The Weak Point of my Program

Hello, internet. Happy Monday.

Just finished my Monday class - Stagewriting. I got that anger scene done, but it was bad; really bad. The problem was that there were going to be several outbursts of anger in my play, but each one was going to be relatively short. But what she wanted from us for this particular exercise was 5 pages of one argument.

There were a lot of people missing from class today, as I think a lot of people regard our Monday class in a similar regard to me - as more or less a waste of time. Nevertheless, there were still enough other people there that it was impossible to read everybody's piece. So we didn't read mine (hooray!) and I'm going to try to rewrite it a little bit before next class just to make it longer.

There was a mixed bag with the scenes handed in today. It's amazing how "write a scene about anger" can end up with so many outcomes. Some were really good - one in particular was a play about an experimental play and it made all of us laugh. My friend and I were even quoting it all the way home. Another was about a guy with schizophrenia who hears voices which tell him to kill his sister.

It's a pity that no-one really likes this class. I think theatre is a really interesting medium, it's just the way that this class is being taught kind of makes that fade away until all we hear is, "let's waste our time now!" I really think that it's essential for professors to make sure that the work they get their students to do is relevant to their learning - and that they know how it's going to be marked and what's worth what! I have no idea if the things I'm handing in are getting a grade or not, and if so, how much of my final grade it's worth. Of course, I'll still do them without an answer to those questions, but it makes the classes so much more structured if you have an idea of what you're doing.

I also feel like we haven't LEARNT enough in that class. How do you format a script for a play? What are the Act and Scene breakdowns like? How many should you have? What sort of stage directions do you give (action lines differ between plays, tv and movies!) and how much description of the set? I feel like I have no idea how to write a stageplay and that kind of irritates me, given how much I'm paying in tuition.

This class is really letting the program down.

Anyway, I have a big assignment due tomorrow for Broadcasting class, so I will catch you on the flip side!