- Go to a school and learn the craft. – Welps, I got really lucky to get into the program I applied to (SFSU) and it’s up to me to apply myself and really take advantage of all the resources, mainly the amazing teachers here (Roy, Brian, Michelle, and Anne) as well as in the TA Dept.
- Read more everything, including plays – I applied to Grad School because I felt like I needed directed structure. And now I have it. I’ve read so many great plays and monologues as recommended by my instructors. And it has helped to shape my preferences in plays. I also took a class where I needed to read works of many different genres, and I feel like it’s helped me as well in terms of looking at different story structures, character voices, and power of poetry.
- WATCH more plays and attend more readings – I have a class where every week, we go to a theater in the City or in the East Bay to watch and review a play. That process, which I’ll talk about later, has helped me in analyzing someone else’s play as well as my own work.
- Write and explore – Just trying to find the time, which I have now, to write my own stuff. Homework is still a priority, but my own work has to fit in there too.
- Define what a story is and tell it in my Voice – Still working on this, but getting there.
- Find and constantly refine and redefine my Voice – One of my professors tells me that’s why I’m here. To have the time to shape my voice and for others to help me refine and give it focus.
- Network more in person as well as through the Social Networks
- Submit more – if anything, just getting the experience of sending my work out there will help tremendously once I turn my attention to making writing a career.
- Produce an in-home production aka a Living Room Play – Sounds fun!
- List all the ways a playwright can earn an income – Need to arrange meetings of writers in all genres to discuss this topic.
- Join playwriting groups, share, learn and laugh… a lot! – So thankful to be a part of AATC’s NewWorks Incubator, but I should spread my wings a little bit more. There are really great groups here in the Bay Area to join and share with.
- (re)Connect with friends and family to let them know you’re alive and someone is thinking of them – This should be a general note!
- Learn to do better Crits and participate more fully in them. – Thanks to my instructors for pointing out Liz Lerman’s “Process for Critical Response” method, I’m on my way to becoming better at giving better crits and analysis. Though, formulating Neutral Questions is still a work in progress for me.
I’m for sure going to be adding and modifying the above list, but it’s a START. A Dream will always stay a dream until you make it a GOAL. All the points above are steps towards my goal of becoming a self- sustaining playwright. And these are MY STEPS and not anyone elses. For reals, I know many who chose a different track for being a successful writer and I admire them tremendously! This is just one person’s take – mine.