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- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
I really like the way Marsha Norman explains the advice she was given to write about fear because it is a way to dig deep into the details. When it comes to writing about fear, it is best from experience because it allows bringing an extra reality to even intrigue audiences. I think writing about fear evokes emotion from the writer to project onto their audience. This is something I’d love to be able to project this better because I tend to restrict myself when writing about my fears because it’s very hard for me to face them in a story writing sense.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really hit me in is what she had said about us listening to stories about fear and overcoming the fear and facing it head-on and not really listening to stories of how people became happy. “Maybe this is why we know so little about being happy because we see so few stories about how people do it.” I think this really speaks volumes because I think this tends to force us into a little bubble of only wanting to write about the struggles even though realistically they have helped us through generations on how to survive. It would be refreshing for once in a while to see the very few stories that explain how to be happy.
Another thing I briefly was attracted to was at the end when she said at the end how stories need us. This gave me a greater push into writing and wanting to put forth these stories even if there is a backbone of pain.
-Faith Ortiz
I believe Marsha Norman did an amazing job in conveying her message. I personally am not a huge fan of playwriting probably because I've never really been into it and I never gave it a chance. By reading this selection it allowed me to rethink my position on it. In the beginning she mentioned how much it can hurt being in theater but that you must overcome that and keep going. I never thought of it as that intense but while reading I noticed how much actually goes into playwriting. Marsha mentioned how one must put emotion into the play by adding a sense of fear. I would find it eve more difficult being turned down because your fear wasn't good enough. Whenever I write I tend to put a lot of emotion into it, maybe sometimes too much. I believe Ill be able to have that emotion but will not be able to portray it. hopefully by the end of this course that will change. Marsha also mentioned how the play should be something people need to see, that will affect them after the play is over. I never thought it to be that deep but by the end of it I realized how intense playwriting is and how one must be brave enough to show ones fear.
ReplyDelete-Rebecca Muniz
In this selection, Marsha Norman describes the way an emotion such as fear can introduce a good play. I personally never thought fear or any type of emotion would be used as a play, I always saw a play as something more of a comedy or a type of genre, and most plays I've seen have been based on movies and books, but never of a fear that someone went through. Now the way she describes how theater can hurt was a bit confusing to me at first but with further reading the article and her describing how an emotion can be good source for a play it gave me clarity as to why it can hurt by reliving somethimg most of us would like to forget or ignore. When I do most of my writing I base it on my life. I believe in my 27 years I have gone through more obstacles a person my age would. The emotion that I portray a lot through my writing is sadness, I find it as a relief and comfort. Marsha also writes about how the audience can relate to the emotion or simply not understand the situation of the play. If the audience does not understand or relates to my play and loses interest that would be my fear as a writer.
ReplyDelete-Valeria Garcia
After reading “On Playwriting” by Marsha Norman, I have more understanding of what playwriting is about and how to create it. This is my first semester I enter a playwriting class. At first, I thought playwriting would be the same as writing a work of fiction. Both have the same elements and characteristics. In her essay, Marsha Norman says “What we are doing when we write for the stage is telling stories people need to see.” That put things in perspective for me. I keep thinking playwriting is the same thing as writing fiction (short stories, novels, etc), but that is not the case.
ReplyDeleteOne of the issues I have with playwriting is how do you show a story to an audience. Telling a story is something else, but to bring it to life is another. Marsha Norman mentions suggests that we should write about a time when we were really scared. I didn’t understand how that connects to playwriting. She goes to mention how in all plays and musicals, the characters were afraid of something. People in general enjoy hearing stories about how others survived their difficulties or situations. When it comes to writing a play, we need to let fear drive the whole thing. It’s a concept I will struggle with because playwriting is new to me and I know for a fact I’m going to approach it the wrong way at the start.
-Juan Gloria
Marsha Norman really goes in depth on how bringing emotion, especially one that the writer themselves have gone through, can make your writing become one where people will be engaged. The emotion she highlights is fear and how it is the key to adding development to characters and the story. An example she uses is how Juliet and Romeo were afraid of not having each other, which led to the decisions they made. This example stood out to me because I would mainly say that the story of Romeo and Juliet is based off the emotion of love.
ReplyDeleteKnowing very little about playwriting and all the elements it takes in order to make a story stand out, I am excited to see what I can do in this class. Reading what Marsha Norman says that sometimes the best way to make an intriguing story is to add personal emotions into your writing. By doing this the writer has to want to relive the emotions and situation they are putting into their writing. Being this vulnerable and open to where sharing ones most intense emotions is something, I can see myself struggling to do. By reading “On Playwriting” and continuing with this class I’m hoping that I will be able to bring together a play that can show a part of myself.
-Ruben Quintero
It’s odd that fear is the main thing that plays revolve around, but yet Martha Norman makes a good point in pointing it out. I’d never thought about it until she listed the examples of Maria, Oedipus, and the others and how the conflict that they must overcome stems from the fear that they have. I feel a bit less worried about writing plays now than I did before thanks to Martha’s advice and this point. Everyone struggles with a fear in their life, even the tiniest ones, but humans truly are curious about how others tick and how to overcome these fears or obstacles they may encounter one day. Martha hits the nail when she says humans are hungry for stories, which is true. If no one was hungry for stories, there would be no writers. Writers, from what I’ve seen, are the humans that are so famished for a story, they would go on and create one themselves to satisfy their appetite. Even if we have to tap into the pain we’ve dealt with before, we love wallowing in these emotions. We may suffer some pain and hurt at one-point inn our life, but if we think about it, from that pain and hurt comes a story that could change the world.
ReplyDelete-Kimberly Villanueva
I liked On Playwriting because Marsha Norman wrote the essay very realistically. Throughout the whole essay she was very authentic when she wrote about uncertainty and failure and the different roles we have once we take a step up in life. How the people around us will never be satisfied and only be waiting for us to fail or for the ‘new’ younger version of us to come along and steal our place. It made me want to keep on reading to see what her point was and mostly because I found her words to be very relatable. I liked how she referenced fear as a way to remember details so that she could get over her block(?) and write more descriptively and emotionally. I definitely agree that when we think back on certain events in our lives that evoke strong emotions we can write stronger and better pieces that hook the audience because more likely than not we are probably not the only person in the world who has gone through it. And if for some how we are the only person than its much better cause we can describe how we faced the situation and overcame it or gave in to it.
ReplyDelete-Naidelyn Ramos
Marsha Norman’s essay “On playwriting”, gets real and raw with the emotions and thoughts one has when playwriting is a career. She starts her essay with a variety of potential motives when creating a play. What do you want to accomplish with your play? What’s the purpose of not just the play but the individual behind the play? What do they want us to think and feel? You can’t be monotone while writing plays. I have never read nor seen a play. I have never been to one. But reading Marsha’s essay, I have a much better understanding and that it is different from any other field in writing. In plays, you must show a display of emotion for your characters. Marsha herself uses “Fear” as an example of emotion that is used in great plays and musicals “Hamlet is afraid of what will happen if he doesn’t discover who killed his father. Nora is of what will happen to her if she keeps living in Torvald’s house, etc etc”. However, you cant just have one emotion carry your play as she states later in the essay. If you think about the great movies that are considered “great” you have multiple emotions following a character throughout the movie. I will need to develop scenes that can display development in a character in a much shorter span compared to a movie. This essay helps in getting your creative juices flowing for our plays. I’m feeling a bit more confident now.
ReplyDelete-Abel Arredondo
I agree with the passage on how all great plays have some sort of fear incorporated within them. However, I don't believe fear is the driving factor for a great play. I believe how great a play is to someone depends on how that particular audience member or reader relates with the story and charecter. however, for some audience members and/or readers that might be the opposite reason as to why they read or watch a play. A play might be a way of escape to distract them from their fears or stresses so something light hearted and funny might be that specific viewers perception of a great play. overall I think you, a writer, should decide on who your target audience is for a specific play and make something specifically for them.
ReplyDelete- Eduardo Guerra
When reading Marsha Norman's essay "On Playwriting" I found it very interesting to read. To start with I was coming into this class with negative thoughts and was really putting myself down about it all. Yet, after reading this piece I found this class to be interesting. The thought of using fear to keep the story going and the audience interested in what is happening seemed strange and personal since I do not like to write on fear but it also showed me a way to challenge myself as a writer. Norman's work helped me understand that not only is skill used to be a playwright but it is not all negative (which I was telling myself). I found myself not being so negative after I read this and found myself thinking that it would be fun to bring a story to life.
ReplyDelete-andi rubalcava
I was intrigued to find out that Marsha Norman's greatest concern about writing a good play is to use a subjec matter that will work the best. She chooses fear. Not some simplistic type of fear, but rather the kind that are complex. the type that really touches the soul and keeps the reader or the audience engaged. I understand now that people are more interested in attending a play that deals with a subject matter that is deep with these kinds of thoughts to then direct a type of action or dialogue born out of this type of fear. By keeping the audience on the edge of their seats by not knowing what is going to happen next to the main character. Make the audience wonder what the main characters dialogue or actions will be towards the other characters as a reaction to this fear. I am sure that audiences and readers are interested in experiencing happiness within a play about all the good times and successes a character is having, but what is more riveting is a dysfunctional character, because of the way that character is so ambiguous. Now that Marsha Norman has given me the blue print of a working play I can more easily develop it.
ReplyDeleteSpiro Zagouris