Image by Oli Lynch from Pixabay
I mean, why not? It’s in the same universe: writing for the stage vs. writing for the screen. Still writing characters thrust into a situation where they’re forced to either grow or watch the world around them change because of that character’s actions or inactions. For the most part, we’re still writing about how a person gets what they want and all the obstacles in their way! So what’s the big deal, Conrad? Just write it! Easy!
It just might be, but maybe it’s just psychological because the process of writing a play is already a part of my creative fiber: when I write a play, I could hear and see it on a stage. I hate sounding like a cliché, but if I can see it on stage, I can write it just as “easily.” And yet, here’s my issue: it feels so much harder to write in a real-world setting! I’m such a weirdo that writing a scene that takes place in a coffee shop feels so much more natural to write if I translate a scene inside a Starbucks that’s represented by a table, two chairs, and an actor wearing a greenish apron than in an ACTUAL STARBUCKS! What’s wrong with me? Is it that I’ve been brainwashed to only write stories that can take place where an audience’s imagination is more powerful than their sight?
Or is my ineptitude to write a screenplay because I’ve been brainwashed into an elitist thought pattern of what’s a higher form of art? Kinda like having two camps of ballet vs. pop & lock or a Trompe-l’œil painting vs. Banksy? Both of these arguments are bullshit if you ask me cuz art is so subjective to whoever consumes it. And the actual work of art shouldn’t be exclusive to a specific group of people. You like what you like and no one should dictate those preferences to others. That’s yucky.
Okay, I forgot where I was going… oh, yeah… why do I feel like I’m not able to write a screenplay? Ages ago I scrolled to a tweet that read something along the lines of…
I’m a playwright who was asked to write for a TV Show and that’s what I did. I’m still a writer, but just getting paid more to do what I’ve always done!
Yeah, that sucks I can’t remember who tweeted that and I feel bad. I’m SURE I might have retweeted that drop of knowledge… but I ain’t got no time to look for it. And speaking of Twitter… lol. Not yet. Hahaha.
I’m glad that I got to write this blog post just to talk it out in my head because at the end of the day, all this talk comes back to why I’m a writer, to tell a story that hopefully someone will one day EXPERIENCE that will also give more artists of color in entertainment on stage or on set, in front of a camera or audience, or behind, the opportunity to help tell that story! Just typing that made me feel good and gave me something to work towards.
Oh… and even though I have an IMDB credit (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3478832/) as a co-writer for the short film Prinsesa (written with Drew Stephens and Emmanuel Romero), I kinda “cheated” because I wrote a first draft as a stage play!!! Both Drew and Emmanuel were the true screenwriters in that aspect! So credits due where credits due… but, not gonna lie, it’s still cool to have an IMDB credit!
