MAY 29 SETTING, BACK STORY, TIME.

Come having read [CP] Tobias Wolf & Sherman Alexie

In class writing: bring to life one or a few or all of these dead lines: : "She has a smile that would break your heart,"  "He was on cloud nine," "He put me at ease," "I wanted to get her into the sack," "My mother is sad and beautiful."

Homework: Find a compelling image: work backward, how did this happen? [and/or] Write a story in which you slow down the event as long as you can.

NOTE: ANY IN-CLASS OR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS CAN BE EXPANDED TO SUBMIT FOR YOUR FINAL FICTION SUBMISSION [final submission due June 5].

MAY 24: CONFLICT AND CHARACTER

FICTION ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE

Read and discuss: George Saunders [CP] in class

In class writing: One line descriptions of people, 10 surprising images, story using only questions. 

FICTION ASSIGNMENT 3: WRITE A STORY IN THREE DISTINCT SCENES.

MAY 22nd 'HOW SHORT IS SHORT?' [In which final drama assignements are due]

Read and discuss: Sheila Heti, Lydia Davis, Raymond Carver [CP]

In class writing: 1: An emotionally charged situation described as a list, each sentence beginning with 'He' 'She' or 'It.' 2: Extravagant lies! "She was late because....." "He lost his...because..." In 4 weeks she will..."

FORMAL CONSTRAINTS ARE LIBERATING!

FICTION ASSIGNMENT 2: WRITE A 300 WORD STORY WITH A CENTRAL CONFLICT.

Dialogue, Setting: May 8

DIALOGUE

Read & Discuss (CP) David Ives

What is the setting? 
How do the scenes work? 
What devices are used to advance the scenes? 
How does the dialog operate?

JOURNAL HOMEWORK: Go to a place you have never been: overhear dialog. Transcribe.

SETTING/CONTENT

Notice how the setting is, or is not evoked in the monologues written in class. 
How does setting work in David Ives? What does it add? How did it work in Sally Clark's play? What would be the essential elements on stage? 

JOURNAL HOMEWORK:  Go to 3 new places and describe as if they were a setting in a play. How would you make a setting work on stage? 

ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE (monologue)


Be sure to read Caryl Churshill's Top Girls for Thursday.

ON BEING A GOOD READER

Good writers are generally good readers first. Here are some very basic tricks to get you thinking. 

PRE-READING

Scan the text you are about to read before you start.

Notice how the text is placed on the page, the units it is offered in (paragraphs, sections, etc.)

If it’s paragraphs: how big are they, how many per page?

Are their section titles? Chapters?

Scan the language itself: does it seem dense, simple?

How long is the text?

How will you tackle it?

Is there a bibliography? Footnotes?

Are there scenes? If so, how long are they? How many?

Studies show that in pre-reading, the mind prepares to receive the information you are about to consume, opening up sufficient space, opening files to organize, etc. 

ACTIVE READING

Writers are active readers. They read with a pencil in hand, ready to circle, underline, scribble in the margin. They note the end of a scene, a well wrought sentence, a word they want to look up.  

They summarize sections.

They describe conflict, characters, sometimes plotting through with different coloured pens to note the arc of characters...

They note language, vocabulary.

They look up words they don’t know, or want to think about more.

They note prose style: what is the average sentence like? Is the language itself important, a character? Or is it more pedestrian, functioning to move plot along?

They ask questions of the text, and themselves.
Is this a literary text, or a genre text?

Scene, Conflict: May 3

Discuss SCENE/CONFLICT

Read (CP) Sally Clark

JOURNAL HOMEWORK: Record one new conflict a day. Does it have literary potential? How so? How does the conflict manifest itself?

CREATING CHARACTER

In class writing exercises (using photographs) (we did this on May 1st)

JOURNAL HOMEWORK: Go to a new, neutral place. Do 3 quick character sketches.

ASSIGNEMENT 2: expand exercises into three scenes (due May 15)

Images for Character Development

Students can use these images to develop characters/monologues:

Here are the images you responded to in class, starting your first monologue exercises. Your homework was to expand one of the four into a polished monologue. Bring that for Tuesday's class.

Introduction to Drama, Monologue: May 1

Basic Intro & Syllabus

INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA
1. MONOLOGUE

What is drama? What is a play?