Quarter 4

Devising Theatre though Improvisation

BEG ASSIGNMENTS 2025 - 2026

4TH QUARTER UNIT

Devising Theatre: Playwrighting

This quarter will be a culmination of all our explorations thus far, tying together: performance (that's character, performance technique, objective/action); design (that's consideration of sound, lights, props, set, costume and more); spectacle; stage management. Although there are limitations to our work given our current circumstances we can still develop work as playwrights.

OUR GOAL: By May, let's write some plays then produce them together to the best of our capability!

There are many different ways to generate content.

We will be using improvisation to generate dialogue, objective and character for your plays. After a session, you will meet with your group and construct your play. Let us work for you! Steal and evolve the work your creating together. :)

IMPROV THEATRE GAMES

There are different games / exercises in Improvisation.

Fundamental Games to teach proper technique
- Pantomime
- Working with your partner
- Structure
- Character creation
- Working with an ensemble
Structured games to practice fundamentals
Performance games

Improvisation

There're TWO different forms of Improvisation.

SHORT FORM. Improvisers play established games of restriction or endowment, arranged in a set list called a Revue. Games/Scenes are associated by theme, and last 3 - 5 minutes each. Scenes are structured on either narrative or sketch structure.

LONG FORM. Improvisers play a variation on the Harold, a highly structured yet excellent playing field. Game lasts 35 minutes. Like sports only without an opponent, we learn support moves, and work as one. Only sketch structure.

Improv Olympic's the Amando Diaz Theatrical Experience

Types of Stages

Arena Stage, or in the round: Audience surrounds all sides; blocking and set design is adjusted from the vertical/horizontal planes to include diagonal.

Proscenium: Staging and design utilizes the horizontal and vertical planes. Performances are reminiscent of television, lacking physical depth.

Thrust, or 3/4 thrust: Audience surrounds 3 out of 4 sides of performance.

Flexible Stage (runway, audience immersion): Sometimes the audience and their seats join us onstage, sometimes performance invades their space; sometimes the performance space is purposefully undefined.

2026 Beginning Plays in PDF

Below in the drop down menus are your scripts in PDF. I will provide one hardcopy for each student: if lost, then you can access the PDF here.

Period 4

TBA

Period 5

TBA

Order of The Evening of Performance

The evening of a performance is a highly rehearsed, traditional, and controlled sequence of events. In addition to honoring and performing

The audience relies on moments of transition - like a writer uses punctuation - to understand the sections of a play.

To the right is a bare minimum, traditional approach, but how a director approaches these moments is really up to them as long as the director's choices support the production.

Keep us engaged, anticipatory/eager.

@ "Call".

The night of a show starts with actor and crew call: non-professional, 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 mins before places
Crew: set for the Top of the Show, or TOS
- Organize and inventory props; identify missing or repairs
- Test all lights, sound, special effects like fog / haze
- Actors into mics
- Prepare costumes; identify missing or repairs
- Actors: dance call, combat call, individual & group warm ups

House Open.

The house opens to the public around 45 mins - 30 mins before the show begins
House lights up, house music playing at a reasonable volume
Audience members typically use the bathroom, enjoy lobby concessions, look at a program and socialize

Places.

Actors are called to places at show time; house lights are blinked to signal to the audience to find their seat. Sometimes the signal is a bell
If there's late audience members, we "hold the house": that means we wait for as long as it seems appropriate.
House lights dim then go out; curtain speech, Overture. If a curtain is used, open it. If not, lights are brought up.

Inter-scene.

Blackout or blue-out? If there's a change from set to set, the production may want to treat this like part of the show. The Deck Crew - through rehearsal - can create an excellent spectacle underscored by thematic music.
Performance. An actor or two can come out in character to deliver dialogue under an isolated spot, leaving the rest of the stage open for set transition
Don't pull the curtain. Closing the curtain traditionally communicates the play or act is over.

Intermission.

Last moment with performers in tableau; music leads them out as curtain closes and lights go blackout.
House lights up, house music resumes
At places for Act 2, house lights are blinked as with Places at TOS.
House lights dim and go out, music leads the play into Act 2. Curtain opens.

End of Play.

Last moment with performers in tableau
Blackout, then curtain music.
Lights up full for Curtain Call: actors come out in costume and bow
- Company first, then individuals (either alone or in groups) with the leads last
- One last company bow, maybe two.
- Acknowledgement of the crew and musicians. Crew/musicians don't bow; last company bow isn't only for actors but for the production.
House lights up, close the curtain, house music follows curtain call music

Stage Directions and Blocking

In addition to their lines, until they're memorized and rehearsed actors must notate their scripts to remember when and where to move, who to interact with, which prop is theirs... there's a lot to keep in mind while you're building a performance!

Stage Managers- the boss, the hefe, the organizational powerhouse - annotate their entire script with ALL movement, cues, props, set piece being used: a theatrical production is a grand concert of movement and timing.

Know your blocking - where you're supposed to be and when!

A prompt book is a stage-manager-only expanded script that contains all blocking, prop/set inventories, lights/sound cues etc.

From Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

Kleon's book has many encouraging, honest graphics and advice for the Creating Artist. "The Life of a Project" is an honest - and pragmatic - timeline of how it feels to Create.

From writing fiction and non-fiction, to acting and teaching, to being a Dad, Kleon's (actually his friend Maureen's) description is humbling.

Keep this in mind while you start (and continue) your journey into creating a large, long term project. Especially when you get to ( DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL ) :)

ASSIGNMENT #1: Feedback

By now, beginners have the tools and confidence to create some neat moments onstage.

Future artists need feedback on how their creations are going: does your moment work? Did the audience react the way you thought? How memorable is my work?

After our plays on 3/28, please fill out this questionnaire.

DUE Monday, April 3, 2023

Devising Content

Reflection on 3/29 devising workshop

Reflection on 4/1 devising workshop

Reflection on 4/4 devising workshop

Reflection on 4/8 devising workshop

ASSIGNMENT TBA

DUE TBA

This assignment is the first step toward writing a 15 minute play. Future assignments will include activities in design as well as tutorials in light/sound operation.

Consider your protagonist. Every great story needs to focus on a central character. Now, here's here things get interesting: your protagonist isn't a person, rather a person represents the protagonist. The protagonist- a specialized version of character- is the action it takes to get to the end of the story. Character is Defined by Struggle to get to the end.

Is this a story about Karen who struggles to be accepted? "Struggles to be accepted" is the protagonist, not Karen. Defining protagonist will help create action later.

Motivation, Want, Goal... all the same concept, this is the WHY, the REASON the protagonist fights (and the reason we watch).

→ Begin to create your protagonist by defining its struggle: what is it motivated by? Why does it want what it wants? Format examples could be as a diary-like entry, a series of diary-like entries, a confessional email, a youtube video, a short story, a biography. EMAIL ME A PRODUCT.

(remember, there's no grades. I only assign a due date to move forward. There will be a record kept of accomplished work in synergy but grades will not be assigned.)

20 Master Plots and how to build them

by Ronald Tobias

We'd been working from this book throughout third quarter. Although others believe there's anywhere between two and 70 different plot styles, Tobias makes the argument that there's 20 structures including the ones we've worked with (Revenge, Quest, Adventure, Escape, Ascension, Descension). I have it to borrow but some of you may want your own copy. Highly Recommended!

ASSIGNMENT TBA

Given Circumstances. What does the protagonist's world look like?

You've chosen an appropriate protagonist to illustrate your struggle, now let's set them in a world that'll make them struggle. The more contrasting the world is to the protagonist, the higher the chances for drama. For instance: if you're telling the story of "struggling for attention," describe a world that is all about being popular, being liked... in fact, it sounds like the most efficient backdrop is high school. So flesh it out:

What surrounds your protagonist?
What bugs your protagonist about the world they live in? (If it struggles for attention, then what if its sister is a YouTube Influencer?)
What is an event that could occur in this world that signifies your protagonist's success?

→ Create your given circumstances. Describe the world that inspires struggle in your protagonist. Is this best set in high school? In the woods? On the border? Format examples could be as a diary-like entry, a series of diary-like entries, a confessional email, a youtube video, a short story, a biography. EMAIL ME A PRODUCT.

(remember, there's no grades. I only assign a due date to move forward. There will be a record kept of accomplished work in synergy but grades will not be assigned.)

DUE TBA

ASSIGNMENT TBA

Allegory/Theme. What does your piece mean? Or, What are you trying to communicate? Artists are split when it comes to incorporating theme into art. Some believe the inclusion of theme can unify and inspire, others feel it too constricting. Like the chicken/egg argument, does the artist's expression present theme, or is the artist riffing on theme, and this expression is their example? I like to stay aware of how theme is developing in my expression; I've found a happy medium between unification and riffing.

Your expression has begun with the consideration and development of protagonist. Now, when the audience watches the events you've arranged and how your protagonist changes as a result of those events, what does your expression mean to its audience?

REMEMBER: your protagonist is NOT a person, rather an action. Theme may change your given circumstances, which includes how you've chosen to portray your protagonist. Theme may also provide style... would your idea be better suited for a melodrama look, or a more "real" subtle design expression?

Consider your theme through a personal reflection:

Why Does This Piece Matter to You?

Format examples could be as a diary-like entry, a series of diary-like entries, a confessional email, a youtube video, a short story, a biography. EMAIL ME A PRODUCT.

(remember, there's no grades. I only assign a due date to move forward. There will be a record kept of accomplished work in synergy but grades will not be assigned.)

DUE TBA

Act Structure

I reference Lessons from the Screenplay frequently in Film Acting. The creators do a great job to explain things differently (It's important to find different practitioners' explanation of the same things to broaden understanding, don't you think?). Here, LFTS compares theatrical Five-Act structure to different screenplay structures. He asks some neat questions and makes some cool connections:

What is the better structure? How many acts are there? Martinez says 5... is he wrong?
What constitutes an act break?
Doesn't following the same structure make stories formulaic?

I teach this from the actor's perspective. When LFTS refers to the dramatic question, for an actor it's the answer to their win/loss: did they get what they want, or didn't they? Replace "Will they..." with "I want to..." and you'll see what I mean.

The second part discusses Essential Elements of Story which ties into the idea of fractal structure (we discussed this in Q2). If interested in playwrighting/screenwrighting, the reason we want to understand the 5-Act structure is because there's a lot it can teach you; once you get bored- the example here being David Fincher- you can riff and explore. Many of you have asked:

what about sub-plots?
what about more than one protagonist?

Writing references in the LFTS vids can be found below. :)

Screenplay: the Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field

Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story by John Yorke

The Actor and the Target by Declan Donnellan

ASSIGNMENT #4

Act 2. Let's get to structure. So we've created a protagonist with a few hard and fast rules that'll answer a few questions along the way; we've created a world (given circumstance) which will push against your protagonist and create conflict. Within those given circumstances, we've decided on how we're going to symbolize that protagonist for the best experience of the struggle (gender, age, archetype, etc).

We have NOT written any dialogue. The first step of construction (remember playwrighting?) is a foundation. Let's set aside act one for a moment and start with the structure of act two.

Act 2 is all about tests. The protagonist is struggling for one goal, both mentally and in its physical world. For example, it wants to be independent and free; in the physical world we see an example of that: it wants to escape from prison. So let's start its journey: in its struggle for what it wants, how is your protagonist tested by its world? If the protagonist is struggles to escape, for instance, what are the cause/effect steps it takes to get out?

Each test or trial will be its own scene; each test or trial will be a step closer to the LAST test or trial, your climax (also act 3).

Title each trial, even something as clunky as "the scene where Jenny confronts Andrew".
List your protagonist's goal, and,
riffing on it, what would be the next trial if they lost? What would be the next trial if they won?
What's in their way? How does the thing get in the way, and how does your protagonist try to overcome it?

I want to see the loose structure of your act 2. This can be pictures of note cards with short answers to the questions above; this can be a YouTube clip where you explain it, this can be an email or google doc, or something else entirely. If I were doing it, I'd prefer a BIG dry erase board.

(remember, there's no grades. I only assign a due date to move forward. There will be a record kept of accomplished work in synergy but grades will not be assigned.)

DUE MAY 6, 2020

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse