Spotlight! E-news from Theatrefolk

Issue 24 - What's New At Theatrefolk?

Welcome!

What's new in T-folk land? Lots! As the leaves turn colour and the weather turns colder, we couldn't be happier at Theatrefolk. Craig and I have been working furiously since our big move in May.

We've got a new short play collection, a new monologue book, a new classical adaptation, a new version of one of our 'classic' plays and a new comedy.

Enjoy this sneak peak!

In This Issue

• PODCAST
  Theatrefolk publishers talk theatre.
• FACEBOOK/MYSPACE
  More places to reach us.
• TEN/TWO
  Ten plays. All with two actors.
• THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW
  An adaptation of this spooky classic.
• NO HORSE TOWN
  A super-stylized comedy.
• ths phne 2.0: the next generation
  The next generation of This Phone Will Explode at the Tone!
• COMPETITION MONOLOGUES BOOK 2
  A second book of monologues.
• SHOUT BLOG
  Lindsay and Kristin talk about 'The Break Up Song.'
• RINGTONES
  Get your favourite literary quote on your phone!
• MRS MERRITT's BIG BOOK OF HOLIDAY SKITS
  Holiday plays for the whole calendar.
• CONFERENCE ALERT
  Meet us in person.
• IN THE NEXT ISSUE
  What you can expect next.
• STAY IN TOUCH
  Contact Info/Read Our Blog.

Podcast

We have written word, audio and video now! We plan to do a podcast for every conference we visit this fall. We'll be in New York, Utah, California, and Florida this month alone! Keep up with our adventures.

Facebook/Myspace

Another way to keep in touch with us! If you're doing one of my shows, join my Facebook or MySpace. Easy contact for questions or comments!

• Lindsay on MySpace
• Lindsay on Facebook

Ten/Two

Our customers are always looking for short plays. They're good for competition, and great for classwork. Short plays come in all shapes, all genres, all forms. You can find a short play for any level of student: beginner to the most advanced. Our latest offering in the short play oeuvre is a collection of duets called Ten/Two.

The concept behind Ten/Two is rather transparent. Ten plays. All with two actors. The subject of each play deals with the numbers Ten and Two in some fashion. Each piece stands on its own or, you can do all ten together to make a full evening of theatre.

This collection was a fun exercise for me. I love writing within limitations: it was a challenge to find 10 different ways to incorporate the numbers 10 and 2. I didn't want every scene to have to deal with time!

• I have a student driving scene ('hands in the ten and two position please')
• A scene where a girl describes herself as a 'ten' and another girl as a 'two'
• A scene where a man must deal with the consequences of having a "10 dash 2" delivered, instead of the "2 dash 10" he ordered.

One of the most interesting aspects of this process was deciding the order of the ten plays. While each play is its own story, I wanted to arrange them so if a school wanted to do the whole group, the plays would flow like a full length. The plays are a mixture of lengths and genres. Can't have all the comedies up front or three long plays in a row! Instinctually, I had the play 'My Father went to Switzerland and all I got was this lousy t-shirt' first. I really enjoyed writing this play: it has the driving instructor coming apart at the seams as she relays a disastrous Spelling Bee experience. (I've been a devoted watcher of the Scripps Spelling Bee for years) I thought the scene was very funny and would work well as an opener.

But in workshops, the scene never came across as hilarious; more as character introspection. That in itself is fine: I don't mind character introspection at all. Any time characters reveal something hidden about themselves is good. But tone is essential, particularly in an opening scene. And when the same response came through in not one, not two, but THREE workshops, I knew that this play couldn't go first.

That's why plays are meant to be seen and heard: sometimes what you see on the page, and what you think is happening in your head, isn't necessarily the case.

I'm not sure which my favourite play is of the bunch. I'm really pleased with the characters in all of them. It's important in short plays to have instantly formed characters for both the actors and the audience. The more vivid the better.

I do know that my favourite speech in the whole collection comes from the play 'Ten Minutes, Ten Minutes, Ten Minutes, Ten Minutes:'

TWO: I don't follow some stupid non existent rule and all of a sudden I'm a what, a what, an outcast? A cheese outcast? Mold who eats the occasional apple? That is downright hogwash, and I won't be bullied by you, you, fake Buddhist. I won't be bullied by you at all. I'm glad we've not spoken all year. I'm glad this year is almost up and this is the one and only conversation you and I will have to have. Go back to your fake mantra and your untied shoelaces.

The cheese comment refers to 'The Cheese stands alone' from 'The Farmer in the Dell.' I've always wondered about that. Why single out the cheese? And earlier in the play the character is characterized the type of person who eats fruit voluntarily. From that, we get 'mold who eats the occasional apple.' It's a pretty vivid image! I love it.

Free Sample Pages for this play.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Two years ago at a conference a man strolled by our table.

"Do you have The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?"

We didn't but a little bell went off in my head, as it so often does (sometimes it's rather noisy in my head!) and here we are.

I really like adapting existing work. It's always an interesting challenge to bring a novel or short story to the stage. I feel very strongly that the original intent of the work should be maintained; sometimes it seems adaptors are so focused on making changes instead of highlighting what's already there. But at the same time, the end product has to be a play: books are books for a reason just as plays are plays for a reason. There's a time to use the original dialogue and there's a time not to. For example, I read a couple of Sleepy Hollow versions that employed Narrators to get more of the story out, but I think a narrator without character is as far away from dramatic as it gets. It's a tricky balancing act.

Washington Irving's original story is wonderful. He's clearly inspired by Dickens (another favourite of mine) and the description of the characters are so striking they are instantly easy to picture.

Therein lies the first problem. It's always better to show instead of tell. Therefore you can't talk about what type of person Icabod Crane is, you have to show it in his action. This is Irving's description of Icabod:

He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together. His head was small, and flat at top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose, so that it looked like a weather-cock, perched upon his spindle neck, to tell which way the wind blew. To see him striding along the profile of a hill on a windy day, with his clothes bagging and fluttering about him one might have mistaken him for the genius of famine descending upon the earth, or some scarecrow eloped from a cornfield.

It's so easy to picture this man. Unfortunately it doesn't really work on stage. It's so specific: what if you have an great actor who doesn't look like this? What if he's short and round instead of tall and scarecrow like?

This description is so powerful that I considered using a puppet for Icabod. I knew I wanted to use a puppet for The Horseman so that he could be larger than life. In the end, I focused solely on the behaviours and attitude Irving brings to light in Icabod's character. A description like the one below shows Icabod's greed at getting the Van Tassel land....:

As the enraptured Ichabod fancied all this, and as he rolled his great green eyes over the fat meadow-lands, the rich fields of wheat, of rye, of buckwheat, and Indian corn, and the orchards burthened with ruddy fruit, which surrounded the warm tenement of Van Tassel, his heart yearned after the damsel who was to inherit these domains, and his imagination expanded with the idea, how they might be readily turned into cash, and the money invested in immense tracts of wild land, and shingle palaces in the wilderness.

....and is easy to dramatize as it gives Icabod a theatrical motivation:

ICABOD: Land, land, land, land, land! Oh the day gets closer and closer when all this land will be mine! Certainly there is a firm possibility that one day I will be lord of all this scene of almost unimaginable luxury and splendor! Look at the table! Donuts, crullers, sweet cake, short cake, ginger cake, honey cake, apple pie, peach pie, pumpkin pie, sliced ham, smoked beef, roasted chicken. This is a feast for a king. And I could be that king! (he claps his hands with glee) This is the third dance I've been to with Katrina this fall, I'm with her every second day with lessons. Surely Brom Bones is nothing now but a smudge on the landscape. The landscape that will soon be mine!

Another issue is the setting. Irving spends a lot of time describing the area and giving intricate specific details to everything.

The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet.

I'm writing for school-sized budgets. The more sets, the less likely a school will choose the play. Also, schools don't have the budgets for lightning fast set changes: nothing kills a scary story like having your audience sit through scene changes that are longer than the scenes! (Long scene changes are my number one pet peeve. Every second that ticks by during a scene change takes an audience further and further out of the world of the play.)

I decided to have only two locations and only one set: the play takes place in the Van Tassel barn over a series of Fall dances, and in the dark woods of Sleepy Hollow. Easy to work with on a limited budget but room for a fancier backdrop if desired.

Because Irving has such a full rich descriptive style, I wanted to make sure that the play version had style as well. Now, Irving's style works well on the page, but it doesn't fit theatrically. To give the script version a sense of heightened style I used poetry. I wanted something that pays homage to the English language as Irving's style does but has a little more movement, as I believe rhyming poetry does:

And up ahead from shadows dense
The apparition rose.
Old Brouwer heard the chilling laugh
Or so the story goes.

And I believe in the Headless Horseman.
The things they say are true.
If you feel his ghoulish grip,
It will be the end of you.

All in all, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a great ghost story with great characters. And everyone loves a good ghost story, right? Just keep in mind, is that creaking shadow a branch moving in the wind, or is it the Headless Horseman.....

Free Sample Pages for this play.

No Horse Town

You can read about the development process of No Horse Town in these two newsletters. I was inspired to write the play after I tried to cross a street in Knoxville, TN where the light wasn't actually long enough for someone to cross. I'm guessing that no pedestrian had ever done it before.

As a consunmate walker this boggled my mind and led quite easily to creating the fictional town of Heywood. Sometimes I'll get to the end of a play and have no idea what prompted the inspiration and genesis. I'll never forget trying to cross that street: I nearly got run over twice!

The fun and the challenge in No Horse Town is its specific and defined style. You can almost hear the accents in the dialogue from the way it's written. The stage directions are extremely specific and purposeful: every character stands in some sort of artificial 'pose' whenever they're on stage.

JIMMY and BUDDY stand centre stage. They pose dramatically. JIMMY looks with great intensity toward stage left. BUDDY looks stage right.

One of my favourite parts of this play was creating the names. Even the names are specific and stylized! When I started work on this play I had recently met a girl named 'Melissa-Marie' and knew I wanted to use that name somewhere. All the girls have those hyphenated names: Melissa-Marie, Ida-Rose, Becca-June. They ooze such specific style. Additionally, in these types of stories, there always seems to be an unnamed stranger who arrives in unexpectedly in town so I made sure I had a character named 'Stranger.'

BECCA JUNE: Who does she think she is? That stranger.

MA: Never trust a stranger.

People either like this type of play or they don't. It's harder than it looks because there's an easy trap of going overboard. There's a difference between stylized acting and forced acting. I'm quite fond of this play because I'm a realist writer by nature: I like to write the way people naturally talk and in general I don't like artificial dialogue. So what a treat to go 180 in the other direction!

Free Sample Pages for this play.

ths phne 2.0: the next generation

I recently realized that the original This Phone Will Explode at the Tone was 16 years old. (Insert picture of Lindsay picking grey hairs off her head and putting a sweater on to ward off the chill). That's a long time ago when you're talking about a play that looks at communication. Sixteen years ago cell phones were unheard of and email was barely a blip on my radar. I didn't know about Facebook or myspace and the internet was for nerds.

The original play still is very popular but I know there's a whole world of new communication issues: Some people communicate more through texting than from talking face to face. Cell phones have so many gadgets on them they practically do everything but cook your meals and do your laundry. Ringtones. The list goes on and on.

One of the monologues in the new version is inspired by an email my sister got from her then-boyfriend. Instead of telling her to "Have a good day." He wrote, "Hve a goo dy." I'm always amazed at the complete lack of proper letter writing skills I see in the emails that get sent to me. When did the capital and the period become yesterday's news?

The Play is written in the same style of the original with the theme being examined in a series of vignettes. It can be performed with a minimum of five performers but can be expanded to over twenty depending on your needs.

Free Sample Pages for this play.

Competition Monologues: Book 2

It's hard to believe that the first monologue book came out in 2004. We've published a lot of scripts since then and a lot of interesting material to choose from. Just like the last book, each monologue has a description of what's happening in the play and some acting hints. A new addition is a Performance Hints and Tips essay. I'm including it here, just for Spotlight Readers:

Performance Hints and Tips

Things to think about when choosing a monologue

For Auditions...

• If you're auditioning for a specific part, find a monologue that's going to help you get that part. If the play is a comedy, do a comic monologue. The director wants to know if you can be funny. Same is true for a drama. If the character is a mean step-sister, find a similar play with a similar character.
• If you're auditioning for a school, think variety and versitility. You only have a couple of minutes to show what you can do - don't spend that two minutes in one emotional tone, and one physical action.
• Never look at the director in an audition. It forces the director to focus on you, instead of the monologue.
• In general, go for comedy. So many actors do the big overly dramatic turn. An actor who makes a director laugh is more memorable than one who weeps and wails.
• Know that a director usually makes their mind up in the first 30 seconds.

For Individual Events...

• Properly begin each piece. Take a pause, take a look, make a definite gesture, have a defined action. Don't rush from the introduction to the monologue.
• Properly end each piece. Make sure there's a defined beat between the end of one piece and the beginning of the next. I was watching an IE and it wasn't until he finished completely that I figured out he had done two pieces. There was no break between them.
• Even though each monologue in this collection has a time limit, it's going to be different for every actor as they put on their own interpretation. Therefore, you must time your pieces. There's nothing worse than seeing an IE that's going so well but goes over time.
• Contrast, contrast, constrast. Make sure your pieces are clearly different.
• Know the name of the play and the author! It shows a lack of preparation if you can't come up with ths information.

And Furthermore....

• Yelling does not equal emotion. Even in the most intense monologue you should not raise your voice for more than two sentences.
• Stand still! It's very distracting to watch an actor wander. It's the actor moving about and not the character. It shows a lack of thought in the blocking.
• Who are you talking to? Where are they? What do you want? What happens to you elsewhere in the play?
• Read the whole play. Read the whole play. And yes, read the whole play.

Competition Monologues: Book 2 is now available.

Free Sample Pages for this book.

SHOUT Blog

Lindsay and Kristin talk about one of their favourite songs from the upcoming musical Shout: 'The Break Up Song.'

Lindsay - Lyrics

I knew I wanted one of the stories to be about teen dating. It seems that 'dating' is something you're 'supposed' to start when you're a teen and you're supposed to know how to do it instantly. It's been a long time since I was a teen and I still vividly remember feeling so confused. To that end, the two dating characters in SHOUT!, Jack and Tassi, are very confused daters. They're flung right into the fire and have no idea how to date. The situation works really well with the theme as the characters flounder between what they think and what they say.

Every musical has some sort of love song. The signature song. A soulful, tug-at-the-heartstrings balad where the characters stand centre stage in a spot and make goo goo eyes at each other. Very serious. But how many break up songs are there? How many musicals have a break up song as their Act 2 signature song? And it's funny on top of that? Well, that's a challenge I'm prepared to take. I always knew Jack and Tassi were going to break up in song.

The set up for the song is that both Jack and Tassi, after three torturous dates come to the independant conclusion that their life as a couple has to come to an end. But just as they are akward with dating, they are worse at figuring out how to break up. They each sing to their best friend about what could go wrong:

What if he cries?
What if she clings to me?
Jumps off a building?
Says she can't live without me?
Declares his love?
Says I'm the guy she dreams of.
The guilt has kept me up all night
What if she dies of fright?

The lyrics came quite easily: the two basically sing all their thoughts and fears and say their true feelings. It's the break up lines that people would like to say, but never, ever would!

The resolution of the song comes when the two find out they both want to break up. Insteand of being upset over this, they are both overjoyed! Trepidation turns to massive happiness as they break up:

No hard feelings?
None at all. We'll still say hi in the halls!
And we'll still be friend to the end, it's true.
When I break up with you!

I then handed the lyrics over to Kristin, who created an amazing melody. The song literally burst to life!

Kristin - Music

When I write a piece of music, I take the lyrics, learn them and walk around and say them over and over and try to get the rhythm in my head and see if any melody comes out.

When I read the lyrics for 'The Break Up Song' I instinctually thought of Grease and 'You're the One that I Want.' The drive in the rhythm, the happiness in the melody, it's a real sing-along song.

From reading SHOUT I knew this had to be the happiest song in the musical. By the end of the song the two characters are in a state of euphoria over breaking up. That makes for a very interesting contrast: a couple breaking up in a happy way. Because we're dealing with contrast in the lyrics, the music also needed a contrast. It needed surprise.

Musically, I started out with a slow, tentative opening. Something sweet in the melody, reminiscent of a 'true' love song. And then BAM the song takes a big left turn with a driving melody. Just as the characters break out with their true feelings, for the first time in the musical, as their words come tumbling out...

I want to break up with you.
Make no mistake it's true.
I want to break up with you.
Open a door and shove you through.

....the music pours out too in a rhymthic way. When the well breaks, metaphorically, and everything comes rushing out, I want the music to match that.

Then there is a different sort of drive at the end when the two characters realise they both want to break up. There's a sense of release. Here the back-up singers are cheering them on and the music is so joyful. There's a happy resolution, which is pretty unexpected!

The song definitely has that 'You're The One That I Want' feeling. Craig Mason feels the song has a 'Bat out of Hell' Meatloaf tone to it as well; a definate compliment!

This is one of my favourites. It's such fun to sing and I think others will have a blast with it.

Ringtones

Theatrefolk is going multi-media! Haven't you always wanted your favourite Shakespeare quote as your ringtone? Are you in a Theatrefolk play and want a quote to play when your fellow castmates call? Check out www.literaryringtones.com for more info!

Mrs. Merritt's Big Book of Holiday Skits

We're proud to be connected to this project. Especially for elementary schools, this book is bursting with plays, scenes, skits, sketches and poems for holidays throughout the year. See www.mrsmerritt.com for details.

What's new!

Theatrefolk has a NEW HOME! Make sure you change any address information for us to:

Theatrefolk
PO Box 1064
Crystal Beach, ON L0S 1B0
Phone: 1-866-245-9138
Fax 1-877-245-9130

Conference Alert

Here's our upcoming conference schedule. If you're attending, please drop by and say hi!

In the Next Issue

Improv! How do you start and maintain a troupe in your school?

Stay in Touch

Future issues will be guided by your suggestions. Email stories, tips, suggestions, and questions to us. This newsletter belongs to you!

Some of our playwrights post to the Theatrefolk Blog. Check it out for insights into what's happening with Theatrefolk.