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George Sapio
Jan 182 min read
Stick It.
The ending, I mean. For me, this is the absolute critical part of a script that makes or breaks the production. I can't say how many...
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George Sapio
Dec 22, 20212 min read
Dancing on a Bed of Nails (or Something Like That)
At its core, theatre is not about telling stories. The core of theatre is taking chances. Everyone involved in the process takes chances....
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George Sapio
Oct 8, 20214 min read
The Submitter's Lament
I just had a convo with a fellow playwright whose work I respect; she was lamenting the lack of recent success in pitching her short...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Mar 17, 20213 min read
How It All Began
So the first play I wrote was Headstrong (“Romance, Sex, Murder, Middle English”). I wasn't planning to write a play. Actually I had...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Jun 6, 20203 min read
#THEATREWILLSURVIVE
COVID-19 and social distancing requirements have closed most theatres. Tragically, some will stay closed permanently. Some theatres will...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Apr 24, 20201 min read
#GOTEEM
There are millions of words teeming around in my nether-wherevers, all jockeying for position to get onto the next page. They don't...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Mar 3, 20202 min read
Not for Nothing, But ...
...You will fail. You will fail a thousand times. Some of these failures will be astonishingly acute. You'll watch your colleagues...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Feb 23, 20203 min read
They Talk Lots Funnier in Comedies
One of the critical elements of both farce and satire is the use of pseudo-naturalistic dialogue--dialogue that sounds completely apropos...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Jan 17, 20202 min read
Writing.
Step one: Have a great idea. Hilarious. Suspenseful. Brilliant! Can't wait to start putting words to parchment—Yay! Step two: Got the...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Sep 16, 20195 min read
Asking for 10-page samples
Having had to negotiate reading 50+ submissions at a time (on more than a few occasions), I favor asking for 10-page samples. This is not...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Jun 9, 20198 min read
Hamlet's Hamartia
So—theoretically—if somebody whacked my beloved old man then proceeded to wed and bed my mom I'd resolutely be set on the path to...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Mar 29, 20193 min read
Development, Part XVII
In my endless quest for places to send my scintillating scribblings, I routinely come across opportunities for play development. Most of...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Mar 20, 20194 min read
De-confusing “Cast Appropriately"
Casting Call BEN: Male, 35-40, large-boned, seems dangerous but really a pussycat. Dark blond hair. ALVY: cast appropriately. The above...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Feb 23, 20192 min read
Giving Yourself Every Advantage, or Shameless Book Plug
We all have different ideas about playwriting and development, and that's great. I've fielded more than a few questions about the...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Dec 7, 20184 min read
Where does a playwright’s responsibility to the audience’s emotional health begin and end?
We like to proclaim proudly that “the best plays are the ones that move the audience, challenge the intellect, and serve as a catalyst...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Nov 19, 20183 min read
Trigger Warnings
A colleague recently posted a New York Times article about trigger warnings with the comment “Nothing ruins a magic trick more than...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Sep 28, 20182 min read
Bad Decisions Make Great Drama.
It's a truth. Look at any great play and see what the bad decision was. Someone fucked up hugely. Someone got badly burned. Someone got...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Sep 12, 20185 min read
How much control is too much? How much control is not enough?
There's an ongoing discussion (started around Euripides' time, I think) about how far playwrights should go to protect the intent, the...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Jul 8, 20186 min read
“Ehhhh, Mr. Sapio...this is Harlan Ellison. We need to talk.”
With I heard these words on my answering machine* I knew I was pipik-deep in serious shit. For those of you unacquainted with the legend...
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Inflexible Dynamo
Jul 3, 20183 min read
Obstacles. Those bits in the middle.
We've all had issues with obstacles--those pesky road blocks that all protagonists have to navigate successfully in order to achieve...
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