ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

7 years, 4 months ago - Vasco de Sousa

Darren,
I was going to ask a similar question. But, perhaps it's better that there isn't one.
I'm looking to go into theatre, because I don't like dealing with the glamour side of film, or the seminars and evening networking events. (And as an added bonus, there's no post-production. And no cameras.)

So, I'll ask a similar question: Anyone on here have any tips for breaking into theatre as a writer/actor/director/stagehand? I loved the art of theatre as a kid, but chose film because I thought film-makers didn't have to work at night and on weekends. But I've written some play scripts and prepared some monologues anyway.

7 years, 4 months ago - Yair Packer

I started a few year ago writing short and full length scripts.
My time now is fully dedicated to plays. One of my plays was recently on stage in NY and will be on stage this year in London.
Yair

7 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

>>the glamour side of film<< Aaaaaaaaah ha ha ha ha haaaaa! Woooooooo he he he he heeeee! ;-)

Just teasing, but the reality is so unglamorous that we do ourselves a disservice by pretending it's anything other than brutal, cold, hard, long days and nights ;-)

7 years, 4 months ago - Dave Hall

There's a Facebook group called Playwriting UK that's very active. I recommend joing that.

I started my career in theatre, and am now a few months away from shooting my first feature film as writer-director. My opinion: if theatre directors don't get what you're doing, there might be something inherently untheatrical in the execution of your idea, but it might just be that they're not getting it. Theatre is full of people who fall back on rules and traditions in lieu of judgement. In many cases it was this reassuring sense of tradition that drew them to the theatre world in the first place, so they then look for the same in the work they do. Even in the avant-garde, you feel they're looking for reassuring certainties, which they find instead in academic or quasi-academic theorising. Film is a lot more gut I find, not because of the medium, but because the people involved in it have come there by gut.

There are exceptions. I suggest you keep looking until you find the collaborators who see things the way you do. Or maybe find a director who's worked in both theatre and film who might be able to see where you're coming from and where you should be headed with it.

Also, maybe read The Empty Space by Peter Brook, where he talks a bit about the essential differences between theatre and film, about the immediacy of theatre and the potential that creates. I haven't read it in years, but it might give you some inspiration.

7 years, 4 months ago - Vasco de Sousa

Dave, that sounds interesting, and a little disappointing. Maybe it's different in different countries. Thanks for the book and group recommendation.

I love reading theatre scripts and realising there are no rules to playwriting, and the fact that I can't find any gurus or one day seminars to create instant experts. I also like the live audience, and the fact that you can't fix it in post, so the lazy people have no excuse.

And, I like the fact that there is no Robert McKee, and that there are different styles of acting and set design instead of just pure realism, but maybe there is some quasi academic equivalent I just don't know about. From what little I've seen, there seems to be a great deal of variety in theatre. In film these days, it looks like everyone is aiming toward the same goal. Even film posters tend to look alike. (Okay, so animation can get wild, but that's incredibly expensive.)

Paddy, life is never glamourous for a llama. Sorry, but some species just aren't invited to parties. Perhaps, if a fairy godmother waves her wand...