Playwright Discovery Award Teacher's Guide - The John F. Kennedy ...

FOR THE ARTIST’S NOTEBOOK:
Imagining Action and Physical
Engagement on Stage
Once a writer has a sense of what
shapes a character and how the
individual character might solve
problems or celebrate accomplishments,
the question of how a character physically
engages with the world arises. Discovering
ways to feel and think like people we may not
know can be a challenge, but through art,
and especially theater, it is possible to begin
to understand what other people celebrate,
struggle with, think, or enjoy.
The most exciting challenge when imagining
difference comes when a writer chooses to
move beyond thinking the difference is the
problem to be overcome. Difference allows for
additional possibilities and exciting solutions,
a major reason why artists often include
characters who are most unlike the average
person.
Imagining difference is a bit like navigating a
dream. Imagine playing a game of, let’s say,
baseball. It’s the final inning, your team is
trailing by a single run, the bases are loaded
with two outs, and the count is full. You are at
the plate, and the best pitcher in the league
is on the mound. The pitcher winds up,
and just as the pitcher lowers the glove and
begins to hurl the ball toward home plate, you
suddenly find yourself holding a volleyball. The
bat is gone, everyone wears knee pads, and
people seem to be expecting something to
happen. Is it time to serve the ball? Was there
a side out and the other team should get the
ball? The game has changed, and there’s a
new set of rules and possibilities. Having a
disability likewise offers a new set of rules and
possibilities for the writer to explore.
30 ACT II: PLAYWRITING