The Next Generation of Theatre

When I was recommended for the Playwrighting and Drama Teaching Assistant position at Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development (CTD) I knew I wanted to document the experience. How would teaching the craft of Playwrighting to children impact how I approached my work? I wondered how I would relate to the next generation and at the same time I was extraordinarily eager to see the material they would produce. The course would run from June 25th-July 14th, which meant Instructor John Foley and I would have just three weeks to provide our students with the foundation of how to write for theater.

Our thirteen students range in age from ten to twelve, and unlike in years before, we have a class of all girls. It was exciting to see young girls from around the country, several from around the world, interested in the dramatic arts. Most of our girls were born in 2000 therefore they don’t know a world before 9/11. Technology is engrained in them the way we cling to our notebooks and pens. But within the first few hours it was clear that this generation is just as keen as us to toss to their smart phones away and join in on some good old-fashioned face-to-face communication.

A typical day at CTD starts at 8:30am when the Resident Assistant (RA) delivers the students. We start off with improv games such as one word story, to help them learn to listen and progress a story as a group. As well as Samurai a game all about staying aware of the actions around you. Many of these students have been the big fish in a small pond and one of the most important ideas we wanted to pass onto them was collaboration. If you have the right team members in theater, their input will only strengthen a production.

At eleven I walk the girls to lunch. This is a great chance for me to get to know them individually and gage how they think the class is going. The girls usually speed up to chat with me and all begin talking at once. They tell stories about their family members and their friends at school. I get them back to the classroom by twelve and John will start them on a writing exercise. The goals for this first week were to teach them how to adapt an article dramatically, come to understand that action/motivation is what drives a play, and write conversational dialogue. On Tuesdays and Thursday I have study sessions with them from 6:30-8:00pm where I clarify what they’ve been taught in class and extract important sections from their textbook, The Playwright’s Guide by Stuart Spencer.

Children are natural observers. Their curiosity pulls them towards the unknown. It’s simple: They want to know so they watch.

My breakthrough moment this week came when we gave them the task of writing a scene between a teacher and a student that had to consist entirely of questions. The key element of this activity is that it is a scene. It was Friday afternoon and we’d spent all week teaching them the tools, this was their opportunity to use them. What I found is that teaching solidifies the elements of Playwrighting that matter the most. Below are three concepts that were the most rewarding to discuss:

• Children are natural observers. Their curiosity pulls them towards the unknown. It’s simple: They want to know so they watch. Why this is important to remember: The only successful way for art to imitate life is if the artist is capable of translating for their characters. True to nature characters question the world around them. Children are experts at asking questions. Most times, the answers can be found through human interactions.
• The understanding of why people speak to one another is not innate, it must be taught. Why this is important to remember: Dialogue alone is not a scene. If there are characters that speak but lack conflicting desires there is no action.
• Your play is not about you the writer. It is about the actions of your characters and how your audience interprets these actions. Character Action + Audience Interpretation = Theater. Why this is important to remember: The audience is not in your head. Before you even put pen to page, fingertips to keyboard, you must remove yourself from the equation. If you don’t, you may forget that your goal is to clarify things for your audience. Include them so they can develop interest in the characters; exclude them at times so they want to keep watching. Give and Take by putting it all on the page.

I can’t wait to see how the girls rise to next week’s challenge of writing longer pieces and working with each other on memorizing scenes.