acting Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Teachers! Do a PLay in Your Classroom!

There are 26, ten minute plays to choose from in this collection of single plays. Most address real life issues facing our tweens and teens today. NO sets, NO costumes. Five are dedicated to different forms of BULLYING. Check out the titles here at my book store.

A couple of years ago I heard from teacher friends that most arts programs were being cut. Anything that the teacher wanted to do was funded out of their own very meager pockets. So I developed these single short plays and priced them cheap. (6.50)

There is also a ‘collection’ of 10 minute plays under one cover. ‘Ten Minutes to Curtain’.

Available at www.amazon.com

All are ‘G’ rated.

CREATIVE WRITER’S Journal and Handbook Now Available!

Actor, director, playwright, author, Trisha Sugarek has created 305 pages of ‘How To’, Tips, Quotes, and 275 blank, lined pages for your writing. ‘I have created this journal for writers of all genres. Taken from my personal experience in the writing process, I hope it kick starts new writers to begin and more experience writers to continue.’

~~This spirited journal is designed to help writers open their hearts and minds. Much more than a journal for your creative writing, this handbook provides the writer with the ‘how to’s’ of writing. Tips, instructions and prompts to help you to hone your writing skill. Each blank, lined page has writing tips and quotes from other famous authors.~~

Available at www.amazon.com

A writer is only a writer when he or she is writing. Thinking isn’t writing, research isn’t writing, doing anything other than writing isn’t writing.

What Inspired Me to Write a Play? part 2

Let’s see, where did we leave off? As you can see by now truth is sometimes stranger than fiction….why make stuff up when the true stories are just standing there in front of you…waiting for you to write a play about them? Or not….because about this time Cheets, the effervescent elf came into my life!

‘The Fabled Forest Series‘ was brought to me by my friend, Cheets, about three in the morning to be exact. He put his over-sized elf feet in the middle of my back and pushed. Yelling in my ear, ‘Cheets has a story….write about Cheets!’
By the time I crawled out of bed, made a cup of tea and stumbled to my keyboard he was skipping along beside me, telling me about his friends in the fabled forest and about the unicorn that they must save. No, I’m not crazy (or if I am, I’m in very good company) and yes I do hear voices (again, good company). A few years and four children’s plays later ‘Emma and the Lost Unicorn‘ was produced outside of Boston. The little actors in the show pleaded with me to write them story books based upon the plays. That was my launch from playwright to author.

Two summers ago I was talking with some teachers and they were bemoaning the fact that ‘the arts’ budget was non-existent at their schools; anything that they wanted to do in that area; paints, music, scripts, was out of their own pocket I thought, what if I wrote several 10 minute plays for the class room, made them affordable, no sets, no costumes, no props? Twenty-six scripts later and it’s definitely been a hit. While I did write some fun ones, I quickly learned that I needed to write about teen issues in real life. Bullying, mean girls, dating violence, divorce, drugs, running away, cyber-bullies…the list goes on and on.

And as I am not a mystery writer but do love to stretch my creative wings, I thought I’d throw in a murder mystery play into the collection. I knew the kids in the classroom would love it. “The Art of Murder” was born. Then some well meaning friends told me, after reading the play, “But what happened to Monty?” and “Who killed her?” “You have got to tell us the rest of the story!”

‘Okay, okay! I’ll write a novella for you.’ Well, it went pretty well and my friends and fans seemed to like it. Just one problem, they came back again and told me, “You’ve got a series here! We want more of O’Roarke and Garcia, your murder cops!” I objected: ‘I’m not a mystery writer!’ Well, apparently I am since I’m currently writing the fifth in the series!

Book 2 takes place back stage on Broadway……so we’ve come full circle!

Want to read more? Click here to read Part 1

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In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! An Interview with Loretta Chase on May 29th. Dean Koontz is my June author.

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What Inspired Me to Write my first Play?

In looking at my stats recently I saw a recurring key phrase on my site. ‘How to write a play?‘, and I thought my readers might find it interesting to read about what inspired the subjects of my play scripts.

The short answer is: A true story…. something that caught my attention that was someone else’s story.

The long answer: My first play ‘Lost Child‘ back in 1994 was based on a true story of a Dad dealing with his gay son. Back then HIV and AIDS was a death sentence. The father was homophobic and macho. He rejected his son. To make the story complete I added another set of parents that were totally supportive of their gay son. Sadly this story did not end well and the script was lost on my hard drive ….someday, I may finish it.

Next came ‘Cook County Justice‘ based upon a fifteen minute segment I saw on one of those TV magazines like 20/20. Bill Heirens had been incarcerated for over 40 years (even though his sentence included parole) for a murder I came to believe he didn’t commit. This story took me on a six year journey; letters from Bill (inmate), support from his team trying to set him free and several productions of my play.

While visiting Bill in the Illinois state Prison for Men early one Sunday morning, I sat in the reception area waiting to be ‘processed’ through into the visiting room. I was surrounded by women of all ages and their children. Mothers, sisters, wives, daughters….as I sat there they figuratively took me by the nape of my neck and shouted….’you must write about us…tell our story!’ That was the birth of ‘Women Outside the Walls’ a full length play and later a novel.

‘Scent of Magnolia‘ A Tribute to Billie Holiday was conceived in 2001 when a very talented jazz singer/actress out of Chicago asked me if I would write her a one woman show as Billie Holiday. I used, as my inspiration, the early years of Billie’s career before she succumbed to alcohol and drugs.

NEXT! A Hollywood Tale was based on my own experiences as a young actor in Hollywood and all the story swapping we would do in the green room, waiting to ‘go on’. There was nothing worse than going to a cattle call audition and in the middle of your monologue or reading have the casting director yell: ‘Next!’ That was your cue line to exit right. The razor sharp teeth of the machine known as Hollywood chew up aspiring actors and spit them into the gutter.

I grew up on my mother’s stories about growing up in the forests of Tumwater, Washington with her 13 siblings. Back at the turn of the twentieth century life and its entertainments were simple.

‘The Guyer Girls’ is a cross between Little Women and I Remember Mama. The first act is almost all based upon her stories. The second act was my creation of what happened when the six sisters come back home fifteen years later. With this age of technology I didn’t want these stories to die with her or with me.

‘Sins of the Mother’ was also partly biographical. Again stories told by my mother of her years in San Francisco (1920’s) as a bar owner, women’s basketball player, flapper, and mother. She used to say, “I’d work all day and dance all night!” This full length play developed into a novel, ‘Wild Violets’.

There’s more but this is where I will stop. Every play plot has conflict. The trick is to solve it within two and a half hours.

A Journal/Handbook to Start YOU writing! 275 blank pages for your work; each margin with an inspiring quote from a famous actor, writer, playwright, or poet. Sections on ‘how to’ will get you started.

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS!

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How to Write a Character Analysis for Writers & Actors!

I sat down with some actors the other day and they asked, ‘how do I write a character analysis?‘ And as I answered them I thought how much this applies to writers as well. If you don’t know your characters (in your story,novel) your readers will never get to know them.

After many years of writing, my characters show up in my head but it’s my job to ‘flesh them out’. Many times I will meet or see a character in real life and they inspire a character for my writing. But, it’s still the writer’s or the actor’s job to give them a story and breathe life into them.

If you’re a new writer take the time to write it down, using some of the tools listed here. If you’re an actor, it is imperative that you write your character analysis. It not the same as a few random thoughts about your character. Some intangible thing happens when you put pen to paper and get to know who your character is. Continue reading “How to Write a Character Analysis for Writers & Actors!”

How to Write a Short Play…7 tips

When writing a short play, you will have no time to ‘set up’ the story. It’s only ten to twelve minutes long, remember? Rather, think of it as walking into the middle of the story; more like a scene…but in this case it must have a beginning, middle, and end, all in roughly ten-twelve minutes.

A ten minute play (or one act) is 10-15 pages written in a proper format. It can have costumes and sets, certainly, but ten minute plays are most popular because of their simplicity. It’s more attractive to the director or educator, for economic reasons, if there are no sets, no costumes, and minimal props needed.

The ten minute play does not sacrifice excellent writing and content for brevity. Less is more. And it is a great exercise for the writer to hone and edit their writing skills.

The ideas for my plays come to me in a little kernel of truth and I am inspired. A state prison, a haunted lighthouse, my days in Hollywood, the news of the day or remembering the stories of my childhood.

I am frequently asked ‘how can you be so prolific?’, ‘how do you write so many plays?’ ‘where do you get your ideas?’

So I thought what a perfect time to give my readers six tips on writing their first stage play. After all, 45 play scripts ago and seventeen years earlier I began writing my first script. And that led me to create five, custom Journals and Handbooks which include how to write a play and how to create exciting characters.

SEVEN TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED

1. Format is very important. If you submit your new play to anyone they will not read it if it is not in a proper format. There is software out there that offer auto-format but I have found them lacking. sample.playwrite.format (here is a format sample)
Notice character name is in CAPS and centered. Blocking (action) is indented and always lower case and double-spaced. If only one word, it is placed next to the character’s name and in parentheses. A ‘beat’ is a dramatic pause or to enhance the pace of the speech.

2. Each page represents approximately one minute of time on stage depending on how complex you make the blocking. For a ten minute play your script should be from 10-15 pages. Each line (dialog) should move the story along…you’ve only got 10 minutes. So chose what your characters have to say very carefully.

3. Leave lots of white space. One day when your play is being produced, actors will need a place to make notes in the script during rehearsal. This is a sample of an actor’s (mine) working script. An actor usually ‘highlights’ their lines and writes the director’s blocking in the margins.

4. The blocking (in italics) is where you give the actors instructions on when and where to move. But, keep it short and sweet. Remember there will be a director who has their own ideas of where they will want their actors to be. Be aware of costume changes in your writing. An actor can’t exit stage left and enter stage right, seconds later in a different costume, if you haven’t written in the time it will take to give them the time to accomplish a costume change.

5. Your script has to work on a stage. If your story takes place in more than one locale, you have to be aware of the logistics of a ‘set’ change. So keep it simple to start. If you are ambitious in your setting buy a book on set design to research if your set is feasible. There are some wonderful ‘envelope’ sets that unfold when you need to change the scene. But you have to consider the budget; would a theatre have the money to build it? Always a worry.

6. 7. The ‘Arc’ of your story: The Oxford English Dictionary defines a story arc as ‘(in a novel, play, or movie) the development or resolution of the narrative or principal theme’. Story arcs are the overall shape of rising and falling tension or emotion in a story. This rise and fall is created via plot and character development.

7. Dialogue: Now here’s the hard part: everything you want the audience to know, about the story and the characters, is conveyed in the dialogue. Unlike a short story or a novel, where you can write as much description as you’d like, a play script has none of that. NO description. Here is a Sample.Dialogue.Sugarek of dialogue moving the story forward. You will notice that the format differs from the sample I provide. This example is from a published play so it looks different.

Check out my series of Journals/Handbooks.
To Purchase Playwright’s Journal

Choose from five custom, unique Covers.

Instruction on: How To Begin
How to Choose the Subject of your Play

Formatting your Play on the Page
How to write Dialogue
How to Create Rich, Exciting Characters
Story Arc
Stage Terminology
Sending out Your Script

How to write a ten minute play? Click here
How To Format a Screenplay
How to Format Your Novel
How to Format a Stage Play

PS. My web site is dedicated to helping new and experienced writers hone their craft. If you have questions, drop me a line. I always love to hear from readers and promise to answer you. T.S.

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On Sale NOW! Custom Journals/Handbooks for the Creative Writer

BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

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“Emma and the Lost Unicorn” performing at the Villagers Theatre in New Jersey

NEWS!! The Fabled Forest Series (children’s plays), will be a part of

Villagers Theatre’s 2013-2014 Season!

NOW RUNNING THROUGH MARCH 16TH.

Located in Somerset, New Jersey this community theatre has two stages and a diverse season.

March 8–16 with Fri., Sat., and Sunday performances

Tickets: $15.
Reservations: 732-873-2710

Visit their web site for more…
http://www.villagerstheatre.com/viewproductions/emma-and-the-lost-unicorn/

Rainey, the unicorn, is a prince who has been banished, for centuries, by the warlock, Hazard. He can never return home unless Emma solves more riddles than Kodak. Hazard’s Lieutenant reveals his secret weakness. The fable ends with a surprise twist Continue reading ““Emma and the Lost Unicorn” performing at the Villagers Theatre in New Jersey”

Suicide by Heroin…A Eulogy

Philip Seymour Hoffman died last week by his own hand. Shoving a needle into his arm, one last time and making our world a little more pale and less interesting. Why do the brilliant feel the need to destroy themselves? The heroin was just the ‘fix’ (aptly named) dulling the pain, banishing the demons…for a little while. ‘An accidental overdose’ you say? What was accidental about him sticking the bloody needle into his arm? I ask.

And what does that say about the rest of us; living and struggling on, sometimes in quiet, brave desperation. His actions were pure selfishness and I am royally pissed off at him!

And I earned the right to be angry with him….being a survivor of suicide and the horror and confusion that follows. This man was an inspiration to all artists, actors, directors, writers, painters, dancers….he made us want to be better at our chosen craft …to aspire to his brilliance. And now he’s gone.
Continue reading “Suicide by Heroin…A Eulogy”

Where to Find a Narrator for my Audio book? (Part 2)

Part II An Interview with VO professional and actor, Daniel Dorse (Part I, click here)

It’s Easy! I use www.acx.com. The platform is simple to use and they have a terrific ‘stable’ of professional narrators. Your book is published in audio form at amazon.com/audio, audible.com and iTunes.com. You can pay your narrator/producer a percentage of sales or a one time fee. The one time fees are on a sliding scale depending on what the narrator requires ‘per finished hour’. With acx.com you will know what you will be paying (it’s based on the number of words in your manuscript.) before you commit. Tip. Eliminate all extra words like copyright page, acknowledgements, title, etc. and count only the words of the manuscript.

My one and only complaint about acx.com is the length of time they take to do the final quality control bit. Two weeks. Now sit back and enjoy the second part of my chat with Daniel.

Q. Can you tell us about your process when you get a job to narrate a book?

A. When I’m hired to produce an audio book, I should read the entire book, making character notes, notes on pronunciation, mood, transitions, accents, etc. In fact, I like to live dangerously, reading only a few chapters ahead (to avoid too many unwelcome surprises, like , “Uh-oh! This character I’ve been voicing for 15 pages is supposed to be Irish. Now I have to re-record.”). I do this, I tell myself, because I like to retain an element of spontaneity in my read, but it’s probably also because I’m both lazy & overly cocky about my sight-reading abilities.
Continue reading “Where to Find a Narrator for my Audio book? (Part 2)”

An Idea..A New Mystery Series! “The World of Murder”

Texas, comedy, stage play, Trisha Sugarek, murder — Production photos from “Cheatin'”

I can’t believe that it was just this past September that I wrote this blog about an idea becoming a one act play and NOW I’m writing my fifth book in the World of Murder mystery series. The first four novels are available here and on amazon.com and now are audio books at audible.com So I am thinking it is worth posting this again to let my fellow writers see how an idea can grow into something pretty damn amazing!!

If you missed the story here it is again:

Let’s see….I think it was 2005 and we were in rehearsals for “Cheatin'” in Port Aransas, Texas. I was the director and we had pulled together a terrific cast. The title pretty much tells you the story line but the fun part and what made it so funny was it was set in….where else?…… Texas and was filled with good ole’ boys and girls. It was the highest grossing play for that theatre in many a year and won Best Production and Best Set Design (thanks to Janis Johnson’s contribution). I was very proud of the cast and crew!
Continue reading “An Idea..A New Mystery Series! “The World of Murder””

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Villagers Theatre’s 2013-2014 Season!

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