I’ve set myself a little challenge – can I read 30 plays AND can I write 30 very short plays in January? Will I manage it?! If I don’t, well, at least I’ll have tried and I’ll be a lot more immersed in scripts and words than usual. So, it’ll be worth it, whatever happens.
reading
I may not be reading a play each day, but over the next month I’m hoping to read 30 in total. Most will be new plays that I haven’t read before, but some will be old ones I’m revisiting. And I’m thinking most will be Australian works. I’ve recently bought a LOT of second-hand plays from the amazing ‘Already Read Bookshop’ in Euroa, Victoria. They always have a large collection of theatre scripts, and most cost one dollar! Bargain! Every time I pass through Euroa (midway point between Melbourne and Albury), I always visit this lovely little store. Highly recommended!
Will I be reviewing or critiquing the plays? Nope, I don’t have the skill or the desire for that, to be honest! But I’ll post what I’m reading and a few half-formed thoughts.
writing
Honestly, these won’t be fully formed plays. They won’t be finished. They won’t even have a proper ending. I’ll spend about one hour coming up with an idea and writing as much as I can. That’s it. No more drafts, just a segment of a scene. Most of the time my daughter will be hovering in the background trying to talk to me, or the TV will be playing endless Bluey episodes, so that’s just an extra fun addition to the challenge.
I’m going to be using some of the prompts from the original 31 plays in 31 days writing challenge – https://31plays31days.com/ – which used to run in August every year.
Something that I’m wondering… will the plays I’m reading influence the plays I’m writing? Will there be common themes or styles that come through? Who knows?
Also, yes, I know that January has 31 days, but I want to give myself at least one day buffer to catch up! 30 days sounds like a much more round, even number 🙂
So, follow along if you like. I’ll be posting the scripts I’m writing on here, and photos of the scripts I’m reading on instagram (@samwrites_words). Yup, this is my first instagram post ever. Never knew what to post about before!
Samantha Hill 