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Evolution of a Play: How to Write a Play for Play Fest - Version 1

A look into the progress of a play written over the course of two years.

By Frank MacalusoPublished 2 years ago 16 min read
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Evolution of a Play: How to Write a Play for Play Fest - Version 1
Photo by Paolo Chiabrando on Unsplash

Recently, I've been going through all the files in my laptop to see which things I can get rid of to make more space for new things. While doing so, I stumbled upon this particular one-act play I wrote in high school. Well, that's selling it a bit short. I didn't just discover this one particular play; I discovered five different versions of this play, all written over the course of two years! Anyway, I've reasoned that, since I never look at these scripts, nor do I intend to ever use any of them for anything later, they're all prime candidates for junking.

However, rather than callously let them be forgotten by time, I've decided to preserve all the versions of this play I have saved on my laptop here for the curious or for the terminally bored. It might be interesting to see how this particular play evolved over the course of the playwriting process. Or it might cure your insomnia. Either way, I'd consider it a win!

Some background information, I'm sure, is necessary. I attended Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago, Illinois. At the end of every school year, Lane Tech puts on a Playwright's Festival—or Play Fest, for short. Students submit one-act plays that they've written, which are then reviewed by the English and Drama teachers. Five are selected to be performed by a cast of students, and each is directed by one or two other students.

I submitted a play my junior year of high school which didn't get selected. No wonder. It was awful. I was determined, however, that I would try again my senior year, and that I'd get my work performed on the Lane Tech stage. Almost immediately after the play selections were announced that year, I started writing this, and continued to work on it throughout my senior year. I can't remember if I ever actually submitted this particular play. At the very least, I know I didn't submit this version.

This is the complete first version of the script, finished on May 9th, 2015—at least, according to Microsoft Word. Some minor edits have been made for clarity, but otherwise, this is the script, the whole script, and nothing but the script, so help me Mr. Lobo.

Without much further ado, here now is the very first version of How to Write a Play for Play Fest.

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CHARACTERS

Joel Esposito – an enthusiastic narrator; 38 years of age

Sam – a young student writer; 17 years of age

Rosie – Sam’s sister; 13 years of age

Miriam – a friend of Sam’s; 18 years of age

Mrs. Warwick – Sam’s drama teacher; 45 years of age

Yessenia – one of Sam’s friends; 16 years of age

Mikayla – one of Sam’s friends; 17 years of age

Ms. Villanueva – another drama teacher; 47 years of age

SCENES

The stage of the Lane Tech Auditorium (Scene 1)

Sam’s bedroom (Scenes 1, 2, 4, and 6)

Mrs. Warwick’s classroom (Scenes 3, 5, 7, and 8)

TIME

Present day

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Scene 1

SETTING: A plain, black set with a desk, a chair, and a laptop at stage left. The curtain is closed.

AT RISE: JOEL comes out and stands in front of the curtain, facing the audience and making eye contact with whomever possible whenever possible.

JOEL: Hello, all you lovely people. I’m Joel Esposito, and I’d like to talk to you about a great opportunity for the literarily-gifted that exists right here in this very school! Are you a promising writer looking for an opportunity to stick your foot in the door of show business and get some important life experience? Are you a sucky writer living under delusions of grandeur and looking for an opportunity to flaunt your non-existent talent? Well, that opportunity is here! Presenting, the Lane Tech Playwrights’ Festival!

(A short fanfare plays.)

JOEL: Yes, friends, the Lane Tech Playwrights’ Festival—or Play Fest, as is it called colloquially—is a wonderful time of year when Lane Tech’s Drama Department shows off some its best talents, not just onstage, but behind the scenes as well! Students just like you can write and submit plays to be performed and can even direct a play written by one of your fellow students! In the next twenty minutes, we’re going to show you how it’s done.

(The curtain opens and JOEL walks to the desk and stands next to the desk. The lights go up on the left half of the stage as he walks. Once they are fully up, SAM enters, sits at her desk, and takes out a notebook.)

JOEL: The first step to writing a play for Play Fest is, of course, figuring out what to write about. When writing a play, one must brainstorm until an idea comes. But it can’t just be any idea; it has to be wild, new, fascinating, something no other student has ever done. (turns to SAM) Hey, Sam! What are you writing about?

SAM: Well, I don’t really know yet. Maybe I could...wait a second. Who are you, how do you know my name, and what are you doing in my room?

JOEL: That doesn’t matter right now. The next 20 minutes or so are all about you.

(JOEL puts his hand on SAM’s shoulder and SAM pulls away quickly and shrieks.)

SAM: (calling out to someone offstage) Mom! There’s a strange man in my bedroom! Call the police!

(JOEL exits, running like hell to the opposite side of the stage. SAM’s sister, ROSIE, runs in with a bazooka.)

ROSIE: Alright, where is he?

SAM: He’s gone now, Rosie. You can put the bazooka down.

(ROSIE throws the bazooka offstage. A loud explosion is heard.)

SAM: You do realize you’re going to have to clean up the mess you made before Mom sees it?

ROSIE: Why do I have to clean it up?

SAM: Because I cleaned up the last three times the bazooka misfired! Besides, I’m really busy right now.

ROSIE: What’s so important that you can’t help your darling little sister sweep and re-tile the floor, patch up the wall, and possibly glue the toilet back together?

SAM: I’m writing a play for the Playwrights’ Festival at my school. I have no idea what to write about, though.

ROSIE: Why not write about a mime who mimes falling in love?

SAM: Yecch! That’s a terrible idea! My stomach’s churning just thinking about it!

ROSIE: Let’s see you come up with something better, then.

SAM: Well, how about—

(A woman’s scream is heard offstage.)

SAM: Uh oh.

ROSIE: Don’t worry, Mom! I’ll have the walls fixed before Dad comes home, I promise!

(ROSIE rushes off to clean up the mess and comfort their now-traumatized mother.)

SAM: (quickly turning back to her notebook) Right! Back to writing my play. Let’s see...what am I going to write about? (ponders a bit, then inspiration hits) Maybe I could write about a boy who’s dating a girl who might possibly be his father’s love child with his high school sweetheart? No, that’s been done before. Ugh, maybe that mime idea isn’t all that bad. (shakes head as if to remove the thought from her mind) No! No mimes! What else can I write about? (looks around the room for inspiration, eyes her stapler) Aha! A stapler who travels the country to find himself! (whacks herself in the head with her notebook with each “No!”) No! No! No! Terrible, terrible!

(A second explosion is heard offstage. SAM quickly turns to see what just happened.)

ROSIE: (offstage and very annoyed) Great! Now I have to re-build Dad’s study, too!

SAM: (suddenly inspired) Hey! I think I may just have the subject of my play!

(SAM begins to write fervently in her notebook.)

(BLACKOUT)

(END OF SCENE)

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Scene 2

SETTING: Sam's bedroom.

AT RISE: A spotlight on JOEL as he stands in the middle of the right half of the stage. SAM now has a laptop out and is typing away.

JOEL: Now that Sam has her idea, she can begin Step 2: writing the first draft. She will dedicate hours of her precious time on it, making sure it is as interesting and as entertaining as possible. She will make little contact with the outside world and miss the occasional homework assignment, but none of that will faze her; she must write, she must write, she must write!

(The lights go down on JOEL as the lights go up on SAM, still typing, staring madly at the screen of her laptop. ROSIE sheepishly enters.)

ROSIE: Hey Sam, Yessenia and Mikayla want to know if you want to go with them to the mall.

SAM: Not now! I’m just about to finish the climax of my play!

ROSIE: Okay, then.

(ROSIE exits, concerned for her sister, as SAM keeps on typing.)

SAM: Let’s see...once Lily breaks through the wall, what kind of snarky remark should Sheila make? Hmmm...how about, “Well, looks like you’ve finally made a breakthrough”? (slightly crazed giggling, which slowly decays into a moan of disappointment) No! No, that’s horrible! Ugh!

(SAM slumps down in her chair. She suddenly snaps back up to call her muse.)

SAM: Rosie!

(ROSIE rushes in.)

ROSIE: You bellowed?

SAM: Quick! What kind of snarky thing would you expect me to say after seeing you hammer a big hole in the living room wall?

ROSIE: (confused) I don’t know. Why would I be hammering a hole into the living room wall anyway? (very concerned) Are you okay?

SAM: (ignoring the inquiry) Thanks, sis! You’re the greatest!

(SAM resumes typing. ROSIE slowly backs away and exits, quite obviously unnerved.)

SAM: Who needs snarky one-liners? Sheila can just yell at Lily to fix the hole in the wall! It’s unique! It’s genius! It’s putrid! (lets her head fall onto the table)

(BLACKOUT)

(END OF SCENE)

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Scene 3

SETTING: A small classroom on the right half of the stage. Three rows of desks stand right next to the teacher’s desk.

AT RISE: MIRIAM sits in the first desk of the center row, writing in a journal with a cup full of coffee to the left of it. JOEL sits on the desk behind hers. As JOEL speaks, SAM enters with a typed out script in hand.

JOEL: After that comes the Step 3, peer editing. It is very important to have other people, preferably people who have had experience in writing plays, read your play and give you feedback. You want the play you submit to be absolutely perfect. (exits quickly)

SAM: Hey, Miriam.

(MIRIAM looks up from her journal.)

MIRIAM: Oh, hi, Samantha. How are you?

SAM: I’m fine. And you?

MIRIAM: I’m doing great. (takes a sip of coffee and resumes writing)

SAM: Um...I was wondering...well, I wrote this script for Play Fest. Would you mind giving me some feedback on it? If you’re not too busy, that is.

MIRIAM: (looks up again) Sure, honey.

(SAM hands MIRIAM the script. MIRIAM begins to read the play. SAM stands, nervously watching. Two pages in, MIRIAM giggles; she continues reading and laughs a couple more times. She looks back up at SAM.)

MIRIAM: This is pretty funny. Not many plays make me laugh out loud while I’m reading them.

SAM: Is there anything wrong with it, anything that needs fixing?

MIRIAM: Well, a lot of the plot points are a little cliché, but I think you might be able to get away with it. There’s also a lot of characters in this. If you’re going to submit this to Play Fest, you have to keep in mind that that means less actors; there are four other plays being performed. You could combine some of your male characters; there really aren’t very many male actors in this school anyway. Aside from that, this seems pretty solid.

SAM: Okay. Thanks, Miriam. (exits)

(BLACKOUT)

(END OF SCENE)

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Scene 4

SETTING: Sam’s bedroom.

AT RISE: JOEL is standing next to the desk. SAM enters, heads straight to her laptop, turns it on, and starts editing her script.

JOEL: Now that Sam has had her play peer-edited, she can begin Step 4: revision. She’ll make all the recommended changes to her play. She will even notice some flaws her friend missed and fix those. She will spend hours of her time on this endeavor, making little contact with the outside world and occasionally forgetting to feed her hamster, but none of that will faze her; she must fix, she must fix, she must fix. (exits to the other half of the stage)

(BLACKOUT)

(END OF SCENE)

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Scene 5

SETTING: The classroom.

AT RISE: Mrs. WARWICK sits at her desk, grading papers. JOEL sits at the desk at which MIRIAM previously sat. SAM enters and walks up to Mrs. WARWICK.

JOEL: Next comes Step 5: repeat Steps 3 and 4 as needed.

SAM: Hi, Mrs. Warwick.

MRS. WARWICK: Hello, Samantha. I finished evaluating your script last night. (hands SAM the script) You’re going to have to cut the scene when the ceiling collapses. That would be very hard to portray on our stage considering its structure; the catwalk doesn’t go far enough. And besides, I don’t think I like the idea of having heavy things dropped on my actors. It would take some rewriting, but it would cut the running time by five-and-a-half minutes. Aside from that, there’s not much else I can recommend as far as changes.

SAM: Okay. Thanks, Mrs. Warwick. (exits)

(BLACKOUT)

(END OF SCENE)

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Scene 6

SETTING: Sam’s bedroom.

AT RISE: JOEL and SAM are in the same positions they were in at the end of Scene 4.

JOEL: We now find Sam revising her play for the last time. She will spend hours putting the finishing touches on her play before finally submitting it. She will make little contact with the outside world and miss dinner for the fifth time this week, causing her mother great worry, but none of that will faze her.

(ROSIE enters, and JOEL exits once she arrives.)

ROSIE: Sam, Yessenia and Mikayla want to know if you want to go to Millennium Park with them.

SAM: Tell them I can’t right now. I have to finish my play.

(ROSIE sighs and exits. SAM continues typing. Suddenly, YESSENIA and MIKAYLA barge in and stand behind her. YESSENIA taps on her shoulder and she turns to see who is there.)

SAM: Hey, Yessenia! Hey, Mikayla! I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?

MIKAYLA: I can’t complain. My back hurts a little, but for the most part I’d say—

YESSENIA: Enough of this prattling; let’s get down to business.

SAM: Business?

YESSENIA: You’ve been in here working on that stupid play for three weeks now! You don’t go out anymore, and we rarely ever get to talk to you. You need help! (slams laptop shut and grabs SAM’s arm) You’re coming with us!

SAM: Where are you taking me?

YESSENIA: We’re going to the park, and you’re gonna run and jump and play just like you used to do, and you’re gonna like it!

MIKAYLA: Of course, we could always go see a play if you’d rather—

(YESSENIA smacks MIKAYLA in the back of the head.)

MIKAYLA: Ow! But I think the park would be a lot more fun.

SAM: Look, you guys don’t have to do this! I’m fine! I can stop working on my play anytime I want to!

YESSENIA: Oh, really?

SAM: Yeah. (a long pause) I just don’t want to.

YESSENIA: Okay, that does it!

(YESSENIA and MIKAYLA reach for the laptop, but SAM throws herself on top of it before either of them can lay one finger on it.)

SAM: Back off!

(BLACKOUT)

(END OF SCENE)

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Scene 7

SETTING: The classroom.

AT RISE: Mrs. WARWICK sits at her desk reading and/or eating lunch. JOEL sits at MIRIAM’s desk. As he speaks, SAM enters and hands Mrs. WARWICK the final draft of her play, then exits.

JOEL: Now comes the final step to writing a play for Play Fest; submitting it. All of Sam’s hard work will finally pay off...maybe. From here on out, Sam has no control over what happens. This is the part where the drama teachers take over, selecting the best of the best from all the plays that have been turned in.

(Ms. VILLANUEVA enters with a bunch of scripts. Mrs. WARWICK gets up and walks up to her with even more scripts, and they meet in the middle of their half of the stage. Simultaneously, JOEL exits.)

MS. VILLANUEVA: I tell you, Chrissy, this is the biggest turnout we’ve had in years! It’s gonna be hell having to read all of these.

MRS. WARWICK: Well, someone’s got to do it. Let’s start with your pile.

(Ms. VILLANUEVA pulls a script from her bundle and shows it to Mrs. WARWICK.)

MRS. WARWICK: (reading the title) “Some Enchanted Evening”. Cliché title. (flips through pages) The plot is nothing new, and the characters aren’t very relatable. Dialogue is iffy at best. Toss it.

(Ms. VILLANUEVA literally tosses the script away. She pulls another script from her bundle and shows it to Mrs. WARWICK.)

MRS. WARWICK: “Lies, Secrets, and Gucci Bags”. The title sounds promising. (flips through pages) I should have known; it’s just “Mean Girls” without the humor or the moral. Toss it.

(Ms. VILLANUEVA tosses the script away.)

MS. VILLANUEVA: Let’s take a break from my pile. What have you got?

MRS. WARWICK: (hands SAM’s script to Ms. VILLANUEVA) One of my drama students wrote it. I think it’s pretty good.

MS. VILLANUEVA: (flips through some pages) It’s a little cliché, but I think we could get away with it. I say it passes the first round. Now let’s get through the rest of these.

(Mrs. WARWICK and Ms. VILLANUEVA continue to look through the submissions.)

(BLACKOUT)

(END OF SCENE)

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Scene 8

SETTING: The classroom.

AT RISE: The classroom is full of students—it’s almost time for drama class. MIRIAM is sitting at her desk. SAM enters and sits to the right of her. MIRIAM looks up and turns to talk to SAM.

MIRIAM: Hey, Sam! Congratulations on getting your play picked!

SAM: Eh, it’s alright, Miriam; I should have known better. What was I thinking, writing a play for Play Fest when there are already so many...wait! It got picked?

MIRIAM: Yep! And I’m directing it!

SAM: (squeals and jumps for joy) It got picked! My play got picked!

(YESSENIA enters and puts her stuff on the desk to the left of MIRIAM.)

YESSENIA: What’s going on?

SAM: (runs to YESSENIA and grabs her) My play got picked for Play Fest! Isn’t this great?! I’ve finally made it! I’m a writer! Oh! I’ve got to start planning for my entry for next year.

(YESSENIA pulls out a bottle of chloroform, opens it, and pours some of its contents onto a handkerchief.)

SAM: I’ve got to start as soon as possible; I want it to be my magnum opus, the Play Fest play to end all Play Fest plays! I’ll need to go home and brainstorm, figure out the plot and the character names and the—

YESSENIA: Oh, no, you don’t! I’m not letting you put yourself—or me— through this crap again!

(YESSENIA administers the chloroform. SAM collapses into her arms. YESSENIA drags her offstage as the entire class looks on in confusion and possibly horror.)

(BLACKOUT)

(END OF PLAY)

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About the Creator

Frank Macaluso

A comedian. I may have made a huge mistake.

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