My first manifesto is that WOODWORKING, yes woodworking, the construction and building of wood into useful objects, is without a doubt one of the most fulfilling, calming and rewarding activities that anyone can take part of. It is a great way for someone to use their creativity and imagination to build anything they can think of. WOODWORKING IS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD. It will bring joy to ones life no matter how little or big their project ends up becoming.
1) I would like to comment on the 3rd point in "36 Assumptions about Writing Plays." The reason that I greatly enjoyed it is because most people think that the faster you write a play or anything for that fact will make it much better, but this manifesto is assuming that that notion is false and any piece of play-writing will be great no matter how long or short it took to write.
2) The next manifesto that I found interesting is #27 in the "36 Assumptions about Writing Plays," because I think that the statement on how one should be mysterious not confusing not only applies to plays but also to everyday life. Men, women, especially women, are always intrigued by a person who gives off an aura of mystery. They always want to know more about them, figure out what they are thinking or what their actions will eventually lead towards.
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Well, I certainly do think woodworking is cool. For some reason I was really into it as a kid. I was really bad at it though, so almost everything I made has broken. I agree that it is very calming and rewarding, except maybe that time when I hit my pinkie with a hammer.
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ReplyDeleteJohn, an question -- what can the playwright learn from the woodworker? In what ways is the work of the woodworker like the work of the playwright, do you think? They're both building something, no? How can those two crafts speak to each other?
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ReplyDeleteThere’s nothing that’s not important in good theater. My first thought was that it needs good actors. But what if these amazing actors are lying down reciting their lines to the ceiling? That would just be boring. It needs a good director, who might in fact make the actors lie on the floor and recite their lines to the ceiling, but it would be for a reason, an interesting reason, a reason that contributes to the effectiveness of the play. There needs to be a set, and costumes. Even in a play where the set and costumes are not supposed to matter, someone has to think about how to make them so nondescript that they don’t distract the audience. Good theater has to have an original concept. There’s an expectation to be surprised when going to see a play. Live performance, unlike movies, is limited: everything must mean something, nothing can be taken back. While a clichéd movie can be a blockbuster, a clichéd play will just be a waste of time and a disappointment. The theater that really stands out is the original, the smart, the surprisingly witty.
1) Bruce K. Siewerth argues that “believable acting—or if that isn’t applicable, then expert performing” is essential to good theater, which I completely agree with. Although it’s always better to be convinced by an actor that they are the character they are playing, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to think something like “Wow, this actor is conveying his character’s frustration really well.” I like being able to appreciate good acting.
2) Jose Rivera’s opinion that playwriters must “strive to be mysterious, not confusing” really resonates with me because that’s something I tend to struggle with in my writing. Because I, as the writer, know everything that is going on in the story that I’m telling, sometimes I leave too much information out while trying to be subtle. I think it’s really important to recognize the difference between subtlety and not making sense.