Tag Archives: creativity coach san francisco

Sep20

So You Want to Write a One Person Show, Part 6 of 7

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So You Want to Write a One Person Show, Part 6 of 7

So to recap, Part 1 of "So You Want to Write a One Person Show", I spoke about discovering the Central Moment on which your show pivots.

Part 2 of "So You Want to Write a One Person Show" we looked at the moments that lead up to the Central Moment of your revelation in your solo show.  We explored possible turning points and after effects of the Central Moment, and we looked at possible through lines, the threads that sew your stories together into one cohesive piece.

Part 3, Write write write. We threw out all we "knew" and explored all possible avenues.  This is where the rubber meets the road–we took creative risks and pushed past our normal habits and ideas about who we are and what we can create.

Part 4, Take a break, play, and contact your muses. We contacted our "muses"–that something greater that guides us and shows its genius.

Part 5, Bringing it all together, editing, refining through performance.  "The difference between a standup show and a solo show is that in standup, the character knows exactly what they're talking about and exactly what they think.  And they're going to tell you.  In a solo show, the character doesn't know.  They're looking for something, they want something, and they're figuring it all out with you, on this ride, together.  The hero has a conflict."

Part 6, Kill Your Darlings.  

You may have heard this quote before and not fully understood what it meant, so let me elaborate.   It was Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch who spoke it first, ???Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it ??? whole-heartedly ??? and delete it before sending your manuscripts to press. Murder your darlings.??? 

My senior film thesis in college was a mockumentary about standup comedy.  I made a feature length film (video) in which I starred as a struggling comedian, struggling with whether she wanted to be a famous comedian or just date one.  It was a lot of fun to make, and earned a high grade in a school where we didn't technically even have grades.  And it was good work.  But years later, I got re-acquainted with an assistant who helped shoot the movie.  He handed me a DVD of my film, recut.  He recut my film.  From 75 minutes to 40.  And you know what?  It was better.  It was a totally different movie and missed a lot of the points I was making, but there were about 30 minutes of purely self-indulgent material that I had no ability to recognize as indulgent at the time.  In fact, if I were to re-cut the film again, I'd make it about 25 minutes long.  There is a fantastic scene (which I am not in) that I directed two friends to improvise about chicken soup and sex, and it is probably the best 10 minutes of the whole film.  By killing 65 of my "darling" minutes, there is an incredible piece that would be wonderful to watch.  And it took 10 years to be able to see that truth.

So take some steps back, acknowledge and let go of your darlings.  What is really in your work because it stands on its own, and what is there that needs explaining?  What is in your work because it makes only you satisfied, and what is truly satisfying to people in general?  What is in this piece that sheds light on some aspect of humanity never before spoken, and what is trite or cliche?  What is in your piece that's part of some inside joke and what is a universal joke?  What's there to make a secret jab and someone you're mad at, and what's there to speak truth to power?  What's there to secretly impress someone you're in love with and seem clever or brilliant, and what's there that was truly channeled through genius?  What's there that distracts people from what you really want to say, and what's there to artfully hide what you want to say so they'll come upon it in surprise?  It's time to be ruthlessly honest with yourself, step aside, and allow your muses to speak through you.  And when it goes well, let them take the credit, too.  The joy will come, not in hearing the accolades, but in being an instrument for something truly, humanly brilliant that touches people's hearts and raises the stakes in living their lives fully.

Stay tuned for Part 7, though I have no idea what could follow that!

Aug16

So You Want to Write a One Person Show, Part 5 of 7

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So You Want to Write a One Person Show, Part 5 of 7

So to recap, Part 1 of "So You Want to Write a One Person Show", I spoke about discovering the Central Moment on which your show pivots.

Part 2 of "So You Want to Write a One Person Show" we looked at the moments that lead up to the Central Moment of your revelation in your solo show.  We explored possible turning points and after effects of the Central Moment, and we looked at possible through lines, the threads that sew your stories together into one cohesive piece.

Part 3, Write write write. We threw out all we "knew" and explored all possible avenues.  This is where the rubber meets the road–we took creative risks and pushed past our normal habits and ideas about who we are and what we can create.

Part 4, Take a break, play, and contact your muses. We contacted our "muses"–that something greater that guides us and shows its genius.

Part 5, Bringing it all together, editing, refining through performance.

I recently spoke with Paul Stein, who is a really perceptive theater and comedy director in LA, about my new show.  We talked about the difference between solo performance and standup monology, and which art form this piece will fall under.  It seems to be a perennial question for me.  He said something I won't forget: (paraphrasing)

"The difference between a standup show and a solo show is that in standup, the character knows exactly what they're talking about and exactly what they think.  And they're going to tell you.  In a solo show, the character doesn't know.  They're looking for something, they want something, and they're figuring it all out with you, on this ride, together.  The hero has a conflict."

It's looking like my new show is taking the form of a standup show, but that it will have an arc, a through-line, through the jokes.  He asked me to describe what is the one thing I most want to communicate in this show.  And with that answer, he said, "Find a way to relate and further that communication in each moment, in each piece of your show.  Ask yourself, bit by bit, if each segment fulfills that purpose.  If not, you know what to cut."

So I'm now looking at each segment, with that central communication, that central "conflict" for my character (the fictionalized version of me that I'm presenting through my standup persona, which is sort of an exaggerated, fun-house version of me).  I'm not going to cut anything yet.  I put everything in chronological order for this show (at this point).  And now I'm editing and strengthening each segment so that it's succinct, clear, pithy, and funny or highly poignant.  It's going to take some time.  I have noticed that I need my writing to be colloquial–I'm not writing a book here–and cut as many words as possible before even going on stage.  When the work reaches the point where I'm happy with what I'm saying, (after many edits), I'll take it to the stage, piece by piece.  I didn't do this with my last two shows, which leaned much closer to solo show than to standup.

Comedy that's already well-written and memorized benefits and grows greatly from reaching an audience.  From working the material out in front of an audience, magic arises… nuanced moments, new tags, different perspectives, and an understanding of what bits are not well-communicated or just don't click. Plus, it's fun! Standup tip: Memorizing your material allows for greater confidence on stage and if you feel like riffing or deviating, you've always got a route back "home".  It's a lot like jazz–learn the standards, and then you can do anything.  But sit down at a keyboard with no musical knowledge, expecting to play like Miles Davis, it's just not going to happen.)

If you're not doing standup, there are many open mics that allow performers to showcase various art-forms.  Storytelling nights, solo performance nights, alternative comedy shows, small gatherings at friends' houses.  You can even gather a friend or two you trust to enjoy a piece from your show.  Some people are really happy to hear what you're working on.  They might feel honored that you'd like to read for them.  In this case, you might even be able to convince them to sit for 10-20 minutes while you read from your script, drink some tea or wine, and give you their impressions.  

Tips for friend-readings: don't ask "Did you like it?", but instead, ask "What did you feel I was communicating?  Was it clear?  How might I improve my clarity?  Which parts were most engaging?"  These questions guide people away from "good/bad" and toward what you really want, which is honest feedback about whether you're fulfilling the obligations you've set out for yourself.  Take this as information and not judgment.  And let it sit with you before you make more edits.  Other people make great mirrors for us.

Continue with this refining process until you have worked through your whole piece at least twice.  And stay tuned for part 6 of 7 on writing a one man show or a one woman show or a one human show…

Sep8

Taking a Leap of Faith

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Taking a Leap of Faith

Cliff
Living a creative life, especially deciding to make a living from your art involves taking a giant leap of faith–of a very big cliff.  It's easy to back off from the cliff when the inner critic starts to pipe up.

Often, artists say things like, "I'm not a very good business person." or "Don't worry if you don't see my show, who knows how good it'll be." or "Maybe I'm
just not ready to hit the big time." Us creative types tend to either downplay or oversell their creative work. Why?  What makes us think our work is less valuable than the paving of a road, or the filing of a dental x-ray, or the programming of a computer? 

Think of the most important moments in your life, those that were inspired, those that brought you to a new level of understanding about what life means to you.  Was art part of that?  Was it something you read in a book or a piece of music your heard?  A film you saw?  Each of the creators of those works pushed past the internal and external voices that said, "Don't bother." 

Not all of us will make a living from the creative work that comes from the core expression of our being, but perhaps there could be more singing road pavers, dental x-ray painters, and authors who program computers.  We can take the myriad of voices who find all the reasons to say "No" and transform them into voices who say, "You do your creative work, and I will support you by thinking logically, planning for the future, and helping you pack the parachute… if you insist on jumping off this cliff!"
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"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence…  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.  The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

    -Calvin Coolidge