One-act play advice and tips?
February 26, 2018 1:11 PM Subscribe
I am wondering if there are any important tips and advice for writing and structuring a one-act play? I have written a short story, poems, and creative essays, but I would like to try to write a one-act play. Are there plays, films, books, links, etc. I should checkout firsthand? Thanks!
Hi! I had my first one-act produced last year, and I’ve acted in a few. I can’t tell you everything, but I can offer a few things:
1. Because one-acts tend to go live as part of a festival (or as a complement to a full-length play), try to construct a show with minimal scene changes and simple set requirements/tech specs. A vision of multiple backdrops and dazzling special effects will be difficult to market anywhere. Your story should be able to fit “in a bottle,” so to speak.
2. Likewise with your cast — keep your headcount under about 5, if possible, and leave out thankless “spear-carrier” roles. If you have to have multiple walk-ons to tell this particular story, write them all so they can be played by the same “one-person ensemble” actor.
3. If you’re planning to write at the community/semi-pro level first (which is only logical), please make as many of your characters as possible female or gender-neutral. Even at the professional level, there’s a disconnect between the gender balance of the talent pool and that of available roles, but at the amateur level it’s even more skewed: women outnumber men at auditions, and opportunities favor men. Same goes for ethnic background: write characters who can be cast colorblind, whenever the narrative doesn’t require specificity. If your play isn’t about seven tall white men with dark hair, it will be far easier to produce.
Good luck! Look for festivals in your area and submit samples. It’s exhilarating and rewarding.
posted by armeowda at 2:15 PM on February 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
1. Because one-acts tend to go live as part of a festival (or as a complement to a full-length play), try to construct a show with minimal scene changes and simple set requirements/tech specs. A vision of multiple backdrops and dazzling special effects will be difficult to market anywhere. Your story should be able to fit “in a bottle,” so to speak.
2. Likewise with your cast — keep your headcount under about 5, if possible, and leave out thankless “spear-carrier” roles. If you have to have multiple walk-ons to tell this particular story, write them all so they can be played by the same “one-person ensemble” actor.
3. If you’re planning to write at the community/semi-pro level first (which is only logical), please make as many of your characters as possible female or gender-neutral. Even at the professional level, there’s a disconnect between the gender balance of the talent pool and that of available roles, but at the amateur level it’s even more skewed: women outnumber men at auditions, and opportunities favor men. Same goes for ethnic background: write characters who can be cast colorblind, whenever the narrative doesn’t require specificity. If your play isn’t about seven tall white men with dark hair, it will be far easier to produce.
Good luck! Look for festivals in your area and submit samples. It’s exhilarating and rewarding.
posted by armeowda at 2:15 PM on February 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
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Also, when you have a draft, try to find people who can do a read-through for you. You will learn a lot about how to revise from hearing people actually saying the words you wrote.
(I don't know your background, so pardon me if I'm assuming too much here.)
posted by FencingGal at 1:51 PM on February 26, 2018 [2 favorites]