Ideas
A Premise That Fits on One Page
A one-page performance premise clarifies the situation, intended change, and main constraint so collaborators can make…
The complete reading room
All articles
Explore writing about the ideas, words, rehearsal choices and staging decisions that give live performance its shape.
Writing
Dialogue or Direct Address: Choosing a Way to Speak
Compare dialogue and direct address in a short scene to see which form makes its essential information clear and its…
Rehearsal
The Rehearsal Question That Opens a Scene
A playable rehearsal question helps a stuck scene move by clarifying its immediate stakes, useful objects, and…
Staging
The Prop That Steals the Scene
Give a stage prop one clear dramatic function, so its handling sharpens the scene and keeps the audience’s attention…
Audience
A Five-Minute Reset Between Scenes
A five-minute reset between scenes turns one audience-facing observation into a clear handoff, so the next scene…
A point of view
Make the choices visible.
A performance is built from many decisions, large and small. Looking closely at them can make the creative process easier to understand and use.