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Adapting Fiction to the Stage
May. 21st, 2014 08:41 pmThese are a few notes on how to adapt a work of fiction (written by yourself or someone else) for the stage, based on the May 2014 MinnSpec meeting with Michael Merriam, Terry Faust, Eli Effinger-Weintraub, and special guest John Heimbuch* of Walking Shadow Theatre Company.
Find the voice that you can do that matches well with the voice of the original writer.
Figure out the major expectations of the audience who is familiar with the source material. Then figuring out bridging material is a lot more fluid.
To find material suited for the stage, look for 1) dialog, and 2) limited set pieces.
1. Dramatize as a realistic play. No breaking of 4th wall, etc.
2. Some amount of narrative bits that are bridging, non-realistic, breaking the 4th wall, etc.
Be aware of when author's voice is a truly key part of the story, and consider how to implement it.
On stage, the things that are NOT being said can be truly powerful, even more so than in a fiction story.
Stories that are posing a question, rather than offering an answer, may work well in script.
Dramatic work is much more expensive to get done than literature, and also usually more limited in visibility.
In Minnesota, dear God, start at Fringe Festival.
Networking for theatre people: go to my show, buy me a drink afterward, and tell me how awesome I am!
As always, do individual research on theatre companies and their preferences.
Really need the feeling of the story building towards something, perhaps even more than in literature (text).
Learn pacing by watching movies esp. theatre adaptations without the sound on. You can see the flow of emotion and action that way.
Have *other* people read the play out loud before you send it anywhere, because you'll see how others interpret dialog etc.
For standard play format, see Samuel French's website, www.samuelfrench.com/submissions
Consider trying to write a play to be able to stage in the most minimal amount of space (examples at WalkingShadow.org).
Weigh the complexity of an effect or prop vs. how much value it adds to the story.
* It was John Heimbuch synchronicity week for me. After the MinnSpec meeting, two different friends on Facebook befriended him, and a third friend was talking about him in another context. Only one of these people was a MinnSpecter. Minneapolis becomes a lot like a small town, if you live here for a while.
#SFWApro
Find the voice that you can do that matches well with the voice of the original writer.
Figure out the major expectations of the audience who is familiar with the source material. Then figuring out bridging material is a lot more fluid.
To find material suited for the stage, look for 1) dialog, and 2) limited set pieces.
1. Dramatize as a realistic play. No breaking of 4th wall, etc.
2. Some amount of narrative bits that are bridging, non-realistic, breaking the 4th wall, etc.
Be aware of when author's voice is a truly key part of the story, and consider how to implement it.
On stage, the things that are NOT being said can be truly powerful, even more so than in a fiction story.
Stories that are posing a question, rather than offering an answer, may work well in script.
Dramatic work is much more expensive to get done than literature, and also usually more limited in visibility.
In Minnesota, dear God, start at Fringe Festival.
Networking for theatre people: go to my show, buy me a drink afterward, and tell me how awesome I am!
As always, do individual research on theatre companies and their preferences.
Really need the feeling of the story building towards something, perhaps even more than in literature (text).
Learn pacing by watching movies esp. theatre adaptations without the sound on. You can see the flow of emotion and action that way.
Have *other* people read the play out loud before you send it anywhere, because you'll see how others interpret dialog etc.
For standard play format, see Samuel French's website, www.samuelfrench.com/submissions
Consider trying to write a play to be able to stage in the most minimal amount of space (examples at WalkingShadow.org).
Weigh the complexity of an effect or prop vs. how much value it adds to the story.
* It was John Heimbuch synchronicity week for me. After the MinnSpec meeting, two different friends on Facebook befriended him, and a third friend was talking about him in another context. Only one of these people was a MinnSpecter. Minneapolis becomes a lot like a small town, if you live here for a while.
#SFWApro