Playwrights

As 2B’s only Playwright, the pressure was on me early on to lay a solid foundation for my class to build upon. From drafting the plot outline while I was overseas in China, to the hour-long calls with Jensen (Director) to create the plot, I believe I have given my best and hopefully done my class proud. The scripting came to a rough start, with comments on the scripts coherence and logic being raised in the first workshop. Jensen and I worked long and hard to improve the plot. I recall staying up past 12pm all 5 days of the week at one point. Even after the June holidays, issues on the script’s congruency and quality were constantly raised. It was not easy, to step off my pedestal and not let my pride get the better of me, to consider the countless streams of feedback, making around 10 versions of the script. That, was not the only problem however. Following the model script, our plot was overly long, 5600 words at its highest. With the 15 minute time limit, many of the rehearsals were plagued with frustrations regarding our lengthy play. This problem was discovered as early as the second scriptwriting workshop. In the following months, I relentless cut down on scenes and paraphrased lines to cut the script. With each opportunity comes with the hope of growth. And fortunately, I can proudly say I came out the other side a better version of myself. The cutting process as I mentioned was indubitably challenging. I had to cut out countless scenes I initially deemed “works of art”. I winced as I watched my meticulously crafted scenes deleted. One of the first things I had to cut out was a poem I drafted for the climax! But soon enough, 5000 turned to 4000, 4000 turned to 3000. In the final phases of preparations, I cut out parts of a scene that I’d left untouched the entire period. I did this to ensure the teachers could witness the full extent of the classes hard work. I learnt you should never give up the forest to save the tree. Every success story involves sacrifices, be it “essential” scenes in the play, or cancelling plans to attend rehearsals. Whether or not 2B Drama Challenge is a success, depends on the teachers, but I can definitely choose to impact the project in my own meaningful ways.

Written by Menglong