WRITING AND NARRATIVE BUILDING
IDEAS GENERATING - PERSONNAL PITCH
WRITING
RUNNING NOTES
For this collective project, I was part of the writers' team, focusing on narrative building. Having never done anything like this before, I found it a bit daunting but was eager to learn and gain experience. I was very excited to work on such a significant collaborative project. I really enjoy creative writing and have used it for research and idea generation, but I had never written for an actual show before.
We worked under the scope of Pete Bond, who led the project, in the writing’s team we were around 7 students, but overall in the Collective we were probably around 20 to 30 students. We developed in two week and a half a full script for a 40 min show, including 20 scenes and 41 narrative shifts.
The process was intense, with many ups and downs, and it provided a rich learning experience about theatrical work. Initially, we started writing as a large group, but then we formed a smaller team to develop the entire show. We had a two-week deadline to finalize the narrative, giving the design team enough time to design and construct the set. The short time frame made every day intense, as we worked together to evolve the project.
Through this project, I gained confidence in my writing skills and my ideas. I learned how to create with many collaborators and how to produce qualitative work within a very short timeframe.
At the beginning of the project, the only indication given was that there would be an elevator on stage, and that someone had to die in it. Each of us had the opportunity to pitch ideas of narratives to the group to be considered for potential narrative development. So, I began brainstorming how to craft an engaging narrative with lots of opportunities for potential various contributions, allowing everyone to construct their own creative worlds, within one fun and engaging narrative.
Inspired by absurdism, I though of the idea of a man trapped in an elevator, destined to die in increasingly bizarre, grotesque and absurd ways at every floor he reached (BDSM accident? choking at a hot dog eating contest? a seance gone wrong? or an aerobics fight?) the concept was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre's "Huis Clos," exploring the notion of being unwittingly trapped in our own personal hell, repeating death endlessly. I even began drafting examples to present to the group (see above for development, pitching and writing)
I found the concept really interesting as it offered the flexibility for diverse storylines, settings, and creative possibilities while embracing a fun, absurdist narrative. There was room for laughter, and a deeper reflection on our human nature. However, I recognized the potential challenges, particularly in terms of set design, for such an ambitious concept to be executed within a one-month timeframe.
Ultimately, although the idea was well-received by the group, we decided to pursue a different direction to align with Pete's creative vision and practical considerations. Creating and applying this concept would have been very ambitious, especially design and building wise, as it would have required sets for at least seven different deaths in completely different and distinctive settings, and all of that in less than a month.
WRITING AND NARRATIVE BUILDING
The narrative was in constant evolution during those two writing weeks, with Pete guiding us to explore more, change, transform and edit ournarratives. Reframing, rethinking, and reconstructing the narrative with elements we already had was challenging, especially when the team felt satisfied with the progress. We still did it, as often we would realize Pete Bond had a good reason to question our narrative, however we did not comply to all of his requests (for eg. Adding a love interest, etc). Our storyline evolved significantly: we started with satanic panic, shifted to satanic cults, moved to a storyline about the spawn of evil, and finally returned to the cult theme, focusing on the escape from indoctrination.
When we were all satisfied with a final narrative, We set all the scenes, created a running order, and then developed a braided narrative. Initially, we organized all our scenes in sequence, then "remixed" them using flashbacks and other techniques to reflect the protagonist's deteriorating mental state and psychosis.
The final storyline centers on Gaia, who was raised in a cult and bred to be sacrificed. She escapes the cult, rebuilds her life in New York as a singer, but her past haunts her, and the cult eventually finds her again. We explored this through a braided narrative.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT AND RUNNING ORDER
RESEARCH
Creating the narrative involved setting the piece in a specific time and place, establishing an aesthetic, and building a world around our storyline. We drew inspiration from films like Jacob's Ladder, Rosemary's Baby, Mulholland Drive, and Angel Heart. These works were instrumental in helping us capture the atmosphere of the 1980s in the US, focusing on the fear and fascination with cults and their influence. Those films inspired us by the way they were constructed, their thematic and especially how they explore those themes.
“Jacob's Ladder”, Adrian Lyne (1990) plunges into the psychological and supernatural, exploring the mind of a man haunted by disturbing visions and mysterious occurrences. This film's use of disorienting and unsettling imagery helped us understand how to create a world where the boundaries between reality and delusion blur, much like the influence a cult might have on its members. It inspired us in the construction of our braided narrative, especially by the unsettling visions that come back to haunt Gaia, our main character.
“Rosemary's Baby”, Roman Polanski (1968) examines the insidious nature of a cult embedded within society, gradually revealing the true horror behind seemingly ordinary people. The slow, suspenseful build-up and the sense of betrayal and paranoia in the film guided us in creating a narrative where the true intentions of the cult are revealed only gradually (for example our narrative where the children are being bred to be sacrificed).
“Angel Heart”, Alan Parker (1987) combines noir elements with the supernatural, exploring themes of identity, guilt, and the occult. Its dark, brooding atmosphere and the gradual uncovering of hidden truths informed our aesthetic choices and narrative structure. Similarly as in Angel Heart, the more we advance in the storyline, the more information and hidden truths are revealed, but it is at the end that we only truly discover the reality.
In the actual act of writing, I was inspired by works such as The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood) and “Midsommar”, Ari Aster (2019). These pieces influenced me particularly in character development. The Handmaid's Tale portrays the indoctrination and psychological control exerted by a theocratic regime, providing a basis for creating complex characters shaped by their oppressive environment, especially in the characterization of the cult and the antagonists such as the Mother. “Midsommar”, with its portrayal of a seemingly idyllic but ultimately sinister community, offered insights into developing characters who are truly indoctrinated, and are completely oblivious from bad and good, and would be ready to do anything for their beliefs.
After we all pitched our ideas, we settled on one to start building our narrative and world. We began with the theme of satanic panic in the US during the 1980s and developed it from there. The process evolved a lot and was very interesting. Initially, our writing group was very large, with so many ideas and suggestions that it was hard to make progress. It felt counter-productive, overwhelming and frustrating at times, as we couldn't move forward with so many contributors, so we decided to split the group into people who wanted to be more in the writer's team or rather design.
When we reduced the group to seven members, it became much easier to collaborate, share ideas, speak freely, and move the project along more efficiently. We focused on cults and satanism, inspired by the satanic panic. We wanted to explore the psychological power of cults, the phenomena of indoctrination and emancipation. We had to develop a main character, a storyline, context, and a reason why someone would get killed in this elevator. We spent long days discussing, reworking, and talking to ensure everything made sense. We constantly questioned who, what, and why, always rethinking and reframing our narrative. Although this process was interesting and enriching, the abundance of ideas and potential storylines sometimes made us lose focus on the main message. We went through at least 8 to 10 potential narratives, experimenting, writing, constructing, deconstructing, and rethinking.
The experience was intense, interesting, and passionate. Often, we found narratives we all agreed on, but Pete's opinion was crucial. He frequently didn't find our constructed narratives good enough (for example, the "spawn of Satan" version), so we had to start over or completely change the storyline while keeping the main theme central. This was very frustrating and mentally challenging, especially after investing so much time in a narrative. However, it pushed us further and taught us to always bounce back, keep the important questions in mind, and understand the core message we wanted to communicate to the audience. We learned to always answer the big questions: what is our main message, and how do we want the audience to feel?
NARRATIVE BUILDING
FINAL WRITING
When the time came to start writing the script, we divided the scenes and assigned them to different writers on the team. I felt prepared and well-informed after being immersed in the project for two weeks and conducting thorough research. I knew the world of our story very well.
For the characterization of the fanatical mother, the enforcer of the cult, I used Midsommar and The Handmaid's Tale as references. Despite my preparation, I had many doubts. I had never written for theatre before and wasn't sure about the conventions, the appropriate tone, or whether my work was too dramatic or too mainstream. I questioned and doubted myself a lot.
I was assigned the killing scene and the tattoo scene. While the tattoo scene was straightforward, I struggled with the tonality and sentence structure since I am not a native English speaker. However when I started writing freely and trying out stuff and experimenting, I actually quite enjoyed it as a process.
The killing scene was more challenging. I wanted to create something cathartic and dramatic, referencing the song Gaia sings in the club at the start of the show. I used a Dolly Parton song to create an ominous atmosphere and immerse the audience in the scene. I was quite proud of what I had written, but it ultimately got cut much shorter. We needed something more straightforward, almost no dialogue, something raw. My version was more lyrical and written, not as punchy as required. When all the writing was done, Betty Read and Poppy Waxman edited and created the final script from our texts.
BEHIND THE SCENES
In this process, I learned a great deal about narrative building, collaboration, and writing for theatre. The experience taught me how to do characterization, explore deeply into character development and world-building, drawing inspiration from various sources to enrich our storyline.
A significant challenge was managing the extensive input from a large team, and the constant reframing of narratives. Writing for theatre presented its own challenges for me, especially in terms of tone and structure, but through creative experimentation, research, and development, I feel like I improved my writing skills.
I had never written for theatre before, and this experience was incredibly valuable. I learned so much and appreciated the opportunity, especially to work with people that have been confronted and are used to this world. Moving forward, I plan to explore and apply these writing techniques in my creative practice. While I may not focus specifically on theatre, I will continue to develop my skills in creative writing, informed by the lessons and successes from this project.
CONCLUSION
