The Play's the Thing

"Writing for the stage is an exhilarating experience.  I'll never forget the first time I saw my scruffy pages of dialogue transformed into flesh and blood drama on an off-off-Broadway stage in New York's east village in the late 1960's."

One author, who used to write fiction, poetry and essays, thought that his background would not suffice for playwrighting.  However, he found that his fiction experience helped him to structure a story, his poetry background helped him with rhythm and diction, and his essay writing helped him present the core factual information.  Here are some tips to help you get started as a playwright (http://www.writersdigest.com/author/guestcolumn).

1.  Involve yourself in all facets of the theatre.  Volunteer, attend rehearsals, audition for roles.  Observe the collaboration involved in mounting a play.

2.  Study the play's text before and after the performance.  See how the dialogue moves the play forward.

3.  Use standard playscript format.  Page 1 should include cast members, setting and what happens when the curtain rises.  The characters' names should be written in capitals.  A single space should appear between dialogue, a line between characters.  Stage directions should appear in parentheses.  A one act play should run 30 to 60 pages while a full play should run 90 to 120 pages.

4.  Keep casts, sets and scenes simple.  Focus on character develpment.  Remember that most of Shakespeare's plays can be performed on a bare stage.

5.  Don't overdo stage direction.  Again, keep it simple.

6.  Stage test your play with a group of amateurs or friends.  A dramatic reading of your play will help with pacing, coherence and dialogue.

7.  Find each character's voice.  It should be recognizable.

8.  Keep the plays as small as possible.  "It is a slice of life, not a biography." (http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Play)

9.  Understand the limits of the stage ex. no gun fights, no car chases.

10  Break the plot into scenes and acts (usually three).

11.  Enter playwriting competitions for exposure.  It could be your one true shot at the big time (metropolitan commercial theatres).

12.  Contact play publishers, not theatres.  Look in the Writer's Market for a listing ex. Big Dog Plays, Broadway Play Publishing, Eldridge Publishing Pioneer Drama Service.  When a theatre buys your play, the publisher will send you a royalty statement.  Just as authors have literary agents, playwrights have theatrical agents.  However, you usually need at least one performed play under your belt before you can attract an agent.

Note:  For more information, read The Art and Craft of Playwrighting by Jeffrey Hatcher.

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Play#/Image:Write-a-Play-Step-3.jpg

The History of Picture Books: The Text

"See Spot.  See Spot Run.  Run, Spot, run!" (excerpt from Dick & Jane book)

Before the advent of the picture book, parents read to their children from collections of fables and fairytales.  Mother Goose, written by Charles Perrault and Grimm's Fairytales were two popular titles. In Germany, Der Strubbelpeter, which my father in law read to my husband as a boy, was common.

Mother Goose courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Goose#/media/File:Houghton_FC6.P4262.Eg729s_-_Perrault,_frontispiece.jpg

But the fables and fairytales gave way to the picture books by the mid-20th Century.  The Dick & Jane basal readers, written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp, first appeared in American schools in the 1930's.  Using the sight word method of teaching reading, the books were full of repetition and followed a simplistic formula.  Characters included a boy named Dick, a girl named Jane and a dog named Spot.  

Dick & Jane courtesy http://venezky.stanford.edu/images/modern/full-resolution/DickandJanePlayDadandMom.jpg.

In 1942, Simon & Schuster brought the picture book to the masses with the debut of Little Golden Books.  Previously picture books were priced at $2 to $3, too expensive for the average Joe; but at 25 cents a copy, these books were affordable for almost anyone.  The company recruited illustrators from The Artists and Writers Guild.  Janet Sebring Lawry wrote the original title, The Poky Little Puppy, which has sold 15 million copies to date.  Famous authors like Lucy Sprague Mitchell, a proponent of realistic children's books, penned other stories, along with Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon. While the original set of Little Golden Books numbered 12, now there are almost 900 titles.  For more information, visit my post "How a Poky Little Puppy Brought the Picture Book to the Masses" at 

http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2013/07/how-poky-puppy-brought-picture-book-to.html.

The Three Little Kittens courtesy https://p.gr-assets.com/200x200/scale/books/1301756721/9857712.jpg.

Despite the success of the Little Golden Books, it was still the Dick & Jane series that sat on the shelves of the American public schools.  In 1955, Rudolf Flesch published a book called Why Johnny Can't Read? which cited statistics on childhood literacy in America, which was far behind its European counterpart.  He condemned the Dick & Jane readers, suggesting phonics, rather than sight words, as the correct strategy for teaching children how to read.  

Why Johnny Can't Read courtesy http://sausedo.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/why_johnny_cant_read.png

Two year later William Spaulding, the head honcho at Houghton Mifflin, got involved in the debate. He made a list of 200 words which he gave to Theodor Geisel, challenging him to write a children's book with just those words.  Mr. Geisel added some words to the list and the result was The Cat in the Hat.  For more information, read my post "How the Cat in the Hat was Born" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2013/02/how-cat-in-hat-was-born.html.

The word list for The Cat in the Hat courtesy https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/1e/9a/71/1e9a7153ed7724ac93c076b55b234cb5.jpg

Mr. Geisel went on to write 46 more picture books, all with basic vocabulary words.  He also added a few of his own made up words.  But with his energizing tone, and his use of repetition, his books were an instant hit, never losing their appeal.  On a recent top 100 list of children's hardcover books, Dr. Seuss had 16 titles including Green Eggs & Ham, Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.  

Green Eggs & Ham courtesy http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/mas/prod/images/acontent/B004NWLM8K/com.oceanhouse.media-1.10-AD-Shot3._SL404_V170901764_.jpg.

Dr. Seuss was promoted to editor at Vanguard Press.  A young couple pitched a series about a bear family; their debut title was Freddy Bear's Spanking (later changed to The Big Honey Hunt).  While Dr. Seuss liked their illustrations and story idea, he didn't like the choice of a bear.  However, when the book appeared on the bookstore shelves, it sold like hotcakes.  The Berenstains' wrote dozens of titles, each including a moral or safety lesson, each the same length of 1100 words.  The story formula remained the same:  the cubs had a problem, Papa Bear presented a solution which made it worse and Mama Bear fixed everything.  According to the Berenstains, Mama and Papa were largely based on themselves.  Today, The Berenstain Bears series consists of over 300 titles and has sold over 260 million copies.  For more information, read "How the Berenstain Bears Got Their Name" at 

http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/06/june-1.html.

The Berenstain Bears Too Much Junk Food courtesy http://www.sunshine-book.com.tw/images/upfile/2011/2011101118593164019.jpg.

The more recent Froggy book series by Jonathon London helped my daughter learn how to read. Again, the repetition was key to giving her a sense of confidence.  I found that the variation of the print colour helped as well.  When Froggy's mother yelled his name, it was always in red capital letters.

Froggy's First Kiss courtesy http://a2.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Publication4/v4/b0/c4/33/b0c433b0-0a85-7a6b-3697-10ea96b4053b/IMG_6934.480x480-75.jpg.

For a picture book timeline, visit, 

http://www.picturingbooks.com/slides/picture-book-timeline.html.

Technologically Challenged

I am a dinosaur.  I don't own a cell phone.  I've never sent a text.  The only reason that I joined Facebook three and a half years ago was so that I could connect with other writers.  However, it's been a great forum for my blog.  Now, I'm looking for more blog followers and hits.  This week, therefore, I decided to become a full fledged member of the social media world.  My teenage son can do these things in his sleep, but for me, it's a monumental task.  But I was bound and determined to do it.

I started out with Twitter.  I signed up and opened an account -- without any tears!  I sent my first tweet, successfully.  Then I went crazy and sent several other tweets.  Next I turned to Pinterest.  I signed up, opened an account and pinned my first photo.  I even tried Google +, but Thomas told me that it was a waste of time, so I gave up on it.

My next task was to sign up for Google Adsense (http://www.google.com/adsense/).  I've been blogging for three and a half years, why not make a bit of money at it?  Once again, I signed up successfully.  Now I just have to wait up to a week to be approved.

I have always wanted to write more articles.  I discovered Hubpages on the Internet.  Why not sign up to write Hubs?  So, I gave them a list of information as well as my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts and signed on the dotted line.  I wrote my first Hub, "Open Adoption:  Uncharted Territory", which took an hour and a half to complete.  Then I pressed a button -- and it disappeared!  I didn't cry, I didn't throw anything.  I just calmly started to rewrite the article.  This time, however, I saved it in Microsoft Word, just in case.  The second time around I was able to successfully submit the article. I was told it would take 24 hours to proofread before it would be published.  I don't care -- I'm a Hubber!

Besides Social Media, another way I can increase my blog hits is to use tags.  Again, how hard can it be to learn? So, I googled it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out how simple it was.  Each time I write a new blog post, I have a box to the right of the text with the word Labels at the top.  I click on it, a box opens, and I list the words that I would like highlighted from that particular post.  Then, when I publish my post, voila!  The highlighted words appear in orange at the bottom of my post as "tags".

I thought, I wonder if tags are the same as "hashtags"?  I guess they are.  I was so proud of myself that I bragged to my daughter Jacqueline that I had learned how to use hashtags.  She laughed and explained to me that a hashtag is something you use when you text.  She said:  "Stick to Facebook, Mom.  It's more your speed."  

Nonetheless, I am still pleased that I have navigated through the Social Media world successfully. My next task is to set up an official website which will provide links to my writing (blog, newspaper articles, short stories).  Can I do it?  Will I succeed?  We'll see.  If I'm successful, you'll see me doing a happy dance. Thomas and Jacqueline, however, will not bat an eyelash.  I'm still their "dinosaur" mother.

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