From: jim@thinkage.on.ca (James Alan Gardner)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: Re: Novel or Play??
Date: 30 Sep 92 18:16:05 GMT
Organization: Thinkage Ltd.

In article <sbb1.717534371@Ra.MsState.Edu> sbb1@Ra.MsState.Edu (Shay B. Berthelson) writes:
>Hi I have been working on writing a novel.  But my writing could almost
>lean towards the scripting and dialogue of a play.  I really like theatre
>and wouldn't mind writing a play.  Should I ditch the book and go for 
>the stage?

Depends on your goals and your situation.

Are you writing primarily to express yourself?  Are you eager for
fame and fortune?  Where does you heart lie?  Where do your skills
lie?

You're submitting from a university system, so I'll assume you're
on campus somewhere.  If you have any association with theater
groups on campus, the odds are good that you'll be able to arrange
some kind of production for a play (provided that the play has
something to recommend it).  You probably don't want a full-scale
production to begin with.  Aim at a workshop production, something
you can pull together in the course of a few hours.  All you need
are some actors and a space; scrounge up any props that are
absolutely necessary, but don't go to extremes.  If you don't
have any directing experience, you may need a director as well...
or maybe not.  Your actors will all be reading from scripts, and
you won't need any fancy blocking.  Anyway, the goal of a workshop
production is to give you a chance to see the play on its feet,
to see what is difficult for the actors to portray or for the
audience to appreciate, and to get some feedback from actors and
other knowledgeable people.  After this first workshop, you go back
and rewrite, eliminating weaknesses and tuning the script for
performance on stage.  More workshops may be appropriate for the
next draft, or you may be ready for a full-scall production.  To
get a full production, you'll probably have to sweet-talk one of
your existing theater groups or pull things together on your own.

All of the above assumes that you already have some background in
producing theater, either as an actor, techie, director, or producer.
If you don't have experience, get some.  Join a theater group --
most amateur or community theater groups are eager for newcomers
who volunteer to put up posters or carry around furniture in the
dark.  It's extremely valuable for a playwright to learn how a
show goes together, not to mention making friends who can help
you with workshops and evaluating your script.

If your play is worthwhile, I would say you have a fair-to-middling
chance to see some kind of performance mounted by a local amateur
or community theater group.  The odds are better than seeing a novel
published, simply because your local little theater probably isn't
as picky as Doubleday or Random House.  On the other hand, don't
fool yourself by thinking there's a good chance your play will go
any farther.  The number of shows that make off-off-off-off-Broadway
is a lot smaller than the number of novels that come out in your
average month -- you have to be extremely good and extremely lucky
for a play to get more than local exposure.

So it depends on what your goals are.  With the right connections,
you can get more immediate results with a play than with a novel.
As for hitting the big-time...that's another story.

		Jim Gardner, Thinkage Ltd.