Don't be a slave to the truth

Saturday started off with a workshop with Victor Rodger at Playmarket. The initiative is called Brown Ink- its all about Maori and Pacific island writers getting together and jamming, learning some more about how to approach writing a play.

It was amazing to hear peoples ideas! I want to see all of the plays that were talked about today...I took some key things from this day:

-Don't be a slave to the truth- Even though we may be writing from real events, we don't have to glue ourselves into being completely factual. Plays allow us the chance to play, explore and use our imaginations. Also, there may be a small tweak you can make that will increase the conflict..Conflict is our friend in writing..

-Write that script and finish the damn thing- There are a lot of theoretical things to think about when writing a play but the first thing to do is actually write it. It's not helpful to edit as you go..You're better off writing the first draft (even if there is a cringe factor- you can always go back and change things)

(I gathered from today that I need to read a lot of screen plays also- screen writing is something I am really interested in.)

-The famous 3 act structure is alive and well- Most films/plays follow this formula or subvert it in some fancy way. It is helpful to be able to watch work and analyse it as a writer for these elements.

On my second day with the film school I was given a list of "must read" books in terms of film-making, cinematography, directing, screenwriting....etc. etc.

----

Today (Monday)....We started our workshop with Dave Armstrong (He wrote Niu Sila with Oscar Kightley- I love that play!) We were getting general tips on how to approach writing by got pretty deep into our own individual ideas. It was nice to only have 5 people as it means our ideas get a real good chance to be teased out.

Catherine and I shared ideas about our Nuance show (collaborating with Theo Wijnsma and Monique Webster). We are creating 5 paragraphs before the next class for this...I'm looking forward to sharing this- He helped us think about HOW we are telling the story and we got some good feedback about he exercises we are doing now. I'm focusing on writing monologues now as I think it'll fit really well within our concept....If you'd like to hear more about it give me a buzz!...

I also had my first Te Reo class this evening! It was really fun- Especially Whakatau Hinengaro...where we lie down and get told a story and get the chance to really relax. I could totally get into this! It's real helpful for my research too! At Te Wananga O Aotearoa they have a big emphasis on being relaxed and easeful to learn ---Exactly what I am trying to have in my acting! Thank you...

Its all relative!

I'd really love it if you would put a wee comment if you read this..Even if its just a little smile..Would be cool to know whether people are reading...

xx