DAVID DA VID MAMET TEACHES DRAMA DRAMATIC TIC WRITING
1
v7.0
WELCOME TO MASTERCLASS DAVID DA VID MAMET TEACHES DRAMA DRAMATIC TIC WRITING
1
Write it down. See what you come up with. Are you gonna hate it? Yeah. Are you sometimes gonna love it? Yeah. And then are you gonna hate yourself for feeling so self-confident and doubt yourself? Yeah. Welcome to my world. —David Mamet
A FEW FA FACTS CTS ABOUT DA DAVID VID MAMET ▶
David was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.
▶
David attended Goddard College in Vermont, graduating in 1969 with a degree in English literature, but he considers the Chicago Public Library his alma mater.
▶
In 1985, David and actor William H. Macy founded the Atlantic Theater Company, an o-Broadway nonprot theater.
▶
David has written 36 plays, 29 screenplays, and 17 books. He has directed 11 lms.
▶
Since May 2005, David has drawn satirical cartoons for The Hungton Post’s blog. Post’s blog.
v7.0
01
INTRODUCTION DAVID DA VID MAMET TEACHES DRAMA DRAMATIC TIC WRITING
2
HOW TO TO USE THIS CLASS
Before you dive in, we have a few recommendations for getting the most out of your experience. THINGS YOU MIGHT NEED
To enjoy this class, you only need your computer and a desire to learn. However, here are a few other items we think will enhance your learning experience:
A
CLASS WORKBOOK
This printable PDF is lled with lesson recaps and assignments, links to external resources, and places for you to take notes as you go. B
SUGGESTED VIEWING SCHEDULE
David explains his techniques to you in 26 lessons. It’s tempting to nish all of the lessons in one sitting. We’d like to recommend our suggested viewing schedule, which you’ll nd on pages 4 and 5 of this class workbook. C
DAVID'S DA VID'S SCRIPTS AND AN D PLAYS
To fully enjoy some of the lessons, we recommend reading the full scripts of three of David's plays: American plays: American Bufalo Bufalo,, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Oleanna Oleanna.. D
WRITING MATERIALS
You’ll want to keep writing materials handy, both for taking notes while going through the class and for completing several of the assignments.
v7.0
01
INTRODUCTION DAVID DA VID MAMET TEACHES DRAMA DRAMATIC TIC WRITING
3
THINGS YOU WILL SEE
Here are a few general tips for navigating your way around the class site:
LESSON VIDEOS
INTERACTIVE ASSIGNMENTS
Watch and listen to David Mamet explain the nuts and bolts of his process, one lesson at a time. time .
Take advantage of the innovative tools and interactive assignments we’ve created to enhance your education.
LESSON DISCUSSIONS
OFFICE HOURS
Share your works in progress and ask your peers for help and support if you’ve hit a roadblock.
Submit and watch video questions for David from the MasterClass community.
THE HUB
QUESTIONS & FEEDBACK
Continue connecting with your MasterClass peers by using our community, The Hub.
We want to hear from you! Email
[email protected].
[email protected] .
v7.0
01
INTRODUCTION DAVID DA VID MAMET TEACHES DRAMA DRAMATIC TIC WRITING
4
CLASS OUTLINE—SUGGESTED VIEWING SCHEDULE
W E EK 1
W EE K 2
01 INTRODUCTION ▶
What You'll Learn
▶
Throw Away Your Preconceptions & Be Analytical
02 & 03 THE PURPOSE
07 CHARACTER
12 CASE STUDY:
There Is No Such Thing as
STRUCTURING STRUCTURIN G THE
Character
PLOT – GLENGARRY
▶
Characters Are What They Do
GLEN ROSS
▶
Give Characters an Objective
▶
Writing Backstory Is Just Passing
▶
OF DRAMA
the Time Don't Manipulate Change in the
▶
Everything in Life Is Drama
▶
Good Drama Doesn't Teach
▶
The Only Purpose Is to Entertain
▶
Drama Is a Form of Myth
▶
Drama Frees Us from Reason
▶
Plot Is All That There Is
Drama Helps Us Deal with Our
▶
You Need a Precipitating Event
Consciousness
▶
Second-Act Problem: The Mid-Life
▶
▶
Character
08 PLOT
Crisis
04 & 05 DRAMATIC
▶
Don't Skip Over the Real Problem
RULES
▶
Learn Plot by Writing Plots
▶
Find the Plot
▶
Aristotle's Rule for Story
▶
The Hero's Journey
▶
Aristotle's Unities
▶
Keep the Story Simple
▶
The Basic Rule: Tell the Story
▶ ▶
Cut It if You Think You Should
09 & 10 STRUCTURING THE PLOT ▶
Plotting the Journey
▶
Three Uses of the Knife: Three-Act Structure
Master the Rules by Writing
06 STORY IDEAS
WEEK 3
▶
Inspiration
▶
Tragedy vs. Drama
▶
Structuring the Plot
13 & 14 DIALOGUE ▶
Write Dialogue Rhythmically
▶
Dialogue Comes from What the Character Wants
▶
Bad Dialogue
▶
Just Write It Down and Try It Out
▶
Poetry Can Move Souls
▶
Draw Language from Dierent Cultures
▶
Draw Language from Those Who Do It Naturally
▶
Read Great Dialogue
15 NARRA NARRATION TION & EXPOSITION ▶
Leave the Information-Telling to the Newspapers
11 CASE STUDY:
▶
Use Your Life Experiences
STRUCTURING THE TH E PLOT
▶
Don't Bore Them with the Facts
▶
Inspiration for American Bufalo Bufalo
BUFFALO O – AMERICAN BUFFAL
▶
Exposition Is the Excess Flesh
▶
Inspiration for Sexual Perversity in
▶
▶
Leave Narration for TV
▶
Fix Narration Problems Now
▶
Shoot for Show, Cut for Dough
▶
You Want the Audience to Care
▶
Let Audience Help You You Cut Out
Chicago ▶
Inspiration for Oleanna
▶
Themes
▶
Look for the Idea Where You Least Expect It
Three Uses of the Knife: The Bualo Nickel
▶
Plot Structure Is Hard-Wired Into the Human Experience
Exposition
v7.0
01
INTRODUCTION DAVID DA VID MAMET TEACHES DRAMA DRAMATIC TIC WRITING
WEEK 4
16 SCENES ▶
▶
W EEK 5
19 THE AUDIENCE
22 & 23 ACTORS
▶
Collectively,, They’re a Genius Collectively
▶
Acting Technique
Questions
▶
The Audience Is Your Speaking
▶
Casting Actors
Teacher
▶
The Greatest Ones Are Prophets
Entertain Them (But Don’t Flatter
▶
The Path to Prophecy
▶
Actors Should Leave Room for
The Audience Doesn’t Care About
▶
Take Out Obligatory Scenes
▶
If It’s Boring You, It’ll Bore the
▶
Them) ▶
Audience
17 & 18 WRITING PROCESS
▶
W EEK 6
Every Scene Must Answer Three
the Scenes You Cut
▶
5
The Audience Is Willing to Suspend Disbelief
▶
Get Your Ass in the Water and
▶
Find the Truth
Swim Like Me
▶
The Audience Comes to Hear the
and Bleed
▶
▶
Your Journeys Are the Same
20 & 21 LIES & TRUTH
Sit Down at the Typewriter
the Unforeseeable Actors Shouldn’t Try to Get Anything from the Audience ▶
The Dramatist’s Relationship with the Actor
▶
Ruth Draper
Truth
24 & 25 LIFE OF
Drama Helps Us Search for the
A DRAMATIST
Truth
▶
Work at the Chop Shops
▶
Treasure Your Artifacts Artif acts
▶
Write with Your Your Unconscious Mind
▶
Not All Untruths Are Lies
▶
When It's Terrible, Terrible, It's not so Bad
▶
The Audience Will Go Through the
▶
Lie and Truth in Speed-the-Pl Speed-the-Plow ow
▶
Learn How to Stand the
Same Process
▶
Lie and Truth in American Bufalo
▶
Writer’s Block
▶
Telling the Uncomfortable Truth
▶
The Thinking, Worrying, and Napping Are Part of the Process
▶
Outlines
▶
Writing Is Rewriting
▶
Be Clinical with Your Work
▶
Just Write It Down
Uncertainty ▶
About Education And Sex: Oleanna ▶
Telling The Uncomfortable Truth
Dedication Leads You You Beyond Consciousness
▶
About Race: Race
If You Want to Do This, You’ll Figure It Out
▶
The Responsibility Is a Privilege
▶
Self-Doubt
▶
What’s Stopping You?
▶
Avoid Inaction
26 CLOSING
v7.0
