MAN MADE (What's that then?)
This is my debut play which I wrote as part of my Independent Study this year. It all started over a cup of coffee discussion between Carl and I in April 2001. I told him that I wanted to write a play script for my Independent Study, and Carl told me he wanted to direct a play for his. So, we decided to collaborate our efforts - both coming up with the concept of 'Man Made' at the same time. And that was that. I wrote a few ideas for scenes and characters over the summer and then in the second year, we set aboout workshoping and improvising around them. The play was then written entirely based on the workshops and improvisations. Quite a risky way to write a play, but it paid off. Carl and I were blessed with a good cast of actors who really took on their roles and made those characters their own. So, in a sense, this play is as much theirs as it is mine or Carl's. After all, most of the funniest lines and moments in the play came from the cast themselves - and without them, it wouldn't have been half as good. No way.
So what's it all about?
The original idea for 'Man Made' was to play it outside. But as the play developed in it's own right, it ended up being best played in the studio. The main idea behind the play was to explore the mundaness of 'everyday life'. This concept has been done to death in theatre, but it was our handling of it which made the play fresh and enjoyable. We set it in the most grey place possible, an office, and placed in wild characters who would institutionalise themselves into their surrounding, unable to move on or except change. From the outset, the play explores the character's relationships as a phase in their lives draws to an end and how they will handle life after the office. All are unable to accept the inevitable, sheltering themselves from their own truths. The pointlessness of life is an extremely depressing concept, but in the play, the sense of tragedy is lifted by the comedy, the wild characters and funny situations in the play. The style is fast-paced and the tone is very much ironic, with a strong sense of pathos lying underneath for the duration of the whole play.
Read it yourself
I don't want to tell you too much about the play in case you didn't see it when it was performed, or you haven't read it. However, you can read the full script here on my website, and I recommend that you do. A lot of people liked the play, and some even related to parts of it! This is to date the best script I have written, and hope that my writing will keep improving. So read it! Then email me and tell me what you though of it.
READ 'MAN MADE'
AFTER 'MAN MADE'
There was a scene I wrote for 'Man Made' which ended up being cut. It was a scene where all the characters go out for a night in a club. The cast loved the scene, saying that it was the funniest in the play. Unfortuantely, it soon became clear that it was over-long and just not relevant. I do agree when Carl said "Too long!" - It was about half the size of the final play! That's far too long for one scene, and the play worked so much better without it. However, the scene is not lost. I loved it so much that I thought - why not write it as follow-up One Act Play. But, I didn't want to make it a prequel or a sequel to 'Man Made', so I've decided to invent new characters and make it a play about one night out in a club with some very strange people. They go through the night with little secret agendas, playing eachother of one another wearing eachother's character down, until it they all explode into one big mess at the end. I'm going to start writing it soon with the working title - 'Acid Balls' - like 'Man Made', it's a metephorical title. If you want to read the cut scene, you can read it here. If you've read or seen 'Man Made', you'll realise how irrelevant this scene was, but it's funny! (It originally took place between Scenes 4a and 5)
READ CUT SCENE FROM 'MAN MADE' |
