Playwriting students often ask me: “When do you know that your play is done?” The truth is, it doesn’t ever HAVE TO be done. Tony Kushner is still rewriting Angels in America, despite winning the Tony and the Pulitzer for it. (And an Emmy!) Ideally, the rehearsal process for your world premiere is where you figure out how your play works and “finalize” it, but at the end of the day…it’s YOUR play, and the world is always changing. If you want your play to change with the world, feel free to keep rewriting.
Personally, I rewrite a ton during the rehearsal process. For F**king Strangers (which had its first preview last night — we have two more pay-what-you-can previews tonight and tomorrow night, then we open on Saturday), I have mostly been making cuts. As we shifted from scene work to run-throughs of the entire play, we got a better sense of the rhythms of the play. This is one of those full-length 90-minutes no intermission plays, but the first few run-throughs were running, well…LONG. It was becoming very apparent that we would need to either add an intermission or make some cuts. My director Chris Fields and I debated what the play needed, and we ultimately decided on cuts to streamline the story. And so, on the morning of our first preview, I cut 8 pages. (RIP gluten monologue.) A lot of darlings were killed in those pages, but you know what? I don’t miss anything. The play feels tighter and moves faster. It was the right thing to do.
Do not marry your darlings. Kill them in service of your play!
If you’re in Los Angeles, I do hope you’ll come see F**king Strangers. I’m very proud of this one. Check out these beautiful production stills (photo credit: Cooper Bates), and get your tickets HERE. (I think the tickets are pretty reasonably priced, but if you’re on a budget, take advantage of our pay-what-you-can previews — we do still have some tickets tonight and tomorrow)!
Check out the TRAILER for the play here:
Listen to me talk about the play on the Playwright’s Spotlight podcast here:
And check out these interviews:
BROADWAY WORLD: Playwright Erik Patterson of F**KING STRANGERS produced by The Echo Theater Company.
WHAT THE BUTLER SAW: A Conversation with Playwright Erik Patterson.
See you at the theater!
Today’s prompts were inspired by the movie Magnolia.
EXERCISE #1: “We might be through with the past, but the past ain’t through with us.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about something from your past that you’re haunted by.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist is unexpectedly visited by someone or something from their past and it ruins their day in a surprising way.
Share Your Daily Writing Prompt
EXERCISE #2: “I’m quietly judging you.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Do some brainstorming/freewriting about your most passionate dislikes. How deeply do you judge the people who like the things you don’t like, or behave in ways that feel incomprehensible to you?
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist unleashes a fierce judgement against another character. You decide if this other character takes it, or if they fight back.
EXERCISE #3: “I come in here, you don’t know me, you don’t know who I am, what my life is…you have the indecency to ask me a question about my life?”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Make a quick list of at least ten questions you never want to be asked, then pick one question to explore more deeply—what is it about this question that bothers you so much?
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist refuses to answer a question that another character won’t let go of.
EXERCISE #4: “She knew all the stupid things I’d done.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about your stupidest mistake. What did you learn from it?
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist makes the worst choice they could possibly make.
EXERCISE #5: “I really do have love to give. I just don’t know where to put it.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a love that you feel overwhelmed by.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a monologue for one of your characters where they talk about a love they don’t understand, or a love that they wish was different.
EXERCISE #6: “I will drop-kick those fucking dogs if they come near me.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about the last time you felt out of control. How do you regulate your emotions?
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a fight scene between two of your characters where one of them does something unforgivable.
EXERCISE #7: “I’m not a doll.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about one way in which you feel like other people underestimate you. What are the actions you’ve taken to prove them wrong?
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist stands up for themselves. Include a vow of retribution.
EXERCISE #8: “Sometimes people need to be forgiven. And sometimes they need to go to jail.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about the people you’ve exorcised from your life and what fate(s) you wish upon them.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, make a list of all the characters in your current work in progress and decide if each one is more likely to make a mistake and seek forgiveness, or if they’re more likely to commit a crime and go to jail.
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