The Central Works method

The Central Works Method is a method of collaborative play development.  Though only one writer, the playwright, actually does the writing in this method, all the “collaborative partners” (the director, the actors and a few others, in addition to the playwright) are thoroughly involved in the development of the script from its inception.  The process can be accomplished in a minimum of 12 weeks (3 months) in advance of a standard rehearsal schedule, though an optimal development schedule is perhaps 6 to 9 months before rehearsals begin.

THE POINT OF DEPARTURE:  When Central Works invites a writer to develop a play with the company, the first thing we agree upon is the approximate opening date of the premiere production of the project.  The company commits to see the project through to production at the outset.  We team the writer with a director, and then we ask the writer to come up with a subject for a play, a formative idea—a point of departure.  This is the core idea that the actors commit to when they join the project.  Some examples:

• The story of the three sisters in King Lear.  A contemporary comedy for 3 actresses:  Every Inch A King. 
• Women who murder.  2 actresses:  Roux.
• The myth of Achilles and Patroklos (with Briseis, Agamemnon and Cassandra):  Achilles and Patroklos.
• The lottery.  6 actors:  Lottomania:  Play Here!
• The IRS.  4 actors:  IRS – I Want You
• Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, Wakefield.  The play begins where the story leaves off:  Wakefield; or, Hello Sophia.

Sometimes the roles are explicit at the point of departure, sometimes not.  Sometimes there is a foundational narrative at the point of departure (a myth, a historical incident, an existing short story, or a classic play); sometimes the story must be entirely devised.  In any case, the actors commit to this germinal idea with the assurance that, beyond the point of departure, no script exists when the workshop process begins.

Rule number one:  the playwright does not start writing until the first workshop meeting. 

THE FIRST WORKSHOP:  We try to keep cast size small, usually 2-4 (with rare exceptions), for reasons of economy and practicality; scheduling group meetings with busy actors and others over a period of several months is a considerable logistical challenge.  The smaller the group the easier it is to manage development and production.

In careful consultation with the playwright, the director enlists the actors in the project, and the development process begins with a first meeting, the first of ten 3-hour workshops.

The first order of business is scheduling the next nine 3-hour meetings over the course of the workshop phase.  All meetings are scheduled according to the availability of all collaborative partners.  Attendance of all partners at all workshop meetings is critical.  Once the schedule is set, we begin.

We discuss the basic idea, the point of departure.  What questions does the idea provoke?  We brainstorm.  And we begin a coordinated research effort. 

RESEARCH:  Following the playwright’s lead, the director coordinates a research effort in the group aimed at seeking out anything interesting related to the subject of the play in any way, no matter how tangential.  Partners are asked to seek out and bring in anything which they find of particular interest:  books, articles, DVDs, music, personal experience, special experts or guests who might be able to attend workshop meetings, possibly field trips, anything related to the subject matter in any way is invited into the mix.  Partners allow their own interest to be their guide in procuring material for presentation to the group.  No one knows what will ultimately end up in the play; the initial research effort is purely investigative, freewheeling, and open to discovery.  The research effort continues throughout development, even into rehearsal in some sense, but it dominates the first few workshop meetings, and then begins to taper off as the play begins to take shape.

SCRIPT SESSIONS:  At some point in the workshop schedule, usually around the fourth or fifth meeting, the playwright begins to bring written material into the group.  The material might be scenario or outline at first, then perhaps a first scene, perhaps progressively longer portions of the developing play.  The actors read their roles and the group discusses the material in dramaturgical terms.  How is the idea developing?  What is working?  What is not working?  Further brainstorming. 

THE WORKSHOP DRAFT:  The minimum objective of the workshop process is a complete first draft of the play by the last meeting.  Sometimes playwrights complete second, third, or even further drafts of the play before the last workshop.  On occasion, we may not have a first draft by then.  That’s stressful.  And worrisome.  We always allow for a hiatus of 2 or more weeks after the conclusion of the workshop schedule before the outset of rehearsal in order to allow for final revisions.  We have been known to see fairly massive re-writes well into rehearsals (once even after opening), but nothing has a way of focusing a playwright’s imagination (the entire partnership’s imagination) like an opening date.  And having been through the development of a script from its literal inception provides for a unique awareness on the part of the actors, the whole team, at first rehearsals.  This team knows the play when rehearsals begin.  They know the whole idea.  The roles were written for them.  It’s a very exciting way to make a play.