Who wants to...

[Boo]

Give me some ideas for a 20 minute play?

I don't have to write one, but I want to. I just can't think of anything to make a play about. Well, nothing that short. I have a few screenplays in my head, and maybe a full play, but not a 20 minute play.

Just throw some ideas at me, and I'll work off something I like (or something that inspires me).

Next Semester I'm going to try joining a script writing class. I've already suggested to the teacher that she should try getting Celtx on the school network. It's a pre-production program for movies/plays/etc... AND IT'S FREE! Well, as far as I know. Might be some features somewhere that you have to pay for... anyway, so yeah. Any ideas?

[Tempest Fennac]

How about an arguement between friends which had been brewing for some time which happened due to one of the friends doing something that the other one found to be really stupid, such as spending a lot of money on a tacky cocktail bar for their house?

[Death, your friend the Reaper]

EDIT: Whoops, misread title. Ah well, awesome skit anyway, not what your looking for though sorry:smalltongue:


Well, 20 mins is a bit long, but I do have a favourite short skit.

Title it "The Action Play of the Century".

Have you and 8 mates come onto the stage with a chair each, line up the chairs.

Main people are one on the far left and far right. The one on the far right has a watch. No one else should. Come in and get everyone to sit crosslegged, all with left leg over right leg.

*Pause*

The one on the far left is slightly agitated, far right is very relaxed, show agitation by slight movement of head, like they are waiting.

Far left taps person on his right and asks "Is it time yet?" in a way that questions are generally asked, quiet calmly.
Person one on the right, then taps the person on his right and asks the same question. This continues up the chain to the guy with the watch who unhurriedly looks at the watch and says

"Not yet"

this is passed back to the far left guy.

This same thing happens after a slight pause after far left guy hears the answer. Each time he gets a bit more exasperated. By the end far left guy should be making gestures with his hand and dramatically asking "Is, it, time, YET?" while not raising voice to much, just emphasis on words.

Everyone to the right of him mimics his way of speech, yet dosen't change position besides hand motions.

This time when it to far right he looks at his watch and says "Yes"

This is repeated down the line until the far left guy is told "Yes"

Then in sync you all unfold your legs and fold them the other way with right leg over left.


It is pure awesome :smalltongue: See how long you can get your audience to sit there as you go through this "high drama, action pace, with thrills, spills, and high special effects play". It's all in the selling point.

Also, some people may kill you after you try this on them.

[Kjata]

A guy having the worst day of his life. Terrible day, at work, gf leaves him, etc. I bet you can probably work out the details better than me.

[Exeson]

well, we did a ten minute play for drama a year or two ago, but it should be able to be easily adapted.

There are this group of people, say they all live in the same street or something, or all share a house at uni. Anyway

Basically two friends bake a cake, and leave it out to cool down and they also leave a coin on top of it, make up some rubbish about it being an obscure like superstition or something. Another person walks along, sees the cake and the coin and decides to pocket the coin and eat the cake. Two friends are of course horrified that their cake is gone, and so set out to catch the culprit. After a few unsuccessful attempts to interrogate people they hatch a plan. they tell people that someone has eaten their cake and taken the two coins that were on top. Of course the person who ate the cake gets very worried, as he thinks he has eaten one of the coins. He confesses so that they will help him to the doctor, but instead a bit of slapstick rears it's head as the two friends knock about the guy and then they tell him the truth, and everything ends happy and dandy.

I would provide you with a script but i don't have it anymore.
The whole thing is meant to be tongue in cheek, with slapstick and as many crude jokes as possible.

[potatocubed]

An insect wakes up one morning to find he has been transformed into a man...

[Boo]

An insect wakes up one morning to find he has been transformed into a man...

This looks to be more of a 5 minute skit, or even a 10 minute one.


A guy having the worst day of his life. Terrible day, at work, gf leaves him, etc. I bet you can probably work out the details better than me.

This one looks to be the best idea so far. Although I feel like it is probably used a lot.

The rest wouldn't be very original for me to do. I'm looking to write it myself, and not take someone else's idea, switch a few words around, and call it my own. Just throw me an idea, not a whole play. :smalltongue:

Aslo, Tempest... That was so specific that I felt like you were taking that idea from your own life experiences. :smallconfused:

[Tempest Fennac]

I actually got the idea from a play called Art. The catalyst for the arguement was 1 friend buying a while picture, which just had a couple of less white area of it. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%27Art%27_(play) . It was actually good when I went to see it. Interrestingly enough the guy who played Trigger in Only Fools And Horss was playing the guy who was caught in the middle.)


EDIT: If you wanted something from my personal experience, you could base it on a situation where someone (person A) really doesn't like someone due to their general attitude (person B), but person A needs to tolerate B to get information about something important, while possibly having the play around the first person deciding to ditch toe other person because they realise B really isn;t bothered about how they feel.

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

You should spoof cooking shows. (This idea I have stems from a writing assignment a friend had back in high school. The class had to write a "how to" essay" of 500 words or more. Picked from a hat, she landed with "How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich." 500 words?!? Ouch! With my help, she got the essay written, and scored an A for her work. Oh...and we got it to 652 words! :smallbiggrin: )

So...You have your "chef, who speaks with a foreign accent and treats the making of the sandwich with infinitely more importance than it deserves, with crutial warnings about how sticky jelly is, and the disasters that can arrive from getting either the peanut butter or jelly anywhere but on the bread. Plenty of opportunities of product placement as well, like the "the Spreader 8000, that can not only spread your peanut butter with microscopic accuracy, but is also strong enough to be used in various home improvement projects! Only $89.95 at your locate Targette."

Of course, what cooking special wouldn't be complete with a completely inept celebrity guest star, who can't open containers, is picky about types of break, and asks ridiculous questions. "So, how long to we leave the sandwich in the oven for?" :smallconfused:

There is a plethora of material you can use, from types of bread, the history of the various spreads, and things that do NOT go well on the sandwich. )Mustard, bacon, lettuce, and so on.) You can even try to turn it into a philisophical discussion, if you dare. "Life, my friends, is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." How it's like said sandwich is beyond me, but then it's your play to write. :smalltongue:

Of course, this idea now has me thinking back to the late Richard Jeni's "Platypus Man" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st0i5ZwkIO8&feature=related). (Warning! Foul language.)

[Berserk Monk]

A guy having the worst day of his life. Terrible day, at work, gf leaves him, etc. I bet you can probably work out the details better than me.

Yeah! Also, he isn't even supposed to be here today, there's a hockey game on a roof, a coffin that gets tipped over, and some drug dealers hanging out outside the store.

[Kcalehc]

Several (5-10) men are trapped in a sealed compartment in a sinking submarine. One confesses to some negligent act they think is the cause for them sinking. The others pick on that person but in the course of argument facts come to light that show they did nothing wrong/their mistake was fixed by another. As it winds to a close it is discovered that the one that has been loudly blaming all the others is infact the one that made a mistake; a slip of his tounge while verbally lashing the others. In the end, after much argument, he is forgiven; as the lights go out and all the men are killed (obviously anyone watching will not see this bit, only 'hear' it) as the submarine collapses under the water presure.

[Project_Mayhem]

Heres some advice based on my experiences:

With a short play like this, you've got the advantage of being able to do something a bit surreal or off the wall without it getting too boring.

It's easier to write abstact dialogue and make it sound good than normal banter, which is horrendously hard to write and make natural. Especially comedy. Don't ever try and write banter style comedy. It pretty much has to be improvised and natural or it sounds forced.

Use extremes and contrast - held moments of silence, and loud frenzied talking

Get actors (if you arent yourself) to help you by improvising some crap. Some of the best stuff I've done has come from messing around with ideas and themes.

Remember plays are at least as visual as they are aural. Think about movement.

If you don't like Samuel Beckett, disregard most of what I said. Except the stuff about writing banter.

[Flame of Anor]

Several (5-10) men are trapped in a sealed compartment in a sinking submarine. One confesses to some negligent act they think is the cause for them sinking. The others pick on that person but in the course of argument facts come to light that show they did nothing wrong/their mistake was fixed by another. As it winds to a close it is discovered that the one that has been loudly blaming all the others is infact the one that made a mistake; a slip of his tounge while verbally lashing the others. In the end, after much argument, he is forgiven; as the lights go out and all the men are killed (obviously anyone watching will not see this bit, only 'hear' it) as the submarine collapses under the water presure.

That's a cool idea, and could work in some form, but people in sinking submarines don't usually die of the submarine collapsing--either their compartment floods and they drown or it doesn't and they slowly suffocate. I recommend The Terrible Hours by Peter Maas.

[reorith]

a person wakes up to find he or she has been nailed to the ground. hilarity ensues when they examine their plight as a microcosm of the world´s crisis.

[evisiron]

A group of people wake up to find and entire audience watching them and no way to escape the stage.

Heck, you don't even need actors for this one, just a tranq gun and good aim.

[hamishspence]

the collapse = instant death has been done in fiction, but it required sub to be a true submersible at the bottom of a very deep trench.

I'm not sure how plausible it is.

[BizzaroStormy]

Just do the time warp for 20 minutes...in reverse.

[Project_Mayhem]

Just do the time warp for 20 minutes...in reverse.

tfel eht ot pets a tsuj s'ti

[Boo]

I think I'm going to do the ol' stuck in an elevator script. Maybe be a bit more creative, but otherwise I'm good.

Thanks everyone. The submarine idea made me think of elevators. ...dunno why.

[Kcalehc]

That's a cool idea, and could work in some form, but people in sinking submarines don't usually die of the submarine collapsing--either their compartment floods and they drown or it doesn't and they slowly suffocate. I recommend The Terrible Hours by Peter Maas.

In my defence, its fiction, so some suspension of belief is allwed, and it can happen, so its not totally unplausable either. Deep sea trenches and all that, and the sounds of twisting and tortured metal add dramatic effect and tension.