I Do: Joutnal Entries

Processes in Playwriting: How a Play is Born

An Honors Thesis by Christy Melson
April 15, 1999
Advisor: Dr. Ralf Remshardt

JOURNAL ENTRIES

Journal of my process: (click to selcet entries you wish to read 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 end)

1) JANUARY 1- FEBRUARY 24:
For my High/Highest honors project I decided to write a play. The first step I took was enrolling in the Spring Playwriting workshop. Going into the class, I had many ideas for potential topics for my play. I finally became attached to one idea because I’m getting married soon, and my fiancée and I had a discussion about whether or not he is going to have a bachelor party, and how likely his friends are to hire a stripper for such a party. This topic stuck in my mind, and started to take new form, so I decided to use it as my play topic.
    As I was thinking of how to set up this play, I became attached to the idea that at some point one scene should turn into a pseudo-psychiatric session. I figured a plausible way of making that occur was to have the stripper be a student of psychology. That was the beginning of the creation of Samantha.
    The next step was to present my general idea to my playwriting workshop during “pitch” day. Among the feedback that I got that day, one of the ideas was that the man in the play could be one of the professors of this student/stripper, and that his wife-to-be was another one of his students. I thought this idea provided a lot of potential for relationships in the play, so I decided to keep it.
    I then wrote a character sheet for the professor and his bride. I included in their background the story of how they came to get together. However, at this early stage, I had a hard time getting more than just a minimal idea of the stripper. In order to get more information about graduate school for Psychology, I went to the Department of Psychology here at the University of Florida. I received from them a helpful packet of information. I also went to get general information on Graduate School from the Admissions Office. I felt this was necessary because I had no clue about process involved in getting into Graduate School for Psychology. Since all three of the main figures in my play were involved in such a program in some way or another, I wanted to be more informed.
    I next wrote the “obligatory scene” in which the professor declares his love for the stripper once she discovers he doesn’t really love his wife to be. I gave the scene to a few of my friends, and got feedback. I then touched up the grammar, and searched in my character naming sourcebook to get names for my characters. I was looking for a weaker name for the professor and a stronger name for the stripper. I named him Wesley Newell and her Samantha. I then typed that scene, and gave it to several of my friends to have them read it aloud for me. I was able to get feedback and had a chance to hear what this scene sounded like aloud.
    My next assignment in class was to present a formal scenario (Appendix 1). I received a lot of feedback and ideas as to different directions that my play can take. Here is a listing of some of the ideas I got:
-The stripper wears balloons so she is forced to get more undressed as she needs to sit down, etc.
-Put erotic tension into situation, there is not a PG-13 rating.
-What if Maggie (Wesley’s fiancée) shows up at the hotel room?
-What if the scene takes place at the professor’s house, instead of a hotel, to give him more power?
-Make Samantha and Maggie rivals.
-What does Samantha want from Wesley?
-Make him arrogant, but only superficially secure, and make her demolish his pretensions throughout the course of the show.
-What if this is a project Sam is doing for a rival teacher, or editor, an experiment on her part?
-Make it a higher-stakes play.
    Next, I wrote the opening monologue, typed it and had my sister read it for me. In the subsequent class I presented the dialogue that I had written to my peers. After receiving their feedback I edited these pieces. I was given the idea that Wesley is not quiet, but is aggressive as a front to hide his shy side. This gave me more to work with, so I decided to keep it.
    My next step was to return to the Psychology office to get more information. I also got information on funding for Graduate School, such as scholarships and assistantship positions. I came across the idea that Wesley could offer Samantha some sort of funding at the end of the play, to keep her out of stripping and closer to him.
    I also started seriously toying around the idea of putting this in Wesley’s house, to give him more power in the situation. We then started individual conferences in my workshop, and in my first conference with Dr. Remshardt I discussed the idea of changing locales, but we decided that there is more danger, and therefore it is more exciting if we kept it in the hotel. Because of this, I had to change the end scene that I had written.
    I then wrote what would be the other side of the phone conversation that opens the play. This was to help me clarify that the part we heard made sense. I asked a friend, Jessica, to read the scenes I had written with another friend, so I could hear them again, and discovered that she used all the voice inflections that I wanted. I wondered how I could get these into the script, so all actresses will know how I want Samantha read.
    At this point I went to my advisor, and decided I definitely wanted to pursue the High/Highest honor option. We discussed what I would have to do to qualify for this option. We decided together that I should document my progress and process, and turn that in with a finished play. I then began keeping a journal of my progress.

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2) FEBRUARY 28:
    I revisited my scenario and the most recent dialogue. I made a few grammatical changes and some character notes, expanding my understanding of Wesley. I decided that I would keep the action at the hotel, not at the Wesley’s house.
    I read the scenario and picked the most appealing scene, and wrote dialogue for it. I found that I do not write in any logical order. Rather I arbitrarily divided the script into scenes and then choose which scene that I would like to write.
    I had the inspiration that helped me create motivation for Samantha to study psychology. I decided that her brother went nuts, and committed suicide. I realized that I needed to get more information on how divorce affects children. Using her brother as motivation to study psychology, I decided that Wesley taught a Family Relationships class. I need to check my Marriage and Families book as soon as I can get it sent to me, as well as my general Psychology book. Perhaps I could interview a psychology professor.
    I had another inspiration. A friend visited me, and she looks exactly how I pictured Samantha, something I had been unable to picture before. Maybe I should collect pictures and images to help me create characters. I want a baby name book. I flipped through the phonebook to look for a last name for Samantha, but did not find a satisfactory last name.
    I played with the idea of Wesley’s apparent arrogance, and incorporating physical danger and erotic tension. What if he was to touch Samantha’s chest, in a scene with a bit of dialogue? I wondered if Wesley would actually do this, and is this necessary for the play?
    I revisited the opening monologue and added a possible idea, which could change Wesley’s story. What if his friends hired Samantha, thinking he could do with a little action the night before his wedding. That may force him to feel he has to touch her. I see him as an uncomfortable person, but he loves her. Is this physical?
    I am trying to add some stage directions to the dialogue. I found it too difficult for me at this time, so I decided to do that later. I decided that I would have to add a physical element, like her finishing her strip dance, to add some of that “danger.”

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3) MARCH 2:
    Before I went to class, I edited my dialogue. I changed the opening monologue yet again. What if Wesley’s friends thought they were hiring a “call girl”, and Samantha is calling the office because she thinks she may be in trouble because of Wesley’s aggressiveness.
    I had my next conference with Dr. Remshardt, and the following points were discussed:
-Language should reflect the character. The professor does not talk in short sound bites.
-The speech patterns of the two characters should be different. As he become more pompous, or more insecure, he uses bigger words.
-Make it clear who hired Samantha, and whether Wesley knew about this in advance. In order to set up his moral situation, how this came about needs to set up in detail.
-Is sexual frustration present because of what Wesley was expecting?
-This play has the danger of being too much in the mind at this point, and not physical. Utilize the bodies of the characters.
-There should be progression in the relationship.
-There is unspoken subtext, be sure to explore the ramifications.
-Mention the assistantship earlier than the final scene, perhaps as a bribe, as a counter offer, or to placate her.
-Wesley is too nice, he needs to be more swinish (a weakness).

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4) MARCH 4:
    I heard my new dialogue in class today, and got suggestions for more logical structure of the words. I was asked if Wesley is drunk. I’m not sure I like that idea. I got a few of my friends to read for a “staged reading,” and discovered a friend who reads Wesley as I hear him in my mind. I now have my 2 roles cast that I may hear my dialogue when it is written.

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5) MARCH 7:
    I wrote scene 2, which is the physical scene between Wesley and Samantha, making sure Wesley is physically aggressive. It was difficult for me to write, and embarrassing, too.

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6) MARCH 9:
    I shared what I have of my text with a friend who is a short story writer, and got a critique. The ideas she gave to me to think about included keeping in mind the point of view, and also the voice of the text. She recommended that I make the works reflect the characters. If I have more tension in the beginning, it allows for an easier transition later in the play.

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7) MARCH 12:
    I gave the script to Padraic, who plays Wesley, and he approves of the physical scene.

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8) MARCH 15:
    I gave a copy of my script to Dr. Remshardt, my advisor.

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9) MARCH 16:
    I had a discussion session with Dr. Remshardt today. Shortly before I had my session with him I started handwriting a scene in which Wesley admits he’s a virgin. In my session, Dr. Remshardt suggested the same thing. He also suggested that I make the physical scene a bit more physical.
    Another question posed was why Samantha stays if Wesley has physically forced himself on her. If she is less understanding of his situation, it allows for more chaos to ensue. Maybe Wesley asks for pointers, being a virgin, and she feels sorry for him, so she stays.

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10) MARCH 18:
    I rewrote the physical scene, on the computer, not by hand, like usual. I cut and pasted two different ideas for the scene, and brought in the text to share with the class.

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11) MARCH 21:
    I wrote the middle of the play, tying together the beginning and end I have. I pulled from notes I wrote on March 16th and March 7th. I started the scene by hand, got frustrated, and moved to writing while at the computer. I almost erased all of my work. I learned to save more often, and more carefully.
    I compiled all the scenes together, then re-read them, and brushed up the grammar and transitions. I added character descriptions from the scenario, and called it a first draft.

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12) MARCH 23:
    I had another conference with Dr. Remshardt. I need to make clear that the kiss that Samantha gives Wesley at the end is out of sympathy, and not out of a sudden change of heart on her behalf.
I should clarify the relationship between Wesley and Samantha before she delves into her personal life with him. Also, why should she stay, what is keeping her there? If she gets upset at something, this would not only give her reason to stay, but also shifts the power back to Wesley, and the power struggle could be a constant theme in the play.

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13) MARCH 25:
    There was a reading of my entire play in class today, and a few points still need to be worked on to have the piece make sense. There are some awkward transitions at this point. Also, the class had difficulty buying that Wesley was a 38-year-old virgin and felt I need to justify that more in the text.
    I also got the comment that we heard a lot about Maggie (Wesley’s bride) for a non-present character. It was suggested that when he talks about her Wesley should either relate her to his mother or to Samantha, to make it tie in to the plot more.

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14) APRIL 8:
    I revisited the script after letting it sit for a while, and had great ideas as to how to fix the problems brought up in the last class. I also reworked some grammar and wording problems.

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15) APRIL 14:
    I finished off the text to a hopefully “final” draft, including more of an explanation as to why and how Wesley can be a 38-year-old virgin this day and age.

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16) APRIL 15:
    I submit my play today to the department for review for High/Highest honors consideration.

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    Writing a play is not an easy task and many more revisions and changes to the piece are needed than I initially realized going into this process. First I had to settle on one idea, of the many that I had in mind. I then set out to research the background I wished to use in my play. I was lucky that I had access to the resources available from UF. The next step was to test out bits of dialogue over and over, until they sound right, which I was able to do with the help of my class and numerous friends. I was always a bit disappointed when I discovered that what sounded right in my mind made less sense when heard aloud. One of the most difficult things for me was creating a middle of the play, to get the story logically from the beginning I had come up with, to the end that I demanded. When I started the process I knew how I wanted the play to end, with the man marrying his fiancée while knowing he found love in someone else, who didn’t love him. For the beginning I needed a creative exposition what had happened just before, without being as obvious as my two only characters talking about it. I decided to use a phone call, and therefore an outside person who may need this information. I was the left filling in all the needed character and story information, while trying to keep a logical progression of events from the near rape scene to the ending where love is understood, but not mutual. I worked the middle scene by scene, working forwards and backwards, until I got a middle that worked. Finally I had to make adjustments to ensure that the events flowed well. After many weeks of struggling to pour my soul into this project, I have finally come to the point when I can release my final, finished product and send it out into the world, to fall under the critical eye of others.

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