To analyse a play is hard, to write a script is harder. One of the challenging tasks in EDU 3217 Teaching the Language of Drama is to write a script for a one-act play. Furthermore, the script is to be used as teaching text for the language classroom, specifically for upper-secondary students. A tough task indeed!
According to what we have learnt in past lectures and tutorials, there are many criteria to be fulfilled (refer to the blog post “Criteria of a Good Play for ESL Classroom") before a play can be considered as a good play that can be taught to the students. For this post, I will only concentrate on one of the criteria, which is the sense of novelty. We will write a script, but write it differently. Confused? Now read on…… (Hehe, the famous quote in EDU 3217!)
Everyone can write about anything, but it is the style of writing that makes the difference. For a writer, the pen is the mightiest. I got this enlightenment from the famous poet, Dorothy Parker, when I was given a task to study her biography in EDU 3216 Teaching the Language of Poetry. She is famous for her caustic wit in portraying the hard truth about the world. Thus, her works normally entail the element of irony, as she writes it in a sarcastic, cynical tone.
Nonetheless, as successful as she might seem, she suffered from marriage failures and depression, which causes her to attempt numerous suicides. Some critics perceive her famous poem “Resume” as her personal account of her suicidal attempts. And it is her style of writing and her poem “Resume” that inspire our group in our script writing, as well as the title of our play – Resume.
In brief, our play “Resume” is about a counselor, Ms. Leela who needs to counsel a student, Mei Ying, who wants to commit suicide. In this play, Ms. Leela, like Dorothy Parker, is sarcastically giving her personal account of suicidal experience. Her description is intended to give a notion to the readers that suicide is gruesome, as opposed to the general perception of an “easy and quick death”. Thus, the play is trying to advice the readers to avoid suicide, just as the last line of Parker’s “Resume” that states, “You might as well live”.
Wanting to do things differently to get the sense of novelty, we decided to transform the poem into a play. Is it possible to transform a poem into a play? Initially, we were wondering too. Moreover, there is one big problem with doing things differently - either you will get a big "yes" for your creativity or a big "No" for your stupidity. However, we believe that a play is an art, and art is all about creativity, and creativity involves novelty, and lastly, novelty involves taking risk. Nothing is impossible. With strong will and determination, dreams will come true. Just as the poetry in our play has stated,
According to what we have learnt in past lectures and tutorials, there are many criteria to be fulfilled (refer to the blog post “Criteria of a Good Play for ESL Classroom") before a play can be considered as a good play that can be taught to the students. For this post, I will only concentrate on one of the criteria, which is the sense of novelty. We will write a script, but write it differently. Confused? Now read on…… (Hehe, the famous quote in EDU 3217!)
Everyone can write about anything, but it is the style of writing that makes the difference. For a writer, the pen is the mightiest. I got this enlightenment from the famous poet, Dorothy Parker, when I was given a task to study her biography in EDU 3216 Teaching the Language of Poetry. She is famous for her caustic wit in portraying the hard truth about the world. Thus, her works normally entail the element of irony, as she writes it in a sarcastic, cynical tone.
Nonetheless, as successful as she might seem, she suffered from marriage failures and depression, which causes her to attempt numerous suicides. Some critics perceive her famous poem “Resume” as her personal account of her suicidal attempts. And it is her style of writing and her poem “Resume” that inspire our group in our script writing, as well as the title of our play – Resume.
In brief, our play “Resume” is about a counselor, Ms. Leela who needs to counsel a student, Mei Ying, who wants to commit suicide. In this play, Ms. Leela, like Dorothy Parker, is sarcastically giving her personal account of suicidal experience. Her description is intended to give a notion to the readers that suicide is gruesome, as opposed to the general perception of an “easy and quick death”. Thus, the play is trying to advice the readers to avoid suicide, just as the last line of Parker’s “Resume” that states, “You might as well live”.
Wanting to do things differently to get the sense of novelty, we decided to transform the poem into a play. Is it possible to transform a poem into a play? Initially, we were wondering too. Moreover, there is one big problem with doing things differently - either you will get a big "yes" for your creativity or a big "No" for your stupidity. However, we believe that a play is an art, and art is all about creativity, and creativity involves novelty, and lastly, novelty involves taking risk. Nothing is impossible. With strong will and determination, dreams will come true. Just as the poetry in our play has stated,
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is a dream, raise it.
Life is a gift, cherish it.
We dream to do things differently, make it possible by accepting the challenge and our gift is of course our production of the script. No matter the script is well-praised or badly condemned, “Resume” will always be a gift we cherish forever.
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ReplyDelete"To analyse a play is hard, to write a script is harder"
ReplyDeleteIt's true and I agree with Cheong Huey Fen. We are free to come out with our own ideas but then we need to be remembered that out script is actually for upper-secondary students. It draws a boundary for us to write. I mean we need to write something suitable for students.
Our language for writing suppose to be not too complicated because the students not yet adults and we also cannot write the script in very simple language because the students are upper- secondary not kindergarten kids anymore.We need to write it with an interesting story lines so then our plays won't be boring.
It's true that different writers will come out with different style of writings. That's why we can enjoy a lot of interesting plays nowadays.
To write a good play is hard but it's not impossible to write it interestingly.
Very nice attempt, Huey Fen!
ReplyDeleteIt is a ground that very few people want to tread. I myself did not even think of the idea when brainstorming for a topic.
In the end, my group and I decided to just write about something that all of us had experienced in the past.
Makes me wish I have a copy of the plays that every group in the class has to read. The different ways we think will make reading all the plays a very interesting experience.
Shows how the creative mind can just take something to make something or magically create something out of nothing.