I like the way you’ve characterized and think about non-speaking roles. I, too, use them in my plays. In Holy and Unruly, I have a dead lover and an imagined, never-conceived child who personify Queen Elizabeth’s internal conflicts. In Tiny Empty Nest, I have a couple of stage hands who carry set pieces around to keep the action moving. In Every Creeping Thing, I have a panicked rat whose manic activity emphasizes the existential threat of an approaching asteroid for my dinosaur main characters. It’s a blast to create these characters and a real challenge to figure how to use them in ways that genuinely add to and advance the story. Thanks for this post!
Would you be interested in posting this as a response somewhere in the actual Twitter thread? Or posting your own "thread" and linking to the original twitter thread? I think our followers would love to hear these wonderful examples.
The rat and the cockroach are the only two left alive at the end. I actually had to cut the rat from Zoom productions because his stage action just didn’t translate. But he makes the play when it’s done on stage. He actually has two quick lines, so maybe I’m cheating, but dialogue ain’t his reason for being.
I like the way you’ve characterized and think about non-speaking roles. I, too, use them in my plays. In Holy and Unruly, I have a dead lover and an imagined, never-conceived child who personify Queen Elizabeth’s internal conflicts. In Tiny Empty Nest, I have a couple of stage hands who carry set pieces around to keep the action moving. In Every Creeping Thing, I have a panicked rat whose manic activity emphasizes the existential threat of an approaching asteroid for my dinosaur main characters. It’s a blast to create these characters and a real challenge to figure how to use them in ways that genuinely add to and advance the story. Thanks for this post!
Would you be interested in posting this as a response somewhere in the actual Twitter thread? Or posting your own "thread" and linking to the original twitter thread? I think our followers would love to hear these wonderful examples.
The "panicked rat" ... all smiles here. That's genius.
The rat and the cockroach are the only two left alive at the end. I actually had to cut the rat from Zoom productions because his stage action just didn’t translate. But he makes the play when it’s done on stage. He actually has two quick lines, so maybe I’m cheating, but dialogue ain’t his reason for being.
Dead “lover”, not “liver”. That would be my Bukowski play.
These are great ideas for conveying insights about a character in unique ways!