Since Shazam has been confirmed for a sequel and its said that the shooting for it is gonna start this year, i decided to finish the Shazam 2 trailer i started to make...
If youâre new to playwriting and want to practice playwriting, there is no better way than to learn how to write a 10-minute play. Not only is the piece short and sweet, but it makes it easy to practice over and over without wasting time. You can feel free to make errors, write dumb lines of dialogue, and tell a story that makes no sense all at the cost of 10 pages or so. (If that seems like a lot to you, remember that play pages are much shorter than fiction pages.)
For those who are new to theater, a 10-minute play is a short story that lasts no more than 10 minutes long. It usually is a vignette in a series of plays at a festival or competition and offers a great way to practice writing for theater. Below, youâll learn how to write a 10-minute play and tips for starting out.
Requirements Of A 10-Minute Play
1. STICK TO 10-MINUTES
This is a fairly simple rule to understand, but when youâre writing a 10-minute play, you actually must stick to the 10 minutes allotted to you. You wouldnât ignore a word count rule for a short story, so neither should you ignore a time limit for a play.
As a writer, the timing is somewhat beyond your control if you are not also directing your piece, as the speed at which lines are said can change the pace of your story. However, to make sure youâre on target when writing, be sure to read each draft out loud with a timer on hand.
(I mean it. Your story really has to be 10-minutes long if you want to have a chance anywhere!)
2. CREATE A STORY WITH AN ARC
It might seem obvious that you should write a story with an arc of some sort, but often what can happen in 10-minute plays is that youâll end up writing a sketch instead of play. While the difference is minute, a sketch tends to be working towards a punchline, even in dramatic instances, whereas a play has an arc to either the story or character.
Often a play can have something similar to a punchline called the climax, but that isnât what the story is completely working towards. Instead, the climax just marks the apex of the story, not what the story has been working towards. The action following the climax is equally as important to understanding the story, whereas in a sketch, the punchline is the end of the narrative.
Additionally, in sketches, there is no character development or purpose to the story besides the punchline. For a play, even characters do not change, there is a realization or arc to the narrative beyond this final point.
How To Write A 10-Minute Play
When writing a 10-minute play, any method can be used to brainstorm the standard parts of any story, such as the character, world, and so forth. For best results, focus your brainstorm for a 10-minute play on the same things you would for a short story.
Whether you do these things before you begin writing your play or after, is up to your short story writing approach. However you do it though, youâll want to stick to the following how-to:
1. ASK A QUESTION
According to Sam Graber, every 10-minute play should ask a question. This truly goes for any play in my opinion, but it is something to keep in mind when writing a 10-minute play as it helps you avoid writing a sketch.
Your play can ask any sort of question. It can be a simple one, such as âWhat would happen if someone found their true love two months before their death?â to something more ambiguous like âIs loyalty good?â
Whatever you ask, make this the thesis of your play. It will give your play purpose, keep your story focused, and reveal many other important things like your storyâs theme and motifs.
2. DEVELOP YOUR CHARACTER, CONFLICT, AND SETTING.
This isnât new information. For any story you write, youâll have to develop these things. After youâve asked the main question of your 10-minute play, youâll want to flesh out character, setting, and the conflict that derives from your question.
For theater, character is extremely important as the entire is communicated by people. There isnât a camera for editing, language for someone to read and process, but raw human connection between the actors and the audience.
Because of this, youâll really want to focus on character first and foremost. Develop at least one complex character to intrigue your audience, then if you get stuck, movie on to the conflict that is rooted in your story. After developing that, you can then focus on setting, but know that given the constraints of theater, setting is often attributed to the imagination of the actors and audience, so fleshing out minute details for a 10-minute play may only be helpful for your own brainstorming.
3. SKIP EXPOSITION
As weâve emphasized, you only have 10 minutesâand not a second moreâin your 10-minute play. Given this time constraint, youâll need to skip exposition of any kind to get to the center of your story. While you may be tempted to slip it in with a few lines of dialogue, it really isnât worth the time youâll lose. When you could be pushing the narrative forward, youâll be wasting precious seconds talking about something that the audience likely doesnât need to know.
Keep in mind that in short fiction and even short films, exposition often makes up a few sentences or paragraphs, or the opening shot. But in short fiction, the reader dictates the pace of the story, so there is room for creative exposition and a slower narrative. For short films, you should stray away from exposition, but occasionally films may introduce them because they arenât in time crunch.
But in a 10-minute play, you are bound to that time limit. While many short films would be better without exposition, you really cannot afford in a 10-minute play to waste any time on exposition. If you feel that exposition is necessary in any way, then you may have a full-length play instead of a 10-minute one. In which case, this guide is no longer of use to your narrative.
4. INTRODUCE THE CONFLICT QUICKLY
Just because you skip the exposition, doesnât mean you should take your time introducing the conflict. Introduce the conflict as soon as possible so the audience knows why theyâre following your story right away.
You donât have to introduce it in the first line of dialogue, but ideally in the first minute of the page, the second minute at the latest. Even if you have a more subtle conflict that audience members canât pick up on right away, itâs still essential that you introduce the conflict as soon as possible. Itâs a part of answering the question you asked before you began writing, which brings me toâŠ
5. USE THE PLAY TO ANSWER THE QUESTION YOU ASKED
Your entire play should work to answer the question you asked before you even started your script. This could mean a resounding climax for some stories, or it could mean something more subtle and haunting. Whatever it is, every page, every line, every movement of your play should seek to somehow answer the question you asked at the beginning.
When editing future drafts, look at each part and ask yourself how the piece answers the question. If it doesnât answer the question, rewrite it so that it does or scrap it all together. With only 10 minutes, every single part of your story must answer the question you asked when you began this play.
Tips For Writing A 10-Minute Play
1. GET CREATIVE AND TAKE RISKS
One of the most exciting parts of writing a 10-minute play is the experimentation you can easily incorporate into your story. It can be in a draft, or in the piece itself, but given that you have such a short time, you can really get creative and take risks without wasting tons of time.
So, if itâs your first time writing a 10-minute play, donât stress about getting things right, but instead, let your imagination take over and do things you usually wouldnât think to do. The worst that can happen is youâll have to rewrite the piece, and that will only consist of 10-15 pages.
2. CUT OUT EXTRANEOUS DETAILS
Itâs called a 10-minute play. Unlike a short story, there is an actual time limit to this piece, so cut out anything that isnât relevant to your story. This could be a side character, a scene, or a line of dialogue. Once youâve written your script, look at it with a critical eye and treat every detail of your story like a choice. Ask yourself if it answers your main question you posited at the beginning of this post, and if it doesnât, cut it out.
3. USE ACTION TO ADD DEPTH
Avoid telling the entire story with dialogue alone. You have living, breathing people on stage who can use their bodies, their movement, their expressions to tell even more. Make your story more efficient and jam-pack it with more information by adding in action that signals deeper meanings.
4. MAKE SURE YOUR IDEA IS MEANT FOR A 10-MINUTE PLAY
This is a big problem youâll find in short stories of all types, be it film, fiction, or playwriting. You think you have a great idea for a short story, and then suddenly realize youâve tried to cram a three-act story into a short story.
It doesnât work.
If you are running into continuous issues with your 10-minute play, it may be worth evaluating whether your story is for a short play or a full-length play. If you arenât sure, take a look at what makes a short story (be it fiction, film, or so forth) different.
North Korea: *standing at a balcony while looking at his own people celebrating* ahâŠ..August 15, this the day when Korea is no longer under Japanâs rule. Thank godâŠ.I canât stand him not at all"
South Korea: North!
North Korea: *snaps out of it* huhâŠ.? *turns and sees South Korea* South- I mean Yong Soo, what are you doing here
South Korea: I just came here to say happy liberation day!
North Korea: *raises a brow* ?
South Korea: you know the day when we both got freed by Japan. Itâs today
North Korea: oh yeahâŠ.that day *turns back around to watch everyone celebrating*
South Korea: whatâs the matter North? Youâre usually happy for today
North Korea: thatâs because Iâm having these thoughts in my head. I usually get them every year on this day
South Korea: ohâŠ.what are those thoughts exactly?
North Korea: *turns a bit to look at him* do you really want to know?
South Korea: yes, yes I do
North Korea: hmmâŠ.I was thinking ofâŠ.shooting fireworks right in Japanâs face, thatâs what
South Korea: uhhâŠ..okayâŠ..you do realize that America does that to England, right?
North Korea: yeah I do, but itâs only funner when it happens to Japan. LIGHT UP THOSE FIREWORKS!!!
Random person: bâŠb..but North Korea, when you say fireworks you mean all of them?
North Korea: yesâŠ.ALL OF THEM!!!
Random person: okay, youâre the boss *mutters* my god, he does this every year. I have to admit that he sure has a patriotic side along with a childish side *lights the fireworks*
The nighttime sky is filled with fireworks in the colors of North Koreaâs flag before South Koreaâs flag colors were seen
North Korea: hey, why is your flag colors seen next to mine?
South Korea: wellâŠ.even though weâre no longer a full country, weâre still brothers *smiles*
North Korea: yeahâŠ*smiles back*âŠthatâs true
[Meanwhile]
Japan: *sighs* okay, okay, thatâs enough of showing your patriotic side. Seriously, itâs like 2 oâ clock in the morning and youâre still firing off fireworks. You do realize that Iâm literally that close to you, right?
China: youâre not the only whoâs talking. North Korea is my neighboring country and heâs been doing this nonstop. Itâs starting to get annoying!
Japan: heâs treating me like England and itâs not even funny
