I am trying something slightly different for my blog style today- I'm going short style. However what I really learned from all of these plays is that comedy needs to be intelligent and clever, otherwise it is really just not that funny. Also, as always, character Character CHARACTER! Boy are characters important.
So...
Aimee: I’m not really sure how I feel about this play. I suppose it has some interesting bits I can use- like a ten minute play can go pretty fast and doesn’t really have to make a whole lot of sense. Well, more like it doesn’t have to be about something necessarily feasible. There are some interesting ideas in this play but I am unsure exactly whether or not they are expressed in a way I can fully get behind. I mean- really? Plus I feel that maybe it is trying just a little too hard to put comedy and tragedy together and instead it just seems contrived.
Anything For You: Well, one thing is for sure. Sex is funny. Most of the time anyway- but definitely in the case of this play. For me what is really the best part of this play is the language. The discourse is rapid and clever. Repetition – like the “time bomb, tick tick” to be followed later with a “no. tick” is really funny. Subject-wise, not so much, but language-wise very very hilarious. But what really gets me about this play is how touching it is. I mean- I just feel for Gail. She is in such a dreadful situation and she just has to keep going. It is simply heart wrenching. I think this is the mark of good writing. You want to make an audience laugh through the tears. Funny and sad, but mostly real. I believe this play. Nothing about it seems outside the realms of possibility and the dialogue just solidifies its naturalness. I love that. I think really good writing is the kind that is believable. The situation doesn’t have to be but the characters do.
Duet for Bear and Dog: This play is utterly ridiculous and I love it. I love the strong characters and the way they speak. I have seen more than a few bears in my life and the brown ones really do seem like they would be worried about being carted off to walk tight ropes in tutus- and a lot of the dogs I know (especially the ones with dumb names, although I suppose Boris isn’t really a dumb name compared to something like Sunshine Bimbo) probably do think and talk like the dog. I suppose Homeward Bound really did make me ready for a play like this. Of course animals speak but we can’t understand them. But mostly it is just really cute- but also fascinating. Also, rhyme can be funny. As can cussing. The moment when She tells Dog to Sit, and Dog answers with “shit”- that is very clever and funny to me. I don’t feel like reality was lost with this play. Sure, we are watching a rather ridiculous intercourse between a dog and a bear (and a few silly humans) but they are still realistic, or natural. I feel for them. And the ending is still really beautiful. But mostly the key is that I respond to the characters. The play has believable characters, interesting plot, all the things I like in the plays I read and all the plays I would like to write.
The Philadelphia: Oh David Ives. I think what I love so much about his writing is the pace and rhythm of the dialogue. That and the popular culture references. I know some people are really against pop culture references in plays but I personally love them. There is so much scope in pop culture. I also find Ives excessively clever. He uses rhyme a lot in his plays and I think it just adds to the humour. It’s funny when things rhyme because you can feel smart and laugh. He doesn’t hit you over the head with “look it’s funny” he actually makes you think at the same time. I think writing needs to be clever and for comedy well thought out, fast paced, well-developed characters, and an interesting plot makes a huge difference.
Moral of my story:
Good characters + Interesting Plot + Naturalness + Occasional rhymes + Cleverness
= Good 10 Minute Play!
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