Playwright's Project
The Playwright's Project was a project in which all of the students in my class wrote one act plays. My play, entitled 'Take A Hike' was about three teenagers who get lost while camping in the woods. They fight and turn on each other but ultimately must work together when one gets seriously injured. This project was meant for us to learn how to display real human emotion and make deep connections to the audience through our writing. Our plays had to be honest, depicting things that the audience could relate to, like strong emotions. The honesty in my play came from the emotions of anger, fear, in frustration that people deal with when faced with a situation they cannot control. Click here to read my play.
After weeks of writing and critique, the class chose the eight best plays and produced them into full plays. Students were assigned to direct, act, manage, or design the showcases. We had two showcases with four shows each night, one on June 9th and one on June 10th. My job was to be the producer of the June 10th showcase. This meant that I was in charge of everything that needed to be done and everything that didn't get done. My partner and I made a website and other social media accounts to spread the word about our showcase. Click here to see the website! We organized all the materials people brought in, we sent out mass emails to everyone to keep them on track, we published ads in local newspapers and magazines, and we tied up all the loose ends on every aspect on the project. The night of the play, I was on the floor to introduce the show and ensure that transitions ran smoothly and my partner was in the booth running projection. Essentially, I was in charge of the entire showcase and held responsible for whatever happened. It was fun, and I enjoyed it, but it could also be pretty stressful.
Overall, this project was one of my favorite projects all year. We got to write about anything we wanted, anything we dream of, or anything we understood. There were no limits to what our imaginations could create, and I loved that. I feel like this was a great way to learn how to convey emotions honestly in writing. One thing that I struggled with in this project was the beginning, when we first began to write our plays. I had no idea what to write about, or how to write a play, but with Ms. Carol's help and encouragement, I was able to create a play that I was proud of. One thing that I would change about this project is the way the actors and directors were chosen and cast. I think we should have auditions to ensure that the actors were ready, prepared, and willing to play their parts. There was a lot of complaining and lack of respect due to actors not taking their roles seriously. I did really enjoy this project, though, and working on it was definately one of my highlights of 9th grade.
After weeks of writing and critique, the class chose the eight best plays and produced them into full plays. Students were assigned to direct, act, manage, or design the showcases. We had two showcases with four shows each night, one on June 9th and one on June 10th. My job was to be the producer of the June 10th showcase. This meant that I was in charge of everything that needed to be done and everything that didn't get done. My partner and I made a website and other social media accounts to spread the word about our showcase. Click here to see the website! We organized all the materials people brought in, we sent out mass emails to everyone to keep them on track, we published ads in local newspapers and magazines, and we tied up all the loose ends on every aspect on the project. The night of the play, I was on the floor to introduce the show and ensure that transitions ran smoothly and my partner was in the booth running projection. Essentially, I was in charge of the entire showcase and held responsible for whatever happened. It was fun, and I enjoyed it, but it could also be pretty stressful.
Overall, this project was one of my favorite projects all year. We got to write about anything we wanted, anything we dream of, or anything we understood. There were no limits to what our imaginations could create, and I loved that. I feel like this was a great way to learn how to convey emotions honestly in writing. One thing that I struggled with in this project was the beginning, when we first began to write our plays. I had no idea what to write about, or how to write a play, but with Ms. Carol's help and encouragement, I was able to create a play that I was proud of. One thing that I would change about this project is the way the actors and directors were chosen and cast. I think we should have auditions to ensure that the actors were ready, prepared, and willing to play their parts. There was a lot of complaining and lack of respect due to actors not taking their roles seriously. I did really enjoy this project, though, and working on it was definately one of my highlights of 9th grade.