Hello from the National Playwrights' Symposium! From today's master playwright Nicky Silver: "The idea of dialogue being naturalistic is an oxymoron." And my favorite..."Anything can happen on the next page."
On Writing : Nicky Silver/National Playwrights' Symposium by Shari D. Frost
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Take it from a theatre critic who sees many plays in a week: the idea of "dialogue being natural / naturalistic" is a teeny weeny problem compared to the WORST problem, i.e., writers who don't know the difference between SHOWING & TELLING. And, unfortunately, a critic can't sneak out at Intermission. Bah!
I'm not judging best vs. worse, just passing along any little "gems" I hear at the conference this week :)
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Anything can happen on the next page-like that one a lot.
How many stage plays have you seen in 2015? Are you at the theatre often -- or seldom?
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Although I've written nearly 30 plays, 15 of which are published with Samuel French, I can honestly, and sadly admit I havent seen a Broadway or Off B play in over three years. I'm a stay at home dad with two teenage boys and a wife who travels 200+ days out of the year. I miss the hell out of theater. And although I love my boys dearly, sitting through their school plays is like pulling teeth.
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David Paterson: my aunts began taking me to the theatre when I was 4 yrs old. Why not take your teenagers to see theatre? Because of my early exposure to THEATRE, I wrote my first play at 9 -- it was produced when I was 10 and ran for over a year in NYC. $$$ is not an issue because you can join the Dramatists Guild & get free tickets, as you know.
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I only saw two professional productions in childhood, but in adulthood, I've seen a lot simply because I have had access to it. You can definitely develop a love for theater at any age!