Writing Assignments
 
The Greensboro Playwrights' Forum invites you to be a playwright by sending you monthly writing assignments. You don't have to be a member of the Forum or even attend the meetings to receive the assignments. Simply enter your e-mail address on the e-mail list page.

Here are some sample assignments:

May 2011
Write a short play that takes place in front of a pair of large locked gates. Make your first line a question. The first 10 lines should define your characters' relationship and what your protagonist wants.

March 2011
Write a short play where one character is in an unusual costume. The characters know each other very well and the costume is a detour from their daily lives. Decide what the person in the costume is after by dressing up.

February 2011
Write a short play based on an Aesop Fable. A quick Internet search should provide you with multiple choices. The goal is to modernize it while maintaining the moral of the story.

January 2011
Write a short play with the following elements:
1) An umbrella
2) A turtle (live, ceramic, or talking)
3) The line "And, now what are you going to do?"

In January, we will also discuss the play, Another Person is a Foreign Country by Charles Mee.

December 2010
Write a short play that takes place on a holiday. It should contain the following elements:
1) A ribbon
2) A champagne cork
3) A gust of wind
4) The line "Hold me."

November 2010
Write a play that begins with a couple sitting under an autumn tree. Begin with a command or question. One of them hides an object behind his or her back.

October 2010
Write a short play that takes place at a gravesite or in a funeral parlor. The play should involve a case of mistaken identity, whether it be the deceased or a visitor, or perhaps a spirit.
Prop: A casket

September 2010
Start with a character making a noise. Another character enters and supplies a motion to this noise. Two more characters enter in the middle of a dialogue. All four must be incorporated into the scene. Allow the first two to be part of the dialogue. The key is to keep the sound, action, and dialogue simple and let it grow from there.

August 2010
Wrte a short play with the following elements:
1) Opening line: "Why are you doing that?"
2) Prop: A broken clock
3) A character late to an appointment or meeting

July 2010
Write a short play with the following elements:
1) Prop: A pair of scissors
2) Something must be cut with the scissors
3) Line: "The devil made me do it."

May 2010
Write a short play with the following elements:
1) Prop: A coffin
2) Character: Carnival barker
3) Line: "And she flew with the greatest of ease."

April 2010
Write a short play with the following elements:
1) Setting: A diner
2) Line: "How do you like your grits?"
3) A juke box

March 2010
Write a short play with the following elements:
1) A salt shaker
2) A letter from overseas
3) A truck horn
4) The line "Well, what are you going to do about it?"
5) A silly, made-up analogy such as "It's like a duck kissing an alligator"

February 2010
Write a short play with the following elements:
1) A malfunctioning electronic device
2) An alarm or siren
3) Begin the play in the dark
4) It's a planned, romantic evening

January 2010
Write a short play with the following elements:
1) An old key
2) The line "Did you hear something?"
3) A fisherman (or woman)
4) Setting: an abandoned hotel

December 2009
Write a short play with the following elements:
1) A wayward elf
2) An empty sack
3) A snow globe
4) The line, "Aaaah!"

November 2009
Write a short play with two characters. The first character speaks one word and the second character speaks two words. The first character then replies with three words. This goes back and forth until you reach 10 words. Then, count down in words until the final line is one word. You may add a third character, but stay within the word count structure, Stage directions are permitted and should not be part of the word count.

October 2009
Write a short play where two fairytale or nursery rhyme characters meet:
1) Start with "I wish you wouldn't do that."
2) See how long you can go before they mention the character's name.