Most playwriting courses require students to complete a play, or at least part of a play for assessment. However, the drama teacher may assist students with improving the play in order to enhance the assessment marking. This can be done via tutorials where the teacher may go through each criterion within the assessment paper. A handout reminding students of what to look out for may guide them with getting the stage play up to professional standard. The following issues may be set out.
Developing Characters for a Play
Are there too many characters within the play? Can any be cut out without affecting the story? Do any stand idly by doing nothing? Can two minor characters be combined into one character?
Is the dialogue of each character unique? Could the audience tell which character is speaking without having to look at the character cue? If not, consider introducing inflections, idiosyncrasies or certain words to be used only by a particular character.
Solving Stage Production Problems
Are there too many scenes within the play, creating problems for the stage production? Can any scenes be cut out or combined? Does each scene serve a purpose? Does tension culminate with every scene? Are there too many characters in a particular scene, creating confusion? Are all the props necessary? Can some of the props be cut out without affecting the story?
Does any scene within the play make it difficult for the stage production? Can the resources be kept simple without affecting the audience experience?
Solve Technical Problems with the Play
Does the opening scene draw the audience in immediately? Is it different, intriguing, pose questions or inspire curiosity within the audience? Most importantly does the opening scene have relevance to the rest of the play?
Does the tension mount throughout the play? If a scene has lots of tension early in the play, could it be moved to act three? Is there an intermixture of lulls and climaxes throughout the play that help enhance audience experience?
Format of Play Script
Is the play formatted appropriately for presentation via a recognised formatting program? Also look out for the following:
- typos
- grammatical errors
- any dog-eared or tatty pages which must be replaced
- sturdy binding for the pages
- the title of the play and playwright's details to be displayed clearly on the front cover
Tips on Improving a Stage Play
The teacher may suggest that students swap plays with one another, and give honest and constructive feedback. Students might also consider completing the stage play early in the course, and then looking at it again a few weeks’ time to gain a fresh perspective. In both respects, using fresh eyes to look out for problems unforeseen will enable students to complete a second draft of the stage play with a clear view.
Workshop for Playwrights
Student playwrights can be offered support with improving their stage plays with tutorials and clear guidelines. A handout giving tips on how to tackle issues with the stage play will help students get their written work up to good standard for assessment. Elements such as characterisation, plot structure, tension and theatre show resources may be highlighted for students to consider when editing their stage plays.
Rachel Shirley - I have written and illustrated several art instruction books entitled Oil Paintings from your Garden and Oil Paintings from the Landscape ...
