Ideas reflect so many parts of our inner world. Not necessarily the inner world that is 100% us and our core being (though that can be it). Within playmaking and generating ideas for plays and stories, we distill layers and layers of ideas that interweave into a story.
These ideas can come from a lot of different parts of you: what you’re curious about; what you question; what you think about; what you’re interested in; what you think about the world or historical events; something that happened to you in life; what you dreamt; what you imagine the world to be; or simply what ‘pops’ into your mind.
These ideas – when presented – are a powerful force that can feel like they’re taking over where you might find yourself constantly thinking about them.
They also come from quite, stillness, and observation. As you journey into playwriting, finding time to wander – within yourself – is so important. Wandering can be from observation, brainstorming, or allowing yourself to be bored. Sometimes writing prompts help, or talking to your friends or family members might channel an idea. Sometimes ideas are inspired from your life or what you enjoy.
Sometimes you don’t know where they come from. They just sort of “appear” in your brain and you can’t stop thinking about them.
No matter where they come from, remember they are amazing, powerful, and specific to YOU!
When crafting an idea into a play, you distill the layers of idea/concept into a larger story, pulling out intersections of your idea into characters, their world, their problems, etc – resulting in a theme that depicts something you are trying to say in your play.
This September, I’m excited to launch an online Full-Length Playwriting Challenge with one simple goal: distill your amazing ideas and help you turn them in a completed full-length play.
To kick off the program, I’m hosting a FREE idea generation workshop on September 10th with a morning or evening session.
During this sample class, you will have the opportunity to craft and pull out your ideas, see an example of my teaching style, and learn more about the Full-Length Playwriting Challenge!
Sign up here and I will add to you the list for the workshop!
So excited to hear your amazing ideas!
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