THE MONDAY NIGHT LABS

What follows are various exercises we have done in Suzan Zeder's Monday Night Labs, to help us interrogate or build our scripts

FRANCES'S CAMP LAB
Five characters, a little information given on each. Participants are asked to create two collages...one for their character's exterior world, one for interior. AKA, "to the world, I am..." and "to me, I am..."

Each participant is asked to write down the character's hopes and fears about their encounter with the other characters.

Each participant has to write an introduction from his or her character to the group, answering certain questions that tie into the play's context.

Each participant is asked to do some journal writing from the perspective of his or her character.

ERIN'S MAPPING LAB
Participants read the play, or what they have of it.

Participants are given crayons and a large piece of paper. All participants are asked to draw the most resonant images from the script. Participants are then asked to add on to each others' drawings.

Particants are asked to draw lines or roads or what have you connecting the different images to each other, according to a logic that makes sense to the group.

LETTERS
Participants are asked to write letters from one character to another, or to an outside character.

PRISCILLA'S BODY LAB
Groups are given small pieces of the same text, and asked to direct each other. Groups share those pieces. The groups may play with gender dynamic, age, number of characters who speak the text, blocking, etc.


More on this later