Starting to Write a Play

Series Summary

A play is a form of literature that typically consists of dialog. These theatrical performances are performed by actors that portray characters relative to the story. These characters more often than not are fictional, which provides all sorts of creative space for the writer to fill. Since the beginning of theater, writers have portrayed a plethora of scenarios and themes. From chocolate making little people to crazy wonderlands, writers are just a few of the dreamers that attempt to cover it all.

In this free video clip series our expert Kirk Bowman will show you all the key steps you need to begin writing your play. From gathering ideas to structuring acts, Kirk will walk you through the process step by step. You'll learn about writing, dialog and format. All to make sure you're ready for the big screen. The steps are in place. So get ready and start making your imagination come to life.

Video Transcript

"In this clip on how to write a play, we're going to cover how to get started. Now the reason I brought you out here to join me in this wide open mountain space is to specially emphasize that the creative process does not begin at home, sitting in front of your computer looking at a blank screen. It begins out here, someplace special. It could be a corner of your own house that you use only for writing, it could be a park down the street, it could be at your favorite coffee house. Wherever you feel most creative and where you'll get the least interruptions is a great place to try to get to, to let the creative juices flow. Now the good thing about play writing is you don't have to come up with a huge investment. It's not like being a painter where you have to come up with paints and canvas and brushes, or being an actor where you have to create a demo reel and get pictures done constantly, but this is something where if you have a computer, and especially a laptop is very helpful, you're pretty much set. They do have programs to format your screen play but I actually prefer just your word processing program. Put it in the correct form with the correct tabs and that way you're able to send it to anyone and they don't need a special software to view your play. Now if you're interested in taking classes that will help you with play writing, the number one class I'd recommend is an acting class. That way you'll be able to understand dialog and how it works with characters, characterizations and story lines. You'll be able to memorize scenes and work with other actors, which will help a lot when you start to create your own characters and your own plot within your play. Items you will need, if you want to go out and buy anything, you might grab a little recorder, a little pocket recorder because once you start play writing you'll be getting little ideas popping into your head all the time and so you'll have something just to talk into. It could be the middle of the night, it could be anywhere. Now the best place to start is by imagining that you're in a theater and your play is opening in ten minutes. Look at that kind of theater, what is it? Is it a huge auditorium? Is it a very small intimate space or is it someplace in between? Then look at your audience. Are they families out for a good time? Are they more of an edgy audience looking for a more biting or political satire, maybe? Are they children looking for a children's show? Are they senior citizens wanting something uplifting? This doesn't lock you into any certain style but it gives you a starting point, a direction to go when you are thinking about your play and how it's going to play on that stage. Now this is a wonderful creative space to write but I don't have time to come out here every day and neither do you. So you're going to find that most of your important ideas come when you least expect it. You're driving along, you're in line at the Post Office, somewhere where you least expect it. In fact if you're in line at the Post Office during the holidays you might be able to write your whole play there, but anyway, the idea is that you want to find a space that's out of the way as much as you can but be open to ideas coming all the time. Once you start to write you'll be getting creative ideas coming all the time. It'll just be very natural. So be open to ideas coming at all hours of the day or the night and try to write something every single day."