Advice From My 12th Graders

I just finished teaching my first semester of playwriting to high school students.  It was unimaginably different from teaching playwriting in the college setting -- not so much because of the students, but because of the structure and expectations of our environment.  We met every day (almost), but for only 40 minutes...the students had six or seven other classes at a time, and homework every night, and a gazillion extracurricular activities, and were used to much more specific instruction, and much more constant feedback, than was the norm for kids (adults, really) at a place the size of UT Austin -- 50,000 students versus 250 students, friends.  A whole 'nother universe.

That said, these guys had some of the same struggles and triumphs as any group I've worked with: what IS event?  How do I avoid cliche?  How do I make my characters feel "real?" How do I create a world onstage that isn't OUR world, and teach people the rules of it?  How do I write good stage directions?  How do I respond to criticism in a workshop setting?  How do I GIVE good criticism?  How long is it really gonna take me to write this frickin' draft?  Why doesn't anybody see the same story I see in this play? I've created two people in a cool situation, but what the hell do I do NEXT?  The same struggles, really, that I think we all keep wrestling with, as we go.  

And so, on the last day, I asked them what advice they'd give to next year's playwriting class.  Here's their collective wisdom:

Write about yourself and your experiences because it's what you know best.

Your stuff may suck (probably will) in the beginning but that's part of it.

Always have character names.

Play with names.  Try out a lot and look up their meanings.

Trust your readers to find hidden twists/metaphors -- you don't always have to spell it out.  Your class is a smart bunch.

Get stuff done on time because you'll regret it when you get to your portfolio reviews if you don't.

Read plays!  Not just ones written by your classmates (but read those too)!

Do your work, do the exercises whether or not they are crazy/frustrating -- they're also fun and helpful in the end.

Be HONEST.

Listen to feedback from your classmates, your teacher...take what they have to say and go with it.  They will give valuable information and will give you very different ideas and ways to look at your play.

Try everything, even if you won't use it, get it all on paper, then decide what you will do with it.

Trust yourself, your actors, your words.

Create mystery, keep the audience on their toes!

Don't be afraid to set your play in a completely different universe.

Create a world your audience wants to be a part of or learn more about.

Take risks, be open-minded.

Have many questions throughout your play, and provide answers at the right time.

Be clear, try to make the audience see what you see.

Embrace your demons.

Sometimes awkwardness is good onstage.  Sometimes it's too much.

Fights don't have to be screaming -- people can be quietly angry.

Write clear stage directions.

Write in long spurts, or if not, read what you had before and THEN keep going.

Make your characters distinct.  Make them conflict.

If your characters curse, make the curses mean something.

Make the set purposeful.

Make people laugh.

Write about personal events.  It keeps the ideas flowing.

Write about something that interests you to the bone.  Otherwise you will get bored and stop.

Theater is an art, not a show.

Strive for the unknown and unusual.

Feedback is very good.

Write what you like, not what you think will be deep and impressive.

Make your audience FEEL.  Put comedic moments in tragedies and vice-versa; don't make a one-note play.  Make it funny/sad/weird etc...

Trust the actors, trust the audience.

Read your dialogue out loud to hear how it comes across!

If you make the audience say "what the f*#k," you win.

Don't make sense until they force you to (the audience).

Don't be afraid to write a play you would dislike.

If you can't think of anything, write anyway.  Let your subconscious tell the story.

Don't be too controlling.  Let the actors/designers/directors have their say.

Take something personal and GIVE it to your audience.

Don't piss off future techies trying to produce your play.

Each character should have at least one unexpected characteristic -- for example, Superman is a lazy perfert.

Not everything has to be dramatic or tragic.

Invite great directors to produce your play -- assume you will always have great directors, don't baby them.

Separate your characters -- each with his or her own movement, language, style, etc.

Don't listen to Aristotle.  F*#k Poetics.

Write about cats.  Frequently.  And Hot Pockets.

Be honest (or don't).  Either be REALLY BRUTALLY honest, or COMPLETELY dishonest.

Write good things.  And really bad things.  LOTS of really bad things.  And then you'll get good things.  Accidentally sort of.

Go into the world, little chickadees.  My work is done.