breakinglight11 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
breakinglight11) wrote2020-09-01 07:20 pm
breakinglight11) wrote2020-09-01 07:20 pm
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Reflections on 31 Plays in 31 Days 2020
Well, shut my mouth. I’ve completed my one-scene-of-drama-every-day-for-a-month challenge for the ninth year in a row, and instead of it being a chore on top of all my other work, it was actually useful for the first time in ages in making progress toward completing projects.
Admittedly, it’s partially due to a mistake on my part. Due to losing planning ability from quarantine-related time blindness, Bernie and I started this year’s Hawking piece much later than we usually do. That meant that while usually we are taken up with editing an early draft of that play in August, this year we were actually generating it. So having to write something every day anyway actually assisted with that, and we made good, if late, headway.
Because of these timing issues, in previous years 31P31D has been primarily, often overwhelmingly, taken up with Hawking scenes. This year, we had of course a decent chunk, but I also spent a lot of time on my new side project, a sitcom series performed as screenplay readings over Zoom, Dream Machine. I started it to have something to make and perform while socially distancing, but I’ve enjoyed writing it and found getting together with lovely actor friends to read it to be a source of genuine joy during these rather bleak times. So I’ve devoted a fair bit of time and energy to it.
We’ve done three episodes already, and I used the 31P31D challenge to make a lot of progress on episode four. They’re purposefully designed to be banged together quickly, rather than requiring my usual lengthy and rigorous editing process, so they’re not exactly perfect, but I’ve been happy at how funny they are, without completely sacrificing character or pathos. I’m glad to be able to record another one soon, since they’ve been such a bright spot for me. At this point I’ve done some imagining for a full season, as if it were a real TV show, and even drafted a handful of scenes for future episodes this month.
- Hawking part 7 - 4
- Hawking – 1
- Cousins Crane – 1
- Dream Machine - 11
- Dead Tongues - 1
- A Libertine Abroad – 13
1. Justin Hawking – 13
2. Leah Lucchesi – 8
3. Peter Morgan – 6
4. Rosaline Pembroke – 6
5. Meredith Barry – 5
6. Nathaniel Hawking – 5
7. Annabel Broadwater – 3
8. Ryan Dresden – 3
9. Cassius Evans – 3
10. Victoria Hawking – 3
11. Derek Kaplan – 3
12. Kristen Kramer – 3
13. Theo Pryce - 3
14. Martin Quincy – 3
15. Emmeline Broadwater – 2
16. Josie Carraway - 2
17. Devon Chambers – 2
18. Clara Hawking – 2
19. Cassius Chan - 1
20. Freddy Crane – 1
21. Frederick Dare – 1
22. Helen Dare - 1
23. Alice Doyle – 1
24. Beatrice Hawking - 1
25. Park Mom – 1
26. Mariel Starling - 1
27. Violet Strallan – 1
28. Arthur Swann – 1
29. Tom Vincent - 1
30. Whisper – 1
I notice there’s a lot more variation of projects, and a wider range of characters included. Story leads are always much more frequently occurring, like Justin Hawking, who’s getting his own play for the first time, and Leah Lucchesi, the main character of Dream Machine, and the characters that respectively surrounds them. Mrs. Hawking, who is usually heavily represented, occurred only three times this year, due to the fact that she won’t appear in the Justin side story. Nathaniel always shows up a lot, because he’s so easy to write for.
I also found myself thinking this year about which actors I was writing for more than I ever have previously. Of course a lot of the characters are new and have not been cast yet, but I took note of who played the previously existing characters and who showed up most often. Far and away the actor I wrote the most material for was Eric Cheung, with him having played Justin Hawking, Ryan Dresden, and Freddy Crane, for a total of 17 scenes. Others frequently occurring were Naomi Ibatsitas as Leah with 8, and Liz Salazar as Meredith, Christian Krenek as Nathaniel, and Cari Keebaugh as Mrs. Hawking and Josie, each totaling 5.
It was a nice change to feel motivated by the experience rather than burdened. In fact, I pulled massively head during the process, eleven days in advance at the farthest point. As a result, I enjoyed actually DOING the challenge, rather than simply having done it, more than I have in years.
Admittedly, it’s partially due to a mistake on my part. Due to losing planning ability from quarantine-related time blindness, Bernie and I started this year’s Hawking piece much later than we usually do. That meant that while usually we are taken up with editing an early draft of that play in August, this year we were actually generating it. So having to write something every day anyway actually assisted with that, and we made good, if late, headway.
Because of these timing issues, in previous years 31P31D has been primarily, often overwhelmingly, taken up with Hawking scenes. This year, we had of course a decent chunk, but I also spent a lot of time on my new side project, a sitcom series performed as screenplay readings over Zoom, Dream Machine. I started it to have something to make and perform while socially distancing, but I’ve enjoyed writing it and found getting together with lovely actor friends to read it to be a source of genuine joy during these rather bleak times. So I’ve devoted a fair bit of time and energy to it.
We’ve done three episodes already, and I used the 31P31D challenge to make a lot of progress on episode four. They’re purposefully designed to be banged together quickly, rather than requiring my usual lengthy and rigorous editing process, so they’re not exactly perfect, but I’ve been happy at how funny they are, without completely sacrificing character or pathos. I’m glad to be able to record another one soon, since they’ve been such a bright spot for me. At this point I’ve done some imagining for a full season, as if it were a real TV show, and even drafted a handful of scenes for future episodes this month.
- Hawking part 7 - 4
- Hawking – 1
- Cousins Crane – 1
- Dream Machine - 11
- Dead Tongues - 1
- A Libertine Abroad – 13
1. Justin Hawking – 13
2. Leah Lucchesi – 8
3. Peter Morgan – 6
4. Rosaline Pembroke – 6
5. Meredith Barry – 5
6. Nathaniel Hawking – 5
7. Annabel Broadwater – 3
8. Ryan Dresden – 3
9. Cassius Evans – 3
10. Victoria Hawking – 3
11. Derek Kaplan – 3
12. Kristen Kramer – 3
13. Theo Pryce - 3
14. Martin Quincy – 3
15. Emmeline Broadwater – 2
16. Josie Carraway - 2
17. Devon Chambers – 2
18. Clara Hawking – 2
19. Cassius Chan - 1
20. Freddy Crane – 1
21. Frederick Dare – 1
22. Helen Dare - 1
23. Alice Doyle – 1
24. Beatrice Hawking - 1
25. Park Mom – 1
26. Mariel Starling - 1
27. Violet Strallan – 1
28. Arthur Swann – 1
29. Tom Vincent - 1
30. Whisper – 1
I notice there’s a lot more variation of projects, and a wider range of characters included. Story leads are always much more frequently occurring, like Justin Hawking, who’s getting his own play for the first time, and Leah Lucchesi, the main character of Dream Machine, and the characters that respectively surrounds them. Mrs. Hawking, who is usually heavily represented, occurred only three times this year, due to the fact that she won’t appear in the Justin side story. Nathaniel always shows up a lot, because he’s so easy to write for.
I also found myself thinking this year about which actors I was writing for more than I ever have previously. Of course a lot of the characters are new and have not been cast yet, but I took note of who played the previously existing characters and who showed up most often. Far and away the actor I wrote the most material for was Eric Cheung, with him having played Justin Hawking, Ryan Dresden, and Freddy Crane, for a total of 17 scenes. Others frequently occurring were Naomi Ibatsitas as Leah with 8, and Liz Salazar as Meredith, Christian Krenek as Nathaniel, and Cari Keebaugh as Mrs. Hawking and Josie, each totaling 5.
It was a nice change to feel motivated by the experience rather than burdened. In fact, I pulled massively head during the process, eleven days in advance at the farthest point. As a result, I enjoyed actually DOING the challenge, rather than simply having done it, more than I have in years.