Today you get a “behind the scenes” look at the development of a Living Black and White™ script! Over the past 30 years, our Artistic Director, Kurt Kleinmann, has written over 20 new scripts, 17 of those in the Living Black and White™ series (LBW). Writing an LBW script is an amazing juggling act, and one for which I have had a front-row seat as the wife of the playwright. Here are my observations from over the years:
- Inspiration gets the whole process started. Kurt has had many ideas over the years, but if an idea doesn’t entertain his muse, there is no point in wasting time trying to write about it. Some ideas have lain fallow for years before inspiration struck and the words began to flow.
- 90% of the writing happens in Kurt’s head, without touching a keyboard. Some of this time is spent in research but most of it is spent asking the characters to tell Kurt about themselves.
- Once inspiration strikes, Kurt writes extremely well under pressure. That’s not to say that it’s pleasant for him to write under pressure, but it’s a reliable motivator if he is stuck in the process!
- Kurt used to try to write scripts in advance and finally realized that he wasn’t playing to his strengths by doing so. Something at which Kurt excels is writing a role specifically for an individual, capitalizing on what that person does especially well. And he doesn’t know who he’s writing for until after the show has been cast. This creates a delightful challenge for the director at auditions. Kurt will give the director a rough outline of the characters in the play and the director casts the most talented actors that fit those outlines. Kurt then has the information he needs to handcraft a role for each actor, and the script writing begins.
- Rehearsals typically start about four and a half weeks before Opening Night. By the first rehearsal, Kurt generally has the first act written and the second act started. So it takes a cast of actors who are flexible and not freaked out at the fact that they don’t have the full script from day one. Not everyone can handle the uncertainty!
- Kurt is a generous playwright, always mindful of the need to give each character something interesting to do. And he is extremely disciplined in his writing: knowing how many pages it will take to explore a sub-plot or plant a red herring or unmask the killer! He is always mindful of the story arc, doling out pages to their appointed task like a foreman with a work crew.
- Perhaps the most interesting aspect to Kurt’s writing is the “black pages”, so called because they arrive in a sealed black envelope. The black pages are the final dozen or so pages of the script, the ones that reveal who the murderer is. Kurt withholds this information from the cast until about half-way through rehearsals, and he does so very intentionally. You see, without the black pages, no one knows “who dunnit”. Which means ANYONE could be guilty. Over the years we’ve found that this motivates the actors to all “act guilty”. For all they know, they could in fact be the murderer!
Last night we read the black pages for Death Is a Bad Habit! What a treat! Don’t miss YOUR opportunity to learn the identity of the murderer in this year’s adventure! Tickets start at $22, and previews begin December 29. Call the Eisemann box office at (972) 744-4650 for tickets and more information. We look forward to seeing you soon!