 which will come after the action hit Jeremy. What is it in the bag? Oh really? No, you're kidding. No, don't eat it. You have to eat it. I'll watch you. I'll watch you. So it's a play, it's also a meta-theatrical free writing class. Free writing class where so after, so we'll do the action which is going to be 45 minutes of us writing and those of you in the interwebs will be writing or doing whatever work that you're doing today and then we'll do the dialogue which is us talking about your work your work your creative process, what you're working on what you're doing and together we'll work to answer your questions and oh yes, right, so those of you in the interlands, interland, the interweb interlands who have a question you can tweet it to us and Drew is going to tell you where we tweaked to. Watch me work SLP and tweet the hashtag new play with your questions. Say it again. Watch me work SLP hashtag new play. Watch me work SLP hashtag new play. That's our Twitter address. That's our Twitter stuff. So your question has to be kind of short and so we're going to work and I don't know about you, I got a lot of work to do. You got a lot of work to do today? I got, you guys look it's really serious today, everyone's like concentrated. Okay I'm going to set this timer Drew is going to back me up with his phone because this timer sometimes does not want to work and here we go, the work session begins. 20 seconds. Oh we got cheated out of 20 seconds. Anybody who really wants to keep working 20 more seconds. I'm going to pretend to work. Done? Yep. Yay, alright. That was the that was the action action. That was the action part. That was the action part. That was the action part. That was the action part. I was just remembering I was I was in another country about a year and a half ago and I had a tour guide and I had my phone and I wanted him to take my picture in various you know, various times you know. And he was a tour guide and he was so nice he would carry my big backpack and he'd say oh Mr. I forget his name oh sir you know please don't carry my backpack and he'd laugh and he'd say oh don't worry I carried an AK-47 or whatever big gun through the jungle so this is nothing. But he was holding my phone and he would go action and he'd get me to do things. Interesting landscape. So I just remember that right now in Myanmar that they also call Burma. There he was. Blah, look at all these people. So hi. What a question. This is the dialogue part of the play. Usually we don't separate it like that. Those of you who are not familiar with theater we kind of do them together but this time we're doing we're separating them like an egg from its yolk. Yes sir. Yes great sneakers by the way. What's your name? Kirk. Kirk? Great. He's a little fixing though. Yes. And a couple of characters. Yes. One of them really needs to do something completely different in the whole second half. I'm curious what you think about when you've got to just take someone a character out of his track and put him on some other path. What are the kind of things you have to look out for? What things do you want to make sure you do? Yes. That's like a real question. So did you hear your voice is really great. He's written a play. It's a two character play. You've written it. Great. You've produced it. It's been produced. Fantastic. Now you want to do a rewrite. Right? One of the characters needs to do something completely different in the second half of the play. So what do we think about that? My first question is from where does that note come from? From where does that note come? I wanted the second part to be more balanced. His partner got a lot more of the drama from the second part. His story is just as good as I wanted. Okay. So it comes from you. So when the note comes from the writer, that's good. Producers are great. We all love them. Drama Turks are awesome. They're wonderful. We can't live without them. But the best place for a note to come is from your own gut. So it's coming from your gut. That's a good sign. And you want character, we'll call them character B to have as much going on as character A. Because it's a little unbalanced right now. So it's all coming from the right place. I don't see a problem with it. What you have to do is because it's been produced right? So that's hard, right? With each, you get more attached. With each clap of the hand you get more like oh, it's so good. I'm so fabulous. Right, good for me. She has to step away from all of that and you're very brave. I would just say, just talk to character or her character B. Just talk to her and say what's going on with you and what do you want to do with some kind of mission. I don't think it's bad to do a rewrite under those circumstances when the note comes from you and when you can if, though, you're using work on that play to keep you from working on something else. Okay, well, just ask yourself that question. What questions do you usually ask me? Well, what do you want? What can I do for you? You know what I mean? What do you want? What can I do for you? You're here. I'm not hearing you in the second half of the play. What's up? Why are you silent? You know, that kind of thing. Right? Okay, so those kinds of questions. Just like a friend. Say you have a friend who you're really tight with and all of a sudden they're like, oh, it's nothing. It's okay. You don't care about me anyway. You like him better. That's what they're thinking. Yeah, you know, right? Drew, did you raise her? You have a Twitter question. Oh, this is exciting. Someone out there, yes. From Gladys Santiago. From Gladys Santiago. How much material do you tend to keep during these work sessions? Everything. How much material do I tend to keep? I mean, you know, we have an incinerator. A huge incinerator at the public theater. And in that incinerator have burned many people. Sorry, that's horrible. That's not true. But in that incinerator burn all the pages from the various writers and residents or master writer chairs. Which there is only one. But, yeah. No, I keep everything. Because, you know, does anybody know, has anybody ever heard of Pema Children? Pema Children? If you haven't heard of her, she's awesome. She's a Buddhist nun and she's also very funny. She, I don't think I've ever heard her talk about writing, but what she says is her big quote is, everything that arises is for the fresh, which means everything is helpful to get you there. To enlighten you. Everything is helpful. So, these pages are helpful. And these pages are actually helpful. Yeah. And so should your pages, because actually it's about your work, Gladys Santiago, about you. So, everything you write during these work sessions is helpful. Or like the Bhagavad Gita says, no effort is ever wasted. It doesn't mean though that you should stack the papers up in your apartment so you can't get out the door. So, keep a path from the door. Always. Yes, Carol. Yes. Right. Right. Remember Kate last week or the week before? She was sitting right there, a woman named Kate, was talking about how we could write the big scene. Carol's like, I usually write sequentially and now I'm not writing in sequence. What am I going to do? Because I might go crazy. Join the club. You're not alone if you lose your mind. Um, just keep telling yourself the story. If you need the story in sequence to make sense to keep your sanity, just as you walk along, tell yourself, what's the story? The story is, blah blah blah blah blah blah. Whatever. And you tell yourself the story. And then as you write it, who cares, you know what I mean? If you have an outline or a card, use cards and put them up on the wall sometimes. When you go spelunking, caving, you have a yellow rope that you hold on to. Something to hold on to so you don't go crazy or you don't lose your way in the cave, underground, and we never hear from you again. You know? So you have something to hold on to. So what's the story? Tell yourself the story as you walk along. Maybe put it on cards. And then it doesn't matter. You can write them in anywhere you want. You know? You're welcome. Anybody else? Hi, Esther. Writing an opening scene and the character um, spending um, some time with the character in silence. We're at a whole lot of dialogue. Right? Maybe like ten minutes and try to trust like or should I be out immediately in dialogue? Like we're just going to open up with a lot more um, nuances and I'm even thinking like 15 minutes you're like, you know, not being all jumpy with the dialogue and try to bring people into the character in silence. Sure. And like, is that okay to trust her and try to do it? Yes. Esther says, so she's starting her play and her character is in silence for maybe 15 minutes. Like still silence? They're dead? No. No, they're moving around. Well that counts. We start our 45 minutes of our play in silence. You know what I mean? So you can you can have silence at the beginning of your play or in the middle or at the end. You know? It's okay. You don't have to Yeah, you don't have to be, you know, isn't it nice sometimes like you have a friend and sometimes they don't say anything and it's great. It's just like, you know, and then you have a friend you're always like, and you're like, whoa, you know? So sure, you can have 15 minutes of your play at the beginning of the silence and you have your actor in there and they'll work it out and you'll see how it feels. You know? But yeah, but all the gestures are very telling, right? Everything they do is going to tell you something. It's cool. It sounds good to me. Right. Right. Right. What's your name? Evie. So Evie is writing a long play and you've never written such a long a long thing of things. Yeah. So she's never written such a long thing and she wonders how to do that. How do you keep from going crazy? That's like the question question of every question. How do I keep from going crazy? Right? So how do you keep from going crazy when you're writing something really long? I would say if it helps you put an end point there. Right? So you get in your car and you go, I'm just going to drive! Because east, you know, west, right? I mean, because east you wouldn't get very far, you'd hit the water, but west, right? And so you might go crazy if you don't say, I'm going to go to... You get to pick, right? So you get to have an end point just for the sake of keeping your sanity while you're walking along. Right? It's that rope. It's really, if you've ever gone caving or gone dating or whatever, that yellow rope that you hold on to, you go you know what I mean? I'm not going to go crazy. Or if I go crazy, at least I'll have this yellow rope. You know, which makes going crazy just so much nicer. Right, right. That's good. What's your name? Renia. So Renia's writing and she says when she writes, sometimes she gets stuck and she thinks like, oh this isn't going to make any sense or this isn't going to work. So what are some of the things that we can do when we get stuck and you feel like this isn't going to work, this isn't going to make any sense? No. Number one, know that everybody who writes, everybody I've ever met who writes and everybody I've ever heard of pretty much goes through that kind of thing. So number one, you're not alone. So it doesn't mean that you shouldn't be writing. That's the first thing. But also what we do here, we set the timer and we say I'm just going to write I'm just going to put my hand on the page or on the keyboard and just write something, anything it doesn't matter. Because what's happening Renia is you have the critical mind that's no we all got it and it's telling you what to do and what to think about what you're doing. And that critical mind is very helpful but it comes later after you've had a draft. Like Kurt, he has a whole draft now he can turn on this critical mind for the rewrite. So it's not a bad thing it's just the wrong time for it to come in. So I would say just make a daily practice and dedicate yourself to your daily practice of writing even if it's just 15 minutes a day. The best exercise and probably the only exercise I do is write. And they know like Jeremy's one of my students I always say like what should we do answer right what's an exercise right it's the same thing just sit down and like even if it's like and a lot of times it is and that just means you're on the path. You're on the path because that's what the path looks like sometimes you know good question about this I don't know I'll make it a question about you though watch let's see because someone asked a question about this last week but maybe it's the same question that'll be good. No that's why this is here because because it's about you that's the thing a lot of us have difficulty staying with ourselves you know what I mean we'll do anything we'll come to a play that's set up to be a free writing class for you and you know what and not just you but you want to come around and see what I'm doing but it's not about me it's actually about you and that's why I'm here I could do this at home you know what I mean but I'm sitting here because I want to hang out with you guys and there's no application process the only application process is do you have the time you want to come on in it's free sit out you know what I mean a lot of us have a hard time just being with ourselves as artists sitting down and just getting the work done so I want to sit with you to be your yellow rope for an hour as we walk in the cave we each have a cave and I want to be with you for an hour while you walk through the caves of your own imagination and then you know you'll write things and you'll be happy er than you are now that's the idea yes Esther again another question in writing sometimes you can go deeper which is like this part it's like errr and um what's deeper and you kind of you kind of know what deep is deep is like deep is so much for so many people this is deep but if you're getting across the notes you go deeper right so you think so Esther's getting notes about her writing go deeper you know go deeper and she's like well I know what deep is and a lot of notes the same kind of notes from a lot of people so they might they might have some validity right and how do you go deeper it's like I mean I'm not gonna I did it once in the Ansbacher we were doing a talk and I did this once I was doing a talk with Oscar and I did it once which years ago I'm gonna do it again so this is like normal right and this I'm gonna do it here we go let me see I was young then deep that's that's the difference right so what you do I can't believe I'm gonna get up and stand up but that's deep right and you went right that's where it is right so you want to go there every screenplay does that it doesn't have to everything isn't like right but if you're getting that note you might have material that might you know make people feel wow this is moving but you're not really really really going there so go there because again you have your yellow rope and you'll be able to come out a lot of us don't go deep with material that needs that deep shit because we think we'll never get out again you'll go down there and you'll be lost and you'll be like you know in the cave of your own mind forever but it's not true okay you develop the ability to go deep and then get back up again and that's like being an artist or a martial artist that was fun I can't believe I did that years ago with Oscar and he did the same thing what are you doing jumping on the stage anybody else oh yes hi short stories and poems that you've written what else is historical like someone dead or okay okay so you're writing short stories remind me of your name Denise okay tell me again you want to turn with music that you're going to write the music okay so it's a whole like beautiful multimedia thing based on some short stories and some poems that somebody else was written I'd say again and this is the yellow rope thing the writer is has died but they are still living and they are there for you to collaborate with okay they're there so unless you want to do what the some gentleman was here a week ago from then I think he was neo-futurist doing something with I think not but anyway he was like you know doing that neo-futurist thing that they do right but it sounds like if you want to do that and I cut up a door in the air make confetti gay but you might want to collaborate with them work alongside them as if they were living so really work with the writer and I think between your skill and talent and their skill and talent and the work that already exists you'll find a way if you feel like you're trying to insert yourself into it it's probably less than appropriate follow their lead I just follow I just follow you just lean you just listen you just take their cues they're still living you just hold their hand they're the yellow rope you hold the hand of the Gershwin's and the Du Bois I had a lot of hands I grew arms we all held hands like an Indian god he's great anybody with a burning question yes sir from the nationals sure go the nationals there you go for the last few years I'll write these plays and they'll have like one or two performances right that's it I was just hoping you could kind of speak to a certain like have you ever had any frustration in like oh we didn't have that you know 16 performance run over two weeks right right yeah so what's your name again I'm David so David has written several plays and they've only gotten like they've been produced but only like 16 performances and you wanted to have a lot things to have a longer run I would say don't don't worry about it I mean how long have you been a writer I guess like like six years like every day fantastic so David's been a writer six years every day all the time a real writer a real live writer right here and I'm serious which is great I would say that you're just on the path you know what I mean and there's gonna come a point where you do a play it's gonna get a much longer run I mean some of my plays only get done at certain theaters in certain parts of the country we can always look at what we've got and go darn I want more but you're doing great six years every day all the time so you're actually dedicating yourself he's dedicating himself to his practice right which is awesome and you're getting produced it's funny I was reading something just before I came here and it says the master do you know the Dao De Ching anybody you know or the I think I'm saying it right the Dao De Ching so it says the master or the one who has reached some understanding is someone who never questions the way things are but always accepts them as they are so the master is someone who goes okay 16 shows a three week run that's good like that Broadway show we opened and closed that's good we'll do that so they kind of just kind of go with the flow which is what it says on my arm three times trying to learn how to do it and Sanskrit submit your will to the will of God go with the flow right so we have to learn to be to work hard and apply ourselves every day but also be okay with what's you know we're okay with what's coming we're okay with what's here we accept things as they are and that's like enlightenment which is like scary but that's what it is but thank you but keep coming here we keep writing this anybody else yes one more person yes how we do yes hi oh great sure so you're so you've read this play and you love it and you're you're an actor or you're a producer you're an actor and so you want to you want to help him get the play done somewhere right sure sure sure so you've seen have you seen this actor this writer do reading have you seen the degree have you talked to them oh but but you know but you're but that's great but you're you're scared but you're also very respectful right I mean that's great you have someone who's like going gee how do I approach a writer I want to be respect I just want to go in there and say hey man come on let's do your play right that's like we run we run right so what you might want to do is have a little bit of a game plan where you might want to do this play maybe if you have contacts already with some producers right and then approach him and you can say hi this is who I am I love your play I'm connected with this theater and this theater and maybe we could have a coffee to talk about you know it'd be great you know I'd love to help you kind of get it on its feet somewhere for production and the playwright is going to be like or maybe not you know but most playwrights we are playwrights because we like to get our work done you know you know what I mean and be as honest as you can about what you can offer and what you of course cannot offer okay that's that will be very helpful and so we keep our expectations you know reasonable okay thank you anymore everybody's happy everybody's happy now oh yes right right so what's your name Ava so Ava writes in different genres she writes plays she writes short stories and right now she's writing some short stories and she's upset is that what she said okay she's upset that they're not plays you're not a play yeah that's kind of like if you have a little boy child you know you go darn you're not a girl you know I mean let's be you know right it's a boy it's a girl whatever you know what I'm saying so you want to love it for exactly what it is and if you want to adapt it go ahead I usually know what things are as I'm writing them you know what I mean they have different feels to them even though elements of a play a play might have elements of film in it I do that a lot or a novel might have elements of theater in it those kinds of things they cross a lot but I definitely know the experience I had to look like you know it's a novel or it's a play or it's a movie you know so it feels different but I don't yeah we don't gain anything by disliking the form of the thing that's coming toward us imagine your friends coming toward you so what I mean they'll walk the other way or they'll you know they'll start doing this as they approach you and that's you know so be happy you're writing short stories yay you're writing I mean gee you're writing down and you enjoy you're enjoying your process that's like the best thing in the world if you're a writer that's all for you oh I'm sorry sir I forgot you your orange glasses please alright I'm just going to put this in your hand oh okay I've got one scene that needs to be rewritten in the screenplay bad guy interaction with the main girl alright do we spell out why he's such a bad guy or would we just leave it up in the air my manager wants it to be like boom why do we make this guy we're going to take him down I want it to be more of an existential one what do you think I would say great question did you hear his question everybody he projected so well right so he's got some issues on page 39 I love screenplay writers don't you page 39 he wants it to be one way and he wants it to be another way I would say go with what you want go with what you want because it's what you want and you're writing it in all fairness though go ahead this is draft like 6 right so we've been around the whole thing at this point I started to feel like we've been through two directors two production companies already like looking at it maybe they're really missing now I still continue to disagree but maybe I'm wrong we'll do what your manager said I mean really if you've been doing what you want and you feel ready to change your mind then change your mind I'll agree with whatever you say I'll just reflect no because it's your word but I appreciate you asking the question because sometimes it's really hard to know what to do somebody says one something somebody says something else if you've tried it your way and you feel like it's not working but I would bet that you've been through the production and directors not because of what's going on on page 39 I bet that's not it we're pretty good we're tired we're trying to figure out where the guy's going just write this thing for me why don't you write it for him and then not put it in it's a film it might even end up on the floor the cutting room floor that's great scene write it for your manager because you love your manager and he's looking out for you and then put it in and not put it in have two drafts here's a draft you get in You know, it's probably gonna be right in like five seconds, right? Yes, it's probably already written. Yeah. Yeah, so it's already written. So you win. You win. It's great to win. Thank you for your question. Thank you. Okay. So we're gonna say bye. Thanks for coming, you guys. Yay! That's it for today. Oh! Oh, look! Oh, look! We have University of Louisville. Oh, shit. Oh, this is scary. This is my guess like that. Can we talk after? Can we talk? Okay. Yay! We never go outside anymore. We'll stay inside. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks for coming. Thank you, guys. This is a good crowd today. To your team's credit. To your social media. No, but you know, but really, because I really think that, and I was telling Jesse, like, because next week we're not gonna have it, because it's been drunk. But I think why? I mean, we can have it. I'm gonna be here. Thank you. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye!