Open Forum

I teach middle school and would love to do a playwriting unit with my 8th graders. I don't know where to start, or where to look for curriculum resources. If you've done something similar, is a 5 minute play with 2-4 characters reasonable to write?  How long should this unit be?  Any feedback or resources would be greatly appreciated.

------------------------------
Pam Podolner
Speech/Drama Teacher
Lincoln Middle School
Berwyn IL
------------------------------

5-min play with 2 - 4 characters is totally doable! 

I usually focus on the following learning outcomes:
1. Dialogue v. Stage Direction. Lots of students struggle with writing stage direction instead of paragraphs of description and exposition. If you find them trying to write a novel, I encourage them to either put it in stage direction or add a narrator. If the students are going overboard on stage direction, I pull out the plays of David Mamet or Shakespeare for examples of how sparse stage direction can be. 

2. Dramatic Question - having them pre-plan their plot with a dramatic question usually helps cut down on the amount of "fodder" conversation. A great brainstorming exercise is to give them dramatic questions and do quick writes.

3. Formatting - edit an example with them and explain to them why you are formatting the way you are. I usually just use one of my own plays. I also have them look at plays that are going to be submitted, not published plays. We talk about why these look different than the plays we read out of a book. Sometimes we go on New Play Exchange and look at the funky formatting found in some of those plays, not to judge, just to explore why someone might choose different formatting. We stress that no matter what, the formatting must be intentional. 

4. Poetics (If you have a really long unit...). Teaching these helps them craft thoughtful, beautiful plays! It also helps guide giving feedback. 

Teaching Tools:
1. Mentor Text & Genre Study - I often focus them on a specific genre using a mentor text. We will read just a scene of play will write their own play in the same style/genre. I don't usually focus mentor texts on the page count bc it is difficult to find really good five or ten minute plays that are worth emulating. Students desperately need models in writing, though; it is daunting starting a blank page without any models! 

A few mentor texts/genres I've used (may not be appropriate for the 8th grade classroom...)
The Glass Menagerie for memory plays (good for quick units when you don't have a long time to brainstorm - they pick a vivid memory to immortalize!)
RED for biographical plays (great if you also need to hit a research objective!)
Rumple Schmumple by Megan Gogerty for adaptions of classic fairy tales (this is a 10min play and is great for YA!)

2. Table Reads - I always end my playwriting units with table reads of all their plays. The students must assign parts based on who they think will bring the characters to life. After each table read, we go through a feedback session, usually following the Critical Response Process by Liz Lerman.

Random Fun Exercises:
1. 1st Lines - give them first lines for quick writes
2. Communal Plays - everyone writes on a play for 2ish minutes, then they pass to their neighbor. Keep passing until you've got a couple pages. Great for writer's block! If they've still got writer's block, combine this with the 1st lines exercise. 
3. Stick Figures exercise by Tom Wells' at Middle Child Theatre, UK. Google it!
4. Give them a big block of stage direction (ala Tenesse Williams) and have them draw what this would look like on stage. Then, have them draw what they want their at rise to look like and then put it into words. Bonus round - change all your specific instructions into metaphors and smilies!
5. Character Monologue - have them get into the mind of one character by giving them scenarios the character must react to -- like what advice would this character give to their younger self? This exercise helps them find more poetic language and variety in their writing. They often come up with monologues that can be added to their plays.

------------------------------
Katherine Payton
Waukee Northwest High School
IA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-11-2022 09:27
From: Pamela Podolner
Subject: Playwriting unit

I teach middle school and would love to do a playwriting unit with my 8th graders. I don't know where to start, or where to look for curriculum resources. If you've done something similar, is a 5 minute play with 2-4 characters reasonable to write?  How long should this unit be?  Any feedback or resources would be greatly appreciated.

------------------------------
Pam Podolner
Speech/Drama Teacher
Lincoln Middle School
Berwyn IL
------------------------------

Pam, I taught high school, but I believe the basics I learned from Young Playwrights Inc would work for middle school students.  (Unfortunately, YPI, started by Stephen Sondheim in 1981, has apparently bitten the dust.)

YPI taught us to begin by having students respond to prompts having to do with the major elements of a piece of dramatic literature, rather than trying to write a play from the start. 

For instance, one of the prompts exploring Character is the Need-to-Tell monologue.  Students choose from a group of interesting black and white pictures and write a first-person monologue telling what that character needed to tell.   I found students really responded to the tactile, so I would have them write pieces after choosing from a stack of hats, neckties, or small props.

One of my students' favorite prompts having to do with Setting was listening to 1.5 to 2 minutes clips of instrumental music from various genres, time periods, and cultures.  I had them close their eyes until they saw something, then free-write what they saw.  Old film music is particularly good for this.  Pictures can also be used to explore setting.     

Plot prompts can be extensions of any character prompt, as the dramatic action of a play should be caused by the characters' needs and objectives.  Plot can also be explored after a quick round of improv to give students ideas.

For middle school, I would probably only use those three elements, exploring Language/Dialogue in tandem with Character.

I have been a reader for playwriting competitions including middle school students.  The biggest problem middle school students have is trying to change the location every 5 lines.  Some high school students do the same thing.  They have some sort of magical thinking going on when they think the audience is going to continue to be interested while they sit through interminable blackouts for set and costume changes.  For a 5-minute play, I would suggest that you limit them to one location. 

I once heard Marsha Norman talk about her playwriting process.  She said that she conceives of interesting an interesting character or two, then finds the two hours in their lives after which nothing will be the same.  Characters revisit the past as a tactic in the present.  We don't have to see the past.  We don't have to see a happy ending somewhere down the road. 

I wish you tons of success!       





------------------------------
CJ Breland
Retired Theatre Arts Educator
NC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-11-2022 19:19
From: Katherine Payton
Subject: Playwriting unit

5-min play with 2 - 4 characters is totally doable! 

I usually focus on the following learning outcomes:
1. Dialogue v. Stage Direction. Lots of students struggle with writing stage direction instead of paragraphs of description and exposition. If you find them trying to write a novel, I encourage them to either put it in stage direction or add a narrator. If the students are going overboard on stage direction, I pull out the plays of David Mamet or Shakespeare for examples of how sparse stage direction can be. 

2. Dramatic Question - having them pre-plan their plot with a dramatic question usually helps cut down on the amount of "fodder" conversation. A great brainstorming exercise is to give them dramatic questions and do quick writes.

3. Formatting - edit an example with them and explain to them why you are formatting the way you are. I usually just use one of my own plays. I also have them look at plays that are going to be submitted, not published plays. We talk about why these look different than the plays we read out of a book. Sometimes we go on New Play Exchange and look at the funky formatting found in some of those plays, not to judge, just to explore why someone might choose different formatting. We stress that no matter what, the formatting must be intentional. 

4. Poetics (If you have a really long unit...). Teaching these helps them craft thoughtful, beautiful plays! It also helps guide giving feedback. 

Teaching Tools:
1. Mentor Text & Genre Study - I often focus them on a specific genre using a mentor text. We will read just a scene of play will write their own play in the same style/genre. I don't usually focus mentor texts on the page count bc it is difficult to find really good five or ten minute plays that are worth emulating. Students desperately need models in writing, though; it is daunting starting a blank page without any models! 

A few mentor texts/genres I've used (may not be appropriate for the 8th grade classroom...)
The Glass Menagerie for memory plays (good for quick units when you don't have a long time to brainstorm - they pick a vivid memory to immortalize!)
RED for biographical plays (great if you also need to hit a research objective!)
Rumple Schmumple by Megan Gogerty for adaptions of classic fairy tales (this is a 10min play and is great for YA!)

2. Table Reads - I always end my playwriting units with table reads of all their plays. The students must assign parts based on who they think will bring the characters to life. After each table read, we go through a feedback session, usually following the Critical Response Process by Liz Lerman.

Random Fun Exercises:
1. 1st Lines - give them first lines for quick writes
2. Communal Plays - everyone writes on a play for 2ish minutes, then they pass to their neighbor. Keep passing until you've got a couple pages. Great for writer's block! If they've still got writer's block, combine this with the 1st lines exercise. 
3. Stick Figures exercise by Tom Wells' at Middle Child Theatre, UK. Google it!
4. Give them a big block of stage direction (ala Tenesse Williams) and have them draw what this would look like on stage. Then, have them draw what they want their at rise to look like and then put it into words. Bonus round - change all your specific instructions into metaphors and smilies!
5. Character Monologue - have them get into the mind of one character by giving them scenarios the character must react to -- like what advice would this character give to their younger self? This exercise helps them find more poetic language and variety in their writing. They often come up with monologues that can be added to their plays.

------------------------------
Katherine Payton
Waukee Northwest High School
IA

Original Message:
Sent: 08-11-2022 09:27
From: Pamela Podolner
Subject: Playwriting unit

I teach middle school and would love to do a playwriting unit with my 8th graders. I don't know where to start, or where to look for curriculum resources. If you've done something similar, is a 5 minute play with 2-4 characters reasonable to write?  How long should this unit be?  Any feedback or resources would be greatly appreciated.

------------------------------
Pam Podolner
Speech/Drama Teacher
Lincoln Middle School
Berwyn IL
------------------------------