If you live in Chicago and frequent coffee shops or theaters, you cannot escape the cavalcade of postcards out there for shows (Be on the lookout for a real sharp ruler-shaped one. That show will kick ass.)
The assignment is to write a scene based on one of these cards. Pick one you're least familiar with, unless you're gunning to do a parody. I wrote two this week. The first one, Elaborate, was inspired from a postcard for the play The Elaborate Entrance of Chuck Deity at Victory Gardens.
Based on the image, this play has a lot to do with professional wrestling. My scene does not. I merely used the title as a springboard and created a scene about an out-of-touch CEO who makes an elaborate entrance into a meeting.
You can also use the postcard to create a scene that, in your own warped mind, might be in the play with which you are entirely unfamiliar. I did that with The Last Unicorn from Promethean Theater. The same folks who brought you Nat Topping in bloomers with their production of Measure for Measure.
I have heard the title before. The play is adapted from a children's story which has also been an animated cartoon. But I have no idea what the plot is. I decided to write my own version of a scene that could be in a play called The Last Unicorn. I started with finding a twist. Unicorns are beautiful, vibrant creatures, but what if mine was sick and poorly cared for. Would it still be as magical? Judge for yourself HERE.
If you live in an area not littered with promotional material for shows, you can grab the entertainment section of a newspaper and look at the ads for films. Pick one you never heard of or know little about. Remember, you're not beholden to honor whatever the title is or the image. It's a place to start and to get the creative wheels turning. Have fun.
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