MY THOUGHTS ON ACTORS WRITING
MY THOUGHTS ON ACTORS WRITING
Welcome back to my blog, in this instalment I talk about my thoughts on Actors writing. From the get-go I think it is important to make my position crystal clear, and my position is that I am a supporter of Actors writing, I am a supporter of Actors creating their own work. In fact this kind of ethos was ingrained in me at me at Drama school.
In Drama school I did a number of modules that fostered the idea of self created work. For example in one of the modules I had to create a character from scratch, and from that I had to write an extended monologue, based off that character and the idea being this could be the foundation to doing a one-person show.
In fact after leaving Drama school I had success in putting on a one-man show, not based on the character I created for that module. I created my show with all the tools I gained from the entirety of my course. (a YouTube link to my one-man show is below)
I made a one-man show about what it means to be black in the western world, I did two runs of the show in london, in 2019, and in 2020 I took my show to the lagos theatre festival so I know this process works and if I can encourage more of you to engage in this process, then happy days!
I think it's important to highlight how I got the idea for this blog, so I was on twitter and I was scrolling through twitter then I came across a post from from an actress I know, disclaimer I am not throwing shade on anyone!
So I came across this post and it said something like “um, tried this writing thing and it's not working” what she said is fair enough, but I think what would have been powerful is if this person had said one of two things. Firstly: I tried this writing thing, and it is not working out, however I have a great idea so if anyone on my timeline wants to collaborate or, if any writers want to come and help me out then feel free to do so.
Second, I tried this writing thing it's not working, now I have a great idea, does anyone out there have any tips on how I can develop as a writer,bor can anybody recommend books or lectures that I can watch.
My feeling is that this person may have come across a piece of work by Michaela Cole or possibly a piece of work by Phoebe Waller Bridge, and maybe they were like let me try my hand at this writing thing. I feel when this individual tried to start writing maybe they tried to write the next sopranos, I think it's important that when, and if you decide to start writing that you start small, because you know, Rome was not built in a day.
Its important to note the writers on The Sopranos have been writing for years, and have been honing and improving their craft. One of the reasons I think it’s important for actors to write is because I feel it is empowering, because in this industry more often than not all the power is taken out of your hands. You have no control over what happens, but when you decide to write and put on a show or when you decide to write a film or tv show all the power is in your hands.
I think the process of writing gives one a greater respect for the craft of writing but also for the craft of Acting, I think it is useful to have this skill in your toolbox, another reason why I think actors should write is because you might find yourself in a situation where you are being cast in roles that allowing you to be showcased in your best light, or maybe you are not getting to flex certain Acting muscles and by writing for yourself you can flex those muscles.
It is also important to talk about writing styles as well, as an analogy I would say writing styles are the seasonings that you put on your meat or food in general. For example spring onions, black pepper, sea salt, turmeric obviously I won't go into to too much detail about my cooking, because it's not about cooking. A few writing styles I have made a note of are the following
Beckett-esque
So maybe when you approach your writing it is Beckett-esque, so it's somewhat off-center and it is absurdist theatre and for me, I live in this Becket-esque space, I am huge fan.
Pinter-esque
With this style of writing everything exists in the subtext, and if you haven't seen, or read anything by Pinter or watched anything by Pinter do yourself a favour and go and do that,
Sorkin-esque
This is a writing style that is very text heavy and the dialogue comes fast and furious. If you have not seen any or Sorkins movies or read any of his plays go and do that.
Devising
Maybe you might do some devising, and from the work you have devised, then you will be able to write up your discoveries.
These are just a few writing styles, that I thought of, there are many more out there. If you found this useful please let me know in the comments.
HERE IS THE LINK TO MY ONE MAN SHOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDZVYw_cGvs
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