, hyper, still, super-fast etc.
Kinesthetic Response -- What happens in response to something else? Think of Dominos, think of reactions, think of football plays.