is there anyone working on a one person play?

Not for Screnzy-- but I am working on one I've already begun! Feel free to Frenzymail or Buddy me if you want.

I thought about it, but opted for other characters to help drive the scenes forward. How's it working out for you?

I've started what I think will be a one-person play. I've yet to see how it goes! How's it going for you? I got a late start, so am catching up this weekend....

(Eep! Double post! But why?!)

Yes, yes, yes! I have been writing snippets, poems and stories for my show for over 25 years! I am finally pulling it all together and have already set a performance date on Nov. 8th! That is a lot of motivation I'll tell you.

Anyway, I desperately want to talk to others who are writing a one-person play! Can we all get in touch and keep in touch?

I am denise at denise@blackglovepassion.com. Live in AZ.

Show is a one-woman adult show about intimate escapades. Includes audience interaction which I have no idea how to write into script format.

Looking forward to talking to many of you!!!

Also, I already added all of you as writing buddies. Please add me to your list. Thanks!

Oh, excitement! A performance already? Yes, that would be motivating!

I'm well behind after a very lovely, very full visit from my sister over the Easter holiday. Now madly trying to catch up....

How is it going, all?

Hi everyone. I am behind too, but I know I have much more than I need to pull together all 100 pages. I just have to commit the time to do it. Unfortunately I am going to a conference April 23-26 and need to figure out how to write more before I leave and be already done when I get back. yeah, that's all I have to do....LOL

How is everyone else doing? It's harder as the days go by.

I was at a very stuck place for a day or so, not sure what to do next, or how to pull together a few of the scenes that felt, well, like they were jumping around a bit.

I felt like I had more material than I needed, but I found I wasn't actually excited about writing a lot of it. I've glued myself at my desk today, and ended up going on a wild but fun tangent. Narratively, I'm switching directions entirely, but I think I'm closer to the spirit of what I was trying to get across.

Normally, I find I edit myself to death as I'm writing, but with time short and pages to write, I've forbidden myself from doing any editing, rearranging or cutting unless I'm ahead of schedule. I'm also ignoring the bit of me that wants to think too hard about things. The result is dialog that's much braver and in a few cases, more beautiful than I would get if I had the normal writing filters operating.

Back to it. Good luck with getting ahead before your conference - I really wish I'd done that before my sister came to visit! (I'm still catching up!)

I have given up on the editing too....even though I truly want to stop and handle it now. I will never get it done and organized by April 30 if I do. However, I am thrilled that I am getting so many new ideas and it looks like I will actually get it done at this point. Not a finished product mind you, but something I can totally tighten up and edit later. I understand exactly where you are at Shicho and how your writing goes in new wonderful directions when forcing yourself to write this way.

Looks like you got caught up!! We are going to do it!!! Yes we are!!!

Oh, yesterday, I spent about two hours grinding out one page or so, then all of a sudden, the words just started tumbling out. Found myself 'ahead' for the first time - yay! Now well and truly past the halfway mark. I know exactly what you mean, denisevail - this thing won't be polished and dusted by the 30th, but it will be :+:there:+:!

I think I struggle most with getting the balance right between 'action' and 'dialog', particularly since there is only one person to move the 'action' and 'dialog' along. In several places, one actor plays two characters, so there is 'dialog' in that sense. I must admit, writing goes more quickly for these scenes, if for no other reason than there's more white space on the page - and more lines on the page dedicated to 'character' names.

How are you coping with filling a couple hours with just one voice? One of my concerns is making the dialog (between two characters played by one actress) clear, snappy, interesting and not too impossible to follow for the audience (and hopefully not too impossible to play for the actress, though that's up to her! :) and the monologues interesting and diverse enough that the audience remains engaged.

So far, I have little in the way of stage direction - figured that was up to the director and actress (although it sounds like that might be you, in your case, denisevail?) Are you writing in a lot of the action/blocking/etc.?

It's such an interesting, unique challenge, writing a full-length play with only one person on stage...very curious to find out how others are dealing with it!

Hey Shico!
I fill my one person show with quite a bit of audience interaction. That is my way of dealing with the masses of dialogue. Of course, it is impossible to gage how much time the interaction will take up, so that part of my script is not taking script pages and time it will actually take up in the show. That makes it difficult to calculate.

So...I don't have a fourth wall from the very beginning. It's a one woman show about her life time of sexcapades. I came up with the brilliant idea (all because of forcing myself to write daily) of having each of the sexcapade stories already written in beautifully created oversized velvet covered books, laying about the stage. This gives me reason to move from one part of the stage to another, it also helps me with memorization which I had been terrified of, and makes me have a reason to break the wall from the beginning - because I am telling the audience stories.

Once I had that idea, it all fell into place. The most difficult part has been trying to connect each story with the narrative which I will have to memorize of course.

I admire you for having the one person portray two or more characters and thinking back on my favorite one person shows may try to instill this in my script too. That would certainly add some dimension to a scene or two.

Being sure the dialogue is snappy and in my case, very funny, is my biggest concern. I have told these stories for years and gotten huge laughs, so I am very worried I am writing out that spontaneity. However, I am going to have until November to rehearse, so I will probably rework it over and over again after Script Frenzy.

Oh, my other concern is that 100 pages is WAAAYYY too long for a one person play. I was hoping for two 45 minute acts and a 15 minute intermission. I can tell it's just too much for an audience to sit through at this point. But I will finish up the 100 pages for Script Frenzy and then rehearse and take out the excess.

Hope your play is going fabulously!!

Oh, sounds very interesting, denisevail! Are you scripting in audience response? (Is it clear what the audience response will be?)

This is my first Script Frenzy/Nano-type attempt, and I'm really finding this arbitrary 'deadline' on 100 pages finished by the 30th to be so wonderfully motivating. You've inspired me to look for motivation beyond the 30th as well; I'd imagine it would be so easy to get those 100 pages done, then losing focus before the editing and polishing is complete. I don't have anything as scary as a performance booked, but I've now got a date to visit my sister who is currently living in Poland, organising theatre events - we're going to workshop the script and try to polish it up. I'm so excited! Of course, now I'm more motivated than ever to tidy everything up, and have slowed down a bit when it comes to churning out the pages. I must fix that!

It's scary how quickly time is passing, and how slowly I'm writing. Oh, we've only got a few days left - hope all is going well for you!

Hi Shicho,
I hope you are near the finish line! I have so much to rework and I know for a fact 100 pages is MUCH too long for a one-woman show, so much to cut and fit in other stuff I did not fit in yet. But it's better than I ever imagined this show would be!

I did not really script in any audience response except a few words or two. I am pretty sure on the audience response to most of my stuff. We play a porn-name game, etc. That kind of stuff.

YOU DO have a deadline to go for with your sister! I'm so excited for you. We simply must keep in touch and encourage one another beyond the goals of this contest.

Write me at denise@blackglovepassion.com any time!