Playwriting Exercise

Let’s talk about resistant students. They don’t want to be in your class, they don’t want to participate, they don’t want to do anything, except… write a play. Great! But is it? A resistant student who says they want to do something big like write a play may not understand all the steps involved. If they hate everything else in your class, you may come to find they hate writing too. So how do you deal with students who say they want to write a play but don’t want to put in the work? Start with small exercises that students complete individually, and repeat variations of them until they demonstrate they are ready to move on to something slightly bigger. Below are a few examples of such exercises. Free WritingFirst, have students get in the habit of putting words on the page with free writing exercises. Provide a positive topic (my favourite lunch, I loved this birthday present, my sports hero), set a timer for two minutes (or one minute, or 30 seconds), and tell them they must write the entire time. They don't have to worry about formatting or grammar or even writing sentences. It's all about putting words on the page. This is an essential exercise for student playwrights because so often beginning writers freeze up before they even begin. Free writing focuses on the act of writing rather than the content. Single-Sentence PlayAnother way to start small is the single-sentence play. Show students a picture and have them write down one sentence. Maybe it's something someone says, or it's something that is about to happen, or it's a comment on what's happening. Like free writing, this is a way for students to practice writing that is less involved than writing a whole play. Mini Response MonologueA third small playwriting exercise is the mini response monologue. Give students the first line, the character, and the situation. They must continue the thought of the first line and keep writing for half a page. Think about situations that will connect to your students. For example: CHARACTER: A teenager standing in a hospital gown. Give them a name! FIRST LINE: “Goodbye, I hope I never see you again!” SITUATION: The character is saying goodbye to one of their organs. What's the reason for it? Idea Sentence StartersFor this exercise, you’ll start by giving students a topic and having them free write on it for two minutes. Keep the topic in their wheelhouse: superheros, jealousy, expectations, grades, being judged. Again, it's all about the act of writing; they don't need to worry about grammar or formatting. Then give students four sentence starters. I like to use: • I wonder.... • What if.... • If only.... • Why does.... Tell students to complete the sentences using their source material. After they’ve finished writing, ask them to share one of their sentences. Finally, have students write a half-page response monologue using their sentence as the first line. Writing a SceneIf you feel students are ready to write a scene, again, keep it small. One page. Two characters. One location. (Students tend to write movies when they think they're writing plays, so it can be helpful to impose that location limitation.) You could even make it smaller: 10 lines, 5 for each character. And again, give students the first line: "I have something important to tell you!" It’s not doing the work for them, it’s opening the door to what comes next. Let them pick characters that they connect to. If you've reached this point successfully with your students, they’re well on their way to writing plays. But keep it gradual: One page becomes two. Start implementing proper play formatting. Always have them free write at the start of each class to get their brains in writing mode.

It’s fascinating how many people can observe the same moment and have wildly different experiences, thoughts, opinions, and memories about what happened. In this exercise, students will write four different monologues featuring four different characters all talking about the same moment, but from their unique perspectives. Students will create a brief scenario featuring two characters getting into a short disagreement. Start by describing the scenario as simply as possible, boiling it down to the main points. For example: “Sundeep had an ice cream cone. Mary took Sundeep’s ice cream and dropped it on the ground. Sundeep cried. Mary ran away.” Select four different characters to write monologues for. Take a piece of paper and fold it into quarters. Open the paper and write each character’s name and relationship to the people involved in the disagreement in one of the quarters. Here are some ideas for characters who might be involved: • First character • Second character • First character’s friend • Second character’s friend • A character’s significant other (or ex) • Bystander • School gossip • Secondhand news from an authority figure (principal, parent, boss, etc.) • A newspaper or social media story Using the example above, one student may choose to write from the perspectives of Sundeep, Mary, Mary’s best friend Tate, and their classmate Jacqueline, who watched the event happen. Another student might choose to write from the perspectives of Sundeep and Mary’s teacher Ms. Dieter, a student named Chris who happened to be walking nearby, Sundeep’s baseball teammate Michael, and Sundeep’s sister Priya. On each quarter of the paper under the character’s name, write down some notes about the person and their thoughts and reactions to the incident, as well as any relevant details. Some things students should consider when they’re writing include: • Did the character experience the scenario firsthand, observe it, or hear about it from someone else? How much information do they know? • How does the character feel about the incident? How do they feel about the people involved? • What was the character doing during the incident? What are they doing as they speak their monologue? • Who is the character talking to? Are they talking to someone else, or are they expressing their thoughts to themselves? Or, is the monologue being presented through the lens of writing or social media (a letter, blog post, video blog, social media post)? • When does the monologue take place in relation to the incident? Is it in the moment, after the fact? How much later — the same day, weeks later, years later? • What are the character’s biases or alliances? A character’s best friend, significant other, or parent would likely be more invested in the situation than a random bystander or someone reading a news article aloud. • Each character should have a unique voice; it shouldn’t sound like the same person is speaking in each monologue. Consider things like tone, word choice, use of contractions/slang, and emotional arc. Once students have mapped out their plans and details, they can write their monologues. Each monologue should be approximately half a page at minimum. Allow time for students to exchange monologues with a partner and read them aloud, then make revisions as necessary. Hearing a monologue spoken aloud can help students to hear if it flows well, if something is missing, or if something sounds weird, unnatural, or out of character. Once students have completed their writing, they will submit all four monologues, plus their planning work, for evaluation.

Taylor Swift famously described categorizing her songs as having "fountain pen," "quill pen," or "glitter gel pen" lyrics, referring to how the songs were written and the feelings they were meant to evoke. According to Taylor, fountain pen songs are modern, emotional, and deeply personal. Quill pen songs are old-fashioned-sounding, historical, and finely detailed. Glitter gel pen songs are upbeat, light, and youthful. Her songs are always written and performed in her unique voice, but the tone, structure, and artistic approach are different. It makes for an interesting writing challenge, but also creates a sense of variety and fun from song to song. Let's take that concept and apply it to writing a scene for performance. In this exercise, students will come up with a premise featuring one or two characters, to be the basis of a short scene or monologue. The scene or monologue will be between half a page to one page in length. Students will write the scene three different ways, using Taylor’s three song categories as the basis for tone, style, and word choice. Start by coming up with a premise for the scene. Some ideas might be: • Someone preparing a favourite meal • Someone cleaning their room and finding a long-lost item • A parent and child going shopping for a particular item • A baseball player about to go up to bat • Someone sharing a secret with a friend Create a brief outline for the scene, decide on the name(s) of the character(s), and note any pertinent personality traits or necessary details. The outline can be as simple as “Susan (parent) and Demi (child, age 13) need to get a new pair of pants for Demi.” Then, students will write the scene three different ways: fountain pen style, quill pen style, and glitter gel pen style. As a reminder: fountain pen songs are modern, emotional, and personal; quill pen songs are old fashioned, historical, and detailed; and glitter gel pen songs are upbeat, light, and youthful. So for example, in the scene about the clothing store, in a fountain pen scene, Susan and Demi might disagree about what pants to get, and Demi has a monologue about how their parent doesn’t understand how the pants they want to wear represent their personality and how they’re viewed in the world. In the quill pen scene, Susan and Demi might have to purchase the materials and notions and sew the pants themselves, and have deep conversations while they work together to make the pants for Demi. In the glitter gel pen scene, Demi might break into song about all the different pants and how surprised they are to discover that they’re actually having fun with Susan, trying on the pants. In all three scenes, Demi is getting a pair of pants, but each scene is totally different in tone and structure. Now you may have students saying, “Three different ways? I can barely write a scene one way!” Not to worry, we have lots of ways to help students figure out how to approach the different styles of writing. Have students consider the following when they’re planning their writing: • Perspective: Think of writing from the perspective of an adult, an elderly person, or a child. • Time period: Write from the time of the present, the past, or the future. • Slang words or phrases: How would words like rizz, groovy, awesome, balderdash, or forsooth affect the scene? • Cultural references: Do the characters communicate using telephones, letters, or social media? Are they fans of lute music, The Who, or robo-trance music of the year 2347? • Amount of words used: “Why yes, of course mother” has a much different tone than “Yeah ma,” as does “Alas, I wish to possess that item” versus “I want that.” • Contractions: “Do not” versus “don't” sounds very different. • Types of words used: Think about simple words and phrasing versus complex language, and who is using the words. For example, a five year old wouldn't likely use the word "conversely" when they’re talking. • Amount of details you include, and which details. • Style of scene: dramatic, comedic, historical, musical… Once students have completed their writing, have them read their scenes aloud to a partner or small group (or have other group members read the scenes aloud to them). Listen for things like consistent details, tone differences, anachronisms, and whether or not the scenes flow well. If any edits or revisions are needed, students should make those changes, then submit their three scenes to the teacher. Alternate Exercise: If students are overwhelmed by the thought of writing one story three different ways, have them work in groups of three. The groups will come up with one scene premise, and each student in the group will write the scene in one of the three styles (fountain pen, quill pen, or glitter gel pen style). Groups must ensure that the details of all the scenes are consistent between group members; only the style of writing will change. Groups will submit all three scenes together as a package.

In this article you’ll find instructions for a playwriting choice board exercise. For this exercise, students should bring in a photo of them as a baby or toddler. It needs to be a physical copy, not a screen capture on a phone, because some of the options require students to trade the image with a partner or put it up on the wall. If students are uncomfortable with bringing in a photo of themselves or aren't able to do so, they can bring in a photo of another baby or toddler — perhaps a parent or sibling, or a magazine cutout or printout from the internet. Depending on your timeframe and the size of the assignment you wish your students to complete, you can have students select one or more options from the choices below. Two of the choices are individual, two are for pairs, and two are for groups. So, for example, you may wish for students to complete one individual selection and one partner/group selection. If you want to add a performing component, you can have your students workshop the pieces aloud after they’ve been written. Adapt the exercise to best suit the needs of your class. You’ll find an evaluation rubric in the giveaway below. Choice Board Options:Individual: Write a monologue from the perspective of your younger self. It could be in the voice of the baby or toddler, or in an adult voice speaking about childlike topics. It can be comedic, dramatic, whatever you wish. Individual: Write a monologue from the perspective of the child about to have a total meltdown or temper tantrum. What happened that made them so upset? How did they get from the state they were in in the photo to melting down? How can you write the monologue to indicate that it should have different levels, not just screaming? Partner: Write a scene together in which your two younger selves meet for the first time. Where are they? Why are they meeting? Who are they with? What other details should you include? Partner: Trade photos with a classmate and write a character sketch about their baby photo. It doesn't have to be accurate — feel free to make up details! Trade the character sketches back and write a scene together from the perspective of the babies in the character sketches, using the details your partner created. Try to stick to what they wrote, not what you know about yourself. Group: The teacher will collect all the photos and post them on the wall in small groups (3–5 per group, depending on the size of the class). Those students will get together and write a Rugrats-style scene featuring the group of babies on an adventure. Group: In small groups, students will write a comedic “baby newscast” scene. Using the details in the photos, each group member will write a segment about issues facing babies, from the perspective of the baby. For example, if one of the baby photos features a baby with food all over their face, the baby might express frustration that they’re messy. A baby wearing overalls might discuss baby fashion dos and don’ts. One of the students’ babies can act as the host or anchor of the newscast to tie all the pieces together.

A common acting exercise for students is to imagine what their character is doing next when they exit a scene, and what they’re doing when they aren’t onstage. We’re turning that exercise into a playwriting prompt — writing the next scene for an exiting character. Where did they go? What are they doing? Why did they leave? Let’s figure it out! Instructions 1. Select a play, and have students each choose a moment where a character exits within the scene (preferably not the lead character). Students need to identify the character’s name as it appears in the script, write a one-sentence summary of what caused them to exit, and note the exact line that is spoken or sung to make them exit. Be sure to also note the act and scene number (if identified), as well as the page number of the script. 2. Write a scene immediately following their exit. Their first line is the last line they say before they exit (or the line of the character who causes them to exit). Where is the character going? What are they doing? Who are they meeting with? What are they talking about? How is the character feeling? For example, in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, the character Clarisse is magically drenched by toilet water when she corners Percy in the camp bathroom. Her exiting line is, “You’re worm meat, Jackson… WORM MEAT!” What does she do when she leaves the bathroom? Does she grab her fellow Ares cabin mates and start plotting revenge? Does she go to the lake and cry in secret? Does she set fire to Percy’s bed? Here’s another example. What does Courtney, the snooty salesgirl in the opening number of Legally Blonde: The Musical, do after Elle calls her out for showing her a dress from last year? The line that causes Courtney to exit is her manager singing “Elle Woods! Sorry, our mistake, Courtney take your break! Just ignore her, she hasn’t been well.” Does Courtney sneak out the back of the store? Does she write a letter of resignation and enrol in college? Does she steal her manager’s car? It’s up to you! 3. From here, students can be as inventive as they want for their scene. It can be the same tone or genre as the established play, or go in a totally different direction. Perhaps a character from a play exits and bursts into song in their scene, or a character in a tragedy starts cracking jokes. Perhaps a seemingly happy-go-lucky character reveals a hidden dark side. Students can invent new characters for their scene or use established characters who are not currently appearing onstage in the play. They need to develop their focus character’s personality beyond their currently scripted lines in the play. Give the character a proper name if they don't already have one (for example, in Heathers: The Musical, some of the characters include Beleaguered Geek, Hipster Dork, and New Wave Girl — they need proper names). Include the new setting at the top of the scene as well. It doesn’t matter if this scene follows the established plot of the show or not. Students are welcome to tie it back to the original play if they wish, but they don’t have to. It can be a side journey, or take the play in a whole new direction. Who knows — perhaps this writing exercise will inspire a sequel or spin-off production! 4. If you wish to add a performance aspect to this writing exercise, have students read the scenes aloud, or create a staged reading series of all the new scenes. If the scenes are all from the same play, arrange them in order of where they occur within the established script. 5. Have students complete an exit slip responding to one of the following questions: • How does this exercise make you a better writer? • What is the purpose of this exercise? • How could you use this scene or this exercise process for future work in class? Kerry Hishon is a director, actor, writer and stage combatant from London, Ontario, Canada. She blogs at www.kerryhishon.com.

The following exercise is flexible. It can be completed via distance learning or live in class. If students are completing this exercise online, they do not need to turn on their cameras or microphones. It is a short exercise that can be completed in one class period, but also extended if students complete it quickly or teachers wish to delve further. Finally, the only materials needed are a piece of clothing or an accessory and a writing device. Get ready to create a new character, using clothing as a prompt!1. Each student will take 30 seconds and select a piece of clothing or accessory found in their home (or on their person, if you’re doing this exercise live in class). The item can be as large as a snowsuit or as small as a pair of earrings. 2. Have each student take a photo of their selected clothing item or make a quick sketch of the item, and write a brief description of the item (what the item is, size, material, brand/style, quality). The description should only include characteristics of the item without interpretation or judgment (that will come next!). 3. Students will create an original character outline using that item for inspiration. They can’t write about the actual owner of the item (for example, if they’re using their dad’s fishing hat, they can’t write about their own dad). Here are some character questions to get them started: • What is their character’s name? • How old is the character? • How long has the character possessed their chosen clothing item? • Where did they get the item? How did they get it? • Did they buy it at a store? Receive it as a gift? Find it in a lost and found bin? Steal it from their cousin? Win it as a prize? • What other items would the character wear when they’re wearing the item? Describe them. • For example, if the item is a black t-shirt, would the character wear it with jeans, a skirt, overalls? What shoes would they wear? What accessories, if any, would they wear? • Does the item have any flaws or unique characteristics? • For example, a loose thread, a scratch or scuff, a stain, a hole? How did it happen? • Is the item meaningful or valuable to the character? • Does the item hold any memories for the character? Is the memory happy, sad, funny, traumatic, or something else? Students may add any additional details they think are important or interesting. At the end of class, students will submit the photo/sketch, the written description of the item, the original character outline, and their response to the exit slip question found at the end of this article. 4. Extension Activities: • Write a monologue of a character using, wearing, or describing the selected item. • Write a scene where the character has lost, misplaced, or broken the item. What are the stakes? (Meaning, why is the item and situation important to the character?) What are the consequences if the item is not found/restored? If you wish, have students write two separate endings: one where the item is found/returned/fixed, and one where the item is lost forever/irreparably damaged. • If you wish to include a performance aspect, have students wear or use their own chosen item and improvise a brief scene as their character, interacting with the item at some point (“Brrrrr, it’s chilly in here. Better put on my nice, warm sweater.”) 5. Options to keep students on their toes: • Have students photograph and submit their chosen clothing item or accessory to the teacher. The teacher will then choose one student’s item for everyone to write about. • After they have done so, have students compare and contrast their interpretations. • For example, if the item is a pair of sneakers, one student might write about a basketball player describing their greatest game wearing their lucky sneakers, while another writes about a Nike store employee having to sell the sneakers, and a third might write about someone getting gum stuck on the bottom of their new sneakers on their way to a first date. • Or, the teacher may mix up the clothing choices. The items could be distributed randomly to different students in the class, so everyone has a different item — just not the one they originally chose. • Or, have students pair up and write about their partner’s item. * * *

Here’s a playwriting prompt exercise that takes advantage of something that’s frequently around us: advertisements! Ads are everywhere, and their main purpose is to sell us stuff. But we’re going to use them as inspiration for some fun writing activities. This exercise can be done in person or via distance learning. Students must find an image from an ad with a person in it. This can be anything – a picture from a magazine, a popup ad from a website, a clip from a television commercial, or an image from the side of a bus or a billboard. Students might choose a well-known advertising figure, such as the handsome man from the Old Spice ads, or the Philadelphia Cream Cheese angel. They might choose a model from a print ad or catalogue. The image can be a person of any gender, race, or age. Try to avoid animated characters or celebrity endorsements for this exercise. Students will capture an image of the advertisement. For example, they can take a screenshot of the website or take a photo of the ad on their smartphone. Once they have an image, they will create a character sketch about the person in the ad. Students must write a minimum of ten different personality traits and personal details about their character (that are unrelated to the character’s visual appearance). Who is the person? What is their name? How old are they? Do they have family or friends? What do they do with their time? Why do they like the product or service they’re selling? Once the character sketch is done, students will select, complete, and submit one of the five follow-up assignments below (along with the image and character sketch): • Write a monologue for your character. Ignore the product or service that they sell and put them in a completely different situation – at school or work, spending time with other people, going on an excursion. What are they doing? What are they thinking about? • Choose a completely different product for the character to sell. Write a 30-second commercial script for that product, using the personality traits created in the character sketch. • Create a voice for the character. Take your character sketch, put the points into first-person perspective (“My name is Sue Jones, I’m 29 years old, and I love Royale Toilet Paper”) and read it aloud, either live or using a voice recording app. Try different voices that might work for the character. Does the character speak quickly, with a high-pitched voice? Or do they speak softly and languidly? Maybe they have an accent? • What adjectives that describe the character’s appearance make them a good choice to sell that particular product or service? How does that relate to the product or service? Why is having an appropriate or interesting advertising character/model important for a product or service? • Think about a different character that might sell the same product or service. Write a description of that person, as well as a physical description of the person. If possible, make a sketch of that character or select a famous performer to portray the character. Why did you choose them?

Are your students feeling overwhelmed with possibilities for writing a new monologue? Do they need help focusing on one idea? Or are you simply looking for a way to get your students writing? For this exercise, all you’ll need is a book! This individual writing exercise can be done in class in person or completed remotely via distance learning. It can either be used as a warm-up exercise or as part of a more formal playwriting lesson. Materials Needed:• Writing tools – pen and paper, or word processing program on computer/chromebook/tablet/smartphone. • Any found book – can be a novel, textbook, nonfiction book, library book, or even a long article from a magazine or blog. You can use the same book for the full class, or have students select their own book from home. • Timer or stopwatch (optional). Directions:1. Have students get their writing tools ready. 2. Select a book that’s close to you, or have students each grab the closest book to them. If there are no books handy, use a magazine with long articles, or have students look through their browser history on their device and find a long article they’ve recently read. Students will write the title and author of the book or article at the top of the page. 3. Turn to page 17, second paragraph, fifth sentence. Students will write that sentence on their page, exactly as it is written in the book. (If they are using a magazine or blog article, they will just use the second paragraph and fifth sentence portion of the prompt.) If one of the qualifiers is missing (for example, if page 17 only has one paragraph), have students use their best judgment to select a sentence as close to as many of the qualifiers as possible. Here are some examples from my bookshelf. None of these books had the exact qualifiers, so I chose the closest sentences. “Do you work hard to achieve things – but find no lasting satisfaction from your accomplishments?” (from Always Change a Losing Game by David Posen) “Suddenly his high spirits were doused when his car was forced to a halt by a team of New Jersey State troopers.” (from Jon Bon Jovi: The Biography by Laura Jackson) “As a Frenchwoman born and raised, she liked to point out that you could never know with the Belgians.” (from The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George) “I only hope you are right, John.” (from Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs) 4. Students will write a new monologue starting with that sentence. Encourage students to take the monologue wherever they feel inspired to go. They don’t need to stick to the plot, setting or character names from the original book. For example, the sentence from Always Change a Losing Game could be a therapist talking to a client, or the beginning of an infomercial, or someone reading from a pamphlet, followed by their reaction to it. 5. If you are using this exercise as a warm-up, give students a time limit (for example, five minutes). Students must continue writing for the entirety of the time, and stop writing when the timer goes off. Ask your students: Was it easy or difficult to keep writing for the full five minutes? Was your book sentence prompt a good starting point for a monologue? Why or why not? 6. If you are using this exercise as a portion of a more formal playwriting lesson, you may wish to follow up with one or more of the following suggestions: • Read your monologue aloud for the rest of the class. • Trade monologues with a partner. Read them and give feedback. Revise and edit your monologue. Submit it for evaluation. • Write a different character’s response or reaction to the original monologue. • Count the number of words in the monologue. Then, edit and rewrite the monologue to be half the length of the original. • Give your monologue to a partner to perform. Help your partner with analyzing the monologue, figure out blocking, and work on diction and enunciation. Your partner will perform the monologue for the rest of the class. Note: If you wish, you may allow students to use the prompt sentence in any part of the monologue – beginning, middle, or end. Allow for flexibility in sentence prompt choice as well. If a student has a hard time figuring out what to write with the sentence they found, or the sentence is inappropriate (one of the books I looked at for examples was 1984 by George Orwell – nope, not using that sentence!), let them select a different prompt. The point is to give students an inspiration point, not to stress them out.

The exercises listed below can be adapted to distance and online learning opportunities. Students work individually (rather than with partners or in groups). Group work and discussions can be completed using video conferencing programs (such as Google Hangouts, Skype, or Zoom). Written work can be submitted electronically via email or uploading to Google Drive or similar. Performances can be done live via video conferencing programs, or filmed on a smartphone or digital camera and uploaded to a service such as YouTube or Vimeo (privacy settings can be adjusted to accommodate your school’s internet safety policies). Check out our round-ups of exercises for Vocal and Physical Performance and Monologue and Individual Performance as well. Playwriting ExercisesPlaywriting exercises are great because they can be completed anywhere a student has access to a computer or tablet. They can also dictate their writing using speech-to-text software. Playwriting assignments can be submitted electronically, and feedback can be added and sent back, or given verbally/in person using video conferencing programs. 1. A Character is Not a Whole Person 2. A Picture Tells A Thousand Words: Cross-Curricular Drama Classroom Project 3. Brainstorming in the Drama Classroom: Coming Up With More Ideas Than You Need 4. Exploring the Greek Chorus Students will write their own Greek chorus, narrating an everyday activity. Students can also perform their piece if you wish. 5. Same Character, Different Choice 6. Shakespeare’s Words: Iambic Pentameter 7. The 5 W’s and Playwriting 8. Tips for Giving Feedback to Student Playwrights Focus on Feedback Form exercise 9. Top 3 Ways to Write a Character Specific Voice 10. Using Statistics as Scene Starters Focus on Serious Statistics – A PSA Project exercise Written Drama and Analysis ExercisesLike playwriting exercises, students can complete written drama exercises anywhere they have access to a computer or tablet, and submit their work electronically. 1. Brainstorming as a Group: Add Three 2. Dealing With Difficult Characters: 3 Tips for Success Focus on Tip #3: Your character is not “you” list 3. Do You Know Your Character? 4. Ensembles Are Characters Too! Focus on Tip #1: Character profile 5. Making Assumptions About Characters 6. Nine Questions Actors Need to Ask Themselves 7. Prompting Creativity in the Drama Classroom 8. Question of the Day 9. Questioning Your Character (Without Judgment) 10. Same Lines, Different Meanings Note – partners aren’t necessary to complete these exercises 11. To Research or To Not Research? 12. What Does My Character Want? 13. What’s the Difference Between What Characters Want and Need? 14. What’s Your Character’s Signature Gesture?

Strong writing takes practice - and the right kind of practice makes all the difference. Explore five of our most popular playwriting exercises for middle and high school students, designed to strengthen storytelling skills, sharpen character development, and build creative confidence. Each exercise includes a free downloadable PDF or classroom-ready handout so you can put it to work right away. 1. “Hurdling the First Line” Playwriting Exercise It’s always easier to give in to writer’s block than to overcome it. Use this exercise to jump over that hurdle. 2. “Name Game” Title Exercise Whether it’s a movie, novel, or play, the title acts as a doorway into the piece. Use this exercise to practice creating a variety of titles based on a photograph. 3. “Inner Monologue” Playwriting Exercise If you get into the habit of observation–noticing the details about people, places, and things–you‘ll never run out of material to write about.Try this inner monologue exercise to sharpen students’ observation skills. 4. “Subtext” Playwriting Exercise Subtext adds depth. There’s the verbal conversation that two characters are having, then there’s the nonverbal conversation underneath the verbal conversation. This exercise includes 4 sets of writing prompts for students to uncover the meaning behind the words. 5. “Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast” Creativity Exercise Being creative means being confident that you can solve a problem in a new way, regardless of what other people think. This post comes with an “impossible scenes” exercise and a downloadable poster for your classroom!

One of the best activities for gathering writing ideas is observation. How are you experiencing the world around you? A great way to practice this is to have your students describe your classroom using the five senses: • What do you see when you look around? What’s something you’ve never noticed before? • What do you hear? • What do you smell? • What are the textures? • You may think that taste doesn’t have a place, but rooms can have a taste! Overly air-conditioned rooms can taste dry. The smell of perfume can have a taste. Encourage students to use their imagination when it comes to describing how the room “tastes.” Have students share their observations. What are the similarities and differences? If you get your students into the habit of observation, specifically looking at people, places, and things, they will never run out of material to write about. This inner monologue exercise takes observation to the next level. Students will: observe an individual, create a few character details, and write a monologue for this person. Who are they? What are they thinking? Instruction1. Go to a public place: mall, cafeteria, food court, library — a place where you can easily observe others. 2. Pick an individual who is doing a mundane activity: folding clothes in a store, eating, walking to class, reading, trying on shoes. Write down all your observations. It must be someone you don’t know. You can free-write, write in point form, just get it down on paper. Bring in these observations to class. 3. Divide students into groups and have them share their observations. 4. Students will then come up with a few character details for this person. This is why it’s important that they choose someone they don’t know; they’ll be making up their character. Remind students to review their observation source material. How can they take what they observed and turn it into character details? Students are to write one paragraph. Suggested character details include: • Name, age • Family situation. Who do they live with? What are their relationships like? • Where do they live? How do they live? (Is it neat, messy, minimalist, cramped, spacious?) • Significant relationship: What is the most important relationship for this character? 5. Lastly, students will write a half-page to one-page inner monologue for this character. What are they really thinking about? Focus on the idea that their inner thoughts counter their outside persona. Remember, they’re doing something mundane on the outside, so choose an opposing emotion for their inner thoughts. What do they want that they can’t say or share? 6. Have students share their monologues in small groups.

Sometimes you just come across something that is Wicked Cool. That’s right, I capitalized both words and they weren’t at the beginning of a sentence. I did it, I own it. That’s how cool I think this is. Indoor Clouds. That is not a trick of the light or CGI or Photoshop. That’s a cloud, indoors. Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde has come up with a way to make clouds indoors, and then takes pictures of them. And I’m just so cooled out by seeing this. It makes my brain whir. And it’s an awesome picture prompt for some dramatic writing. Choose one of the following prompts. Write a two page scene. • Write a scene in which a cloud finds itself trapped indoors. Who would a cloud talk to? • Write a scene in which a scientist wants to harness the weather. • Write a scene in which a person going through depression actually has a cloud follow them around all day. The person talks to the cloud – is the person trying to get better and wants to say goodbye to the cloud? Does the person want to be swallowed by the cloud? • Write a scene between a young girl and the cloud. No one but the young girl can see the cloud. • Write a scene in which a producer wants to make the indoor cloud famous. Does the indoor cloud succumb to fame or resist?

Ideas can come from anything and everything. But it’s always a good idea to give students a jumping off point. Picture Prompts are a great tool in a playwright’s arsenal to inspire creative thinking, or to use in the classroom with your student playwrights. We’ve got 4 of our favourites to share – and each includes a downloadable PDF as a free bonus! Picture Prompt: The UnexplainableYou just have no idea what’s going on in some pictures. They are unexplainable. Any explanation you come up with is the right one. Picture Prompt: The Unexplainable Picture Prompt: What are they Talking About?In this exercise, we’re looking at a conversation. It’s two guys, looking out. Who are they? Where are they? What are they talking about? The possibilities are endless. Picture Prompt: What are they Talking About? Picture Prompt: The AftermathThis exercise examines The Aftermath – a picture that shows the aftermath of an event. Something has clearly happened – so let’s decide what that is, and how a character might react to what has happened. Picture Prompt: The Aftermath Picture Prompt: The PortraitThis exercise looks at the portrait. There are so many things that can go on behind the scenes in a happy smiling picture. Just because they’re smiling in the picture doesn’t mean everything is okay. And what if they’re not smiling at all? What does that mean? What is the story behind the picture? Picture Prompt: The Portrait

Did you know that the word moment actually used to mean a specific time? It’s so general now – Just a moment….. I’ll be there in a moment…. wait a moment.” In medieval time a moment meant 90 seconds. It had a precise measure. Why? I don’t know but what a wonderful thing it is. And how interesting that the meaning has shifted over time. I love finding words that have change their meanings over the centuries. Dismal , for example, used to mean unlucky but now has a much more gloomy connotation. Awful used to mean “inspire wonder” it was a form of “awe.” Now it gives us the opposite emotion. *Nice * started out with negative connotations – ignorant and foolish. Playwriting Exercises• Research and find a word that has changed its meaning over time. Write a one page scene where you use the word in its original meaning. For example use the word “awful” to describe someone as full of awe. • Write a scene between the original meaning of a word and the current meaning. So for example a scene between two version of the word “nice.” • Decide on a word that we currently use, that will fade away in a 100 years. Write a scene that takes place in the future where characters are bemused and confused by this “archaic” word. • Write a scene that centres around a word trying to up its usage so that it doesn’t fall out of favour.

This exercise works for both playwrights and actors. It can be done by playwright working on a new play, or by an actor in rehearsal. It’s very simple, but also illuminating. It will encourage you to hone in and focus on plot and character, on the big picture and the small. What’s the one word?The one word that describes this scene. The one word that describes the main theme. The one word that describes the main character. The one word that describes this relationship. Define this moment, this person, this play in one word. Sometimes artists want to go on and on about their characters, and their story, and the more they talk, the more you realize they don’t know what they’re talking about. They think that the more words they speak, the more intelligent they’ll sound. But ask them to distill their work down into one word and the task freezes them. They can’t because they don’t truly know their work. If you can find the one word to define the theme, you know exactly what the play is about. If you can find the one word to define a character, you know exactly who that character is. And of course, over the course of a story a play should be defined by more than one word. There should be change. But this exercise will get you to practice being specific and efficient with words. And the point is not to choose any word. It’s the one word that creates a world. Exercise:In the downloadable PDF you’ll find three monologues. Read each monologue and decide on the one word that illuminates the story of the monologue, and one word that illuminates the character. Don’t pick just any word. Spend time thinking about what’s the one word that describes the story and the character perfectly. It should be a word that speaks volumes. A word that creates a visual. Is that a lot of pressure to put on just one word? Sure. But if you can come up with the perfect word, you’ll know these monologues inside and out. Use this exercise in your own work to make sure you fully understand it.

If you want writing to become a tangible act, practice it with consistency. Consistency does not mean volume – there’s no need to start with a 400 page project. That will weaken your resolve almost immediately. Start with the monologue. Write a monologue every day for a month. Use a prompt, set a timer (say 15 minutes) or a length limit (no longer than a page) and write. By the end of the month you will be a monologue expert. *Where do you look for monologue prompts? * • Newspaper, or google news headlines. Pick a headline that grabs you and the write a monologue from the perspective of someone within the story. • Use literary sources. Write an inner monologue for your favourite fictional character. • Go to Google images, and type in the word “faces.” Pick a face and make them the character in your monologue. Avoid faces of famous people. • Google “Monologue prompts.” You will find a wealth of sites wanting to help you write. To get you started, I’ve got a page of 15 monologue prompts to see you through the first two weeks. Click below and get writing!

This is a great Fun with Words Exercise. Hopefully you can use this in your writing, or take them in your classroom. We’re taking a word that means a mouthful and using it as an inspiration for a scene. But not only that, the word in question is from a foreign language. Today’s word is: GOYA • The suspension of disbelief that often occurs with good storytelling. (Urdu – national language of Pakistan) This is my favourite word of the three because it describes a feeling felt by many of us who love being transported into another world, be it through movies or books or theatre. I love reading books that come in a series because it elongates the time I get to spend in that fictional world. I love seeing movies or tv shows where characters feel like real people. (Even though I know they’re not, it’s fun to pretend, right?) Playwriting Exercise• Automatic write for two minutes on what it means to be transported by a good story. Have you ever had the experience of reading a book that was so good, or seeing a movie that was so powerful that the situation and characters felt real? Are you disappointed when you get to the end of the book and realize your time in that other world is over? • Write a scene in which you find yourself in the middle of a piece of fiction. Choose a story that means something to you, that feels real. Interact with a character who is in the middle of a pivotal moment in their story. _(You meet Alice in Wonderland right before she eats the cake to make her grow) _How does your presence change the story?

We’re taking a word that means a mouthful and using it as an inspiration for a scene. But not only that, the word in question is from a foreign language. Today’s word is: PachemuchkaThe definition of the Russian word Pachemuchka is…… • *a person who asks a lot of questions. * We all know someone who does this. Sometimes it’s enlightening. Sometimes it’s down right annoying. Have you ever been in a situation where someone is trying to explain something and there’s that person who just won’t stop de-railing the forward motion of the explanation with their questions? It’s almost as if they don’t really want to know the answers, they just want to show everyone how engaged and smart they are by asking questions. But they just can’t see that everyone is shooting daggers with their eyes….. And let’s not forget the five year old question asker: Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? How long before you resort to: Because I said so! Playwriting Exercise• Automatic Write for two minutes on what it means to be around someone who asks a lot of questions. Are you happy when someone else asks the questions and you don’t have to? Are you annoyed? Does it make you feel dumb? What is your emotional response to the person who over questions? • Write a profile for a character who over questions. Think about where this personality trait comes from: Name, Age, Appearance. Job, Hobby, Significant Relationship. Pet peeve, Secret. Most Impactful Memory. Note: every person has a significant relationship, even if it’s a plant, a goldfish, or an imaginary friend. Don’t leave it blank. The most impactful memory is something that happened in the past that impact this character in the present.

It’s time to have some fun with words! We’re taking a word that means a mouthful and using it as an inspiration for a scene. But not only that, the word in question is from a foreign language. Today’s word is: WaldeinsamkeitThe definition of the German word Waldeinsamkeit is………. drumroll please…… • the feeling of being alone in the woods. That is gorgeous. How do you feel when you’re alone in the woods, even if you’re not actually alone in the woods? Waldeinsamkeit! And what does that mean, exactly? What does it mean to be alone in the woods? Is it peaceful and quiet? Do you feel like the trees are watching you? Is it fearful? Does it mean you’re lost and alone, without cell service? Playwriting Exercise• Automatic Write for two minutes on what it means to be alone in the woods. What is your interpretation of the phrase? Is it something wonderful, or something fearful? • Look around on the internet for a picture of an intense forest. What do you see when you look at the picture? Start to reach beyond the logical here. Do you see faces? Do you see emotions? Do you see shapes? • Write a monologue from the perspective of the person who took the picture. They are alone in the woods. Who are they? How long have they been there? What inspired them to take the picture? Who are they talking to in the monologue?

Here’s the deal. There are many words out there that mean a phrase, their definition is practically a sentence. I love those words, it’s so cool to take one word and have it mean so much. For example: Aposiopesis : a sudden breaking off in the midst of a sentence, as if from inability or unwillingness to proceed. That is a mouthful! And a word I’ve never heard of, let alone ever heard it used in a sentence. There’s a little more about the wordon dictionary.com: “A deliberate failure to complete a sentence…indicates rage or exasperation….” That gets me thinking. I can see a character in that word. I can see a conversation in that word. I hope you’re starting to see the possibilities in turning words that mean so much into a playwriting exercise. We’re going to take a word that has a jam-packed meaning and use it as the jumping off point for a two person, one location scene. But we’re going to take it one step further and use words from other languages, like this one: Pana Po’o (Hawaiian) – the act of scratching your head in order to help you remember something you’ve forgotten. So not only do you have a word that means a mouthful, but we’re using words that at first glance you have no idea what they mean. Let’s start with Aposiopesis – that word is really speaking to me, so let’s make it the focus of this week’s exercise. Playwriting Exercise• The word Aposiopesis means to suddenly and deliberately fail to complete a sentence. To break off mid-sentence. • Write a scene between a husband and wife that takes place in the kitchen at 9am. • The husband reveals to the wife. The wife reacts by not being able to complete a sentence. All her dialogue must break off mid-sentence. • Make this a comedy.