Expanding the battlefield

Automatic associations are the enemy of writing. They are the approaches to what we “want to say” with what we write. At times, they take the form of evidence, for example, “to talk about loneliness, I will set the scene in a solitary and empty space…” or “I will make a critique of the system through the character of a corrupt politician”. These are typically reflexes of thought resulting from what we have seen others do and our preconceptions about the world and the theatre. Therefore, for the sake of a play, it is incredibly healthy to detect these emerging associations, put them on hold (without discarding them altogether) and investigate further, if only for a while. This approach can help us explore the flipside of our initial intentions, in other words, the exact opposite (where we feel uncomfortable), and discover potentially useful elements. This is the goal of this workshop led by playwright Lucía Carballal.

Taking simple material provided by participants on the first day (e.g. an idea, character, space, formal approach, theme, etc.) as the basis for a script, we will seek to expand their battlefield, i.e. the territory of their writing, in different directions.

Through three concepts —the opposite, the extreme and the ambiguous—we will use practical exercises to explore this new approach to ideas, form, characters, and scenes that we otherwise would not have written. By the end of the workshop, participants will have created an unpredictable map from their initial ideas through various written materials and shared reflections that will ultimately enrich their creative process.