Book to Screen

by Frank Catalano

  In writing, the process of manipulation is when the writer creates all of the details of any given situation. Every detail of what happens is written in and every outcome is carefully controlled. Then what of selection?

  The writer creates a framework to develop the idea and through experimentation “selects” from what what organically evolves what will become the permanent story.

  This method has its pitfalls. A lot of your experimentation may result in failure. It may also take your story and characters in a direction that was not intended. But it will also take you on a journey where you can discover elements of story and character that (although inside of you) that you would have utilized. The skill of selection is to take what you can from your experimentation that works and discard those elements that don’t. But it is not wasted – you also learn from what does not work. This is writing on your feet.

  12

  WRITING USING IMPROVISATION

  Writing on your Feet

  I WAS GOING TO do what I call “TAG SCENES” Let me tell you what a “TAG SCENE” is so that you can use this technique on your own. A “TAG SCENE” is this… okay lets’ try one so you can see what I’m talking about. Okay, everybody, let’s get up… you need a group maybe five or ten people, put them in a circle. Let’s make the circle a bit larger so we have lots of space to move. We start with just a circle.

  (Catalano selects an audience member as a volunteer and both move to the center of the circle.)

  Let’s start with you and I. I will start the improvisation and you will respond. I speak and then you speak… and we move and as the scenario develops at some point one of you (indicating audience members) will say, “FREEZE.” The two people in the middle of the circle literally freeze what ever they are doing. Their physicality and speech becomes literally frozen as if they were mannequins in a store window. Then the person who stated “freeze” will come into the center of the circle and “tag” on of the two people out – then assume the exact physical stance and gesture they were in. The person tagged returns to the outer circle and can come back in again at any time What happens then, is that person, who comes in, assuming the physical gesture, breaks it and begins a whole new improvisation with a whole new who, what when and where. A totally new situation is created with a different physicality and characters until they are “frozen” by one of you. Then the improvisation ends and a new one is created by the person coming in. The entire process continues over and over again. New characters, new situations created in an endless loop. Pretty crazy eh? A couple of things to remember:

  The two people in the center of the circle must be able to create a specific who, what, when and where before they are tagged out. This means, that one person can come in and say one line then gets tagged out. We have to allow them to create the basics.

  When the incoming person creates a certain reality, the person already in the circle must accept it. This means if one person comes in and tags someone out, then says (as part of the new scene) “Can you press the thirteen floor for me please.” And the person that already in the circles responds with “What do you mean, thirteenth floor? We are at the beach!” This would create a disconnect and the scene would be hard to create because the participants were not listening to on another.

  A word about “physicality.” When the person comes in and tags someone out, they must create their situation out of the physical gesture (from the person they tagged out) they have assumed. They should not, assume it then drop it and say their first line. The first line has to evolve out of the physical gesture.

  Okay? Should we try a few of these?

  (Nervous Audience laughter.)

  I’ll start. Let me say one more thing to you.

  (Catalano directs his comments to the audience member with him in the middle of the circle.)

  It’s important that you and I are a bit “over physical.” Meaning we should use larger gestures to provide specific gestures to assume for the people tagging us out and starting a new improvisation. Okay, should we try it?

  (Audience member Yes!)

  Okay, don’t leave me up here… one of you guys has to tag me out. Okay?

  (Audience member “We will tag you out after like twenty five minutes” More audience laughter.)

  You can tag me out or anyone else. It doesn’t matter. All of that… okay, here we go.

  Oh wait a minute.

  (A new person (female), not in the seminar, enters the room.)

  Hi.

  (Person “I feel like I’m literally walking in on writing on your feet. Did I just hear you say that I can come in?”

  I did. Why don’t you watch this for a second and then join us?

  (Person responds, “Okay…”)

  Have you ever done improvisation?

  (Person responds: “Oh… I hate it… but I’ll watch.)

  Improvisation for writers… it just clears the house out.

  (Audience laughter.)

  Okay, here we go – one, two, three…

  (Improvisation begins Audience #1 is female)

  Catalano: “I’m really sorry I’m late honey…

  Audience #1: “I fixed your favorite meal… you always have an excuse.”

  Catalano: “I had to work at the office… look I mean I’ve got a microphone.”

  Audience #1: “You always have to work…”

  Catalano: “I know…”

  Audience #1: “I have a three year old – you want to change that!”

  Catalano: “Hi Freddie…”

  Audience #1: “God damn it!”

  Catalano: “I’m sorry, look… I know I smell of perfume but it’s not what you think. I was… you didn’t know that did you?”

  Audience #2: “Freeze!”

  Audience #1: You… (Crying)

  (Audience laughter. Then a new audience member enters and creates and entirely new scene. Catalano exits improvisation.)

  Catalano: Thank you… perfect…

  (Audience #1 is female and Audience #2 is male.)

  Audience #2: The aircraft looked like this… it rolled, it came on full throttle and I fired a missile down on it… it missed. It went for a roll down here… and what should I have done next?

  Audience #1: “Then what the fuck were you doing over in Israel?”

  (Audience laughter)

  Audience #2: “I was fighting Arabs what else do you think I was doing over Israel?”

  Audience #1: “Did you not see the sign on the plane? It was not the Arabs you hit!”

  Audience #2: “I wasn’t…”

  Catalano: “Freeze…”

  Excellent… excellent. I don’t know if you noticed what he did? He took the physical space exactly and he made it into something else. That normally takes a long time for people to get and he just got it right out of the box. That’s exactly right. Let’s continue.

  (Improvisation begins. Audience #1 and Audience #2 are both female.)

  Audience #1: (crying) “You told me you wouldn’t tell them… you lied…”

  Audience #2: “I’m sorry… but you know I had to… it was my job. I’m a counselor and I had to tell the authorities.”

  Audience #1: “Now, they’re going to lock me up… (crying.)

  Audience #2: “They won’t… they’ll just give you counseling.”

  Audience #1: (more crying)

  Catalano: “Freeze…”

  (Catalano tags out one person and brings in another member of the audience.)

  Catalano: “Anyone you want…”

  Audience #1: “I’ll take her.”

  Catalano: “Excellent work.”

  (Audience #1 is male and Audience #2 is female.)

  Audience #1: “So, when I talked to Miss Suliman, I said that I thought it was actually nine embryos not just eight. So I don’t know what happened. So, what am I supposed to tell the press?”

  Audience #2: “Well, first of all… you need to learn how to count. This very important Yuk Yuk Yuk – how did you pass medic
al school?”

  Audience #1: “Well, this wasn’t my first language. You know this… I don’t know what I’m going do though because the press is hounding me for more and more information and they think that I’m a creep because I put all these embryos in there…”

  (Catalano cuts in.)

  Catalano: “Freeze...”

  (Brings in a new audience member to tag someone out.)

  Catalano: “Anyone you want.”

  (A new improvisation is started Audience #1 is a male and Audience #2 is a female.)

  Audience #1: “What did you expect I would think when you come in wearing…fishnet hose and a short skirt?”

  Audience #2: “I’m sorry honey, I didn’t think you would notice. Didn’t you realize where the extra money was coming from? It’s not my fault! You know! I mean I’m paying for all your fancy cars – I had to get the money somewhere.

  Audience #1: “I’m not complaining about the money or even where it came from… but you didn’t tell me. I can’t pass on it… the right amount of funds to our agent – he has to know where our source of supply comes from otherwise he might complain about the wrong ten percent.

  Audience #2: “You can’t tell him… you can’t tell him… tell him that I’m working on the wrong side of the street!”

  (Catalano ends the improvisation.)

  Catalano: “…and freeze.”

  Good, let’s make a circle… will you join us?

  (Audience member reluctantly joins the group.)

  (Audience laughter.)

  13

  YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE FUNNY TO IMPROVISE

  Writing on your Feet

  NOW THERE’S SOMETHING I want to say about improvisation, I don’t really need to say it here, but sometimes people participating, tell me if you think it’s true, that they feel they have to be funny when they come up here. What you do and say always has to be funny?

  (Several audience members indicate agreement.)

  Well, it doesn’t. So, you can have some real moments up here… not everything is a Saturday Night Live skit… we can also do drama. We will be doing some longer form sitting down in a minute. Now, I want to just try something – it doesn’t have to be funny – it can be just real. Especially, if you are working on a dramatic piece. But dramatic pieces can also have humor in them too.

  How many of you had difficulty coming up with the first line when you entered the improvisations today?

  (Many of the audience members raise their hands in agreement.)

  Okay, I’m going to fix that right now. I want everyone to think of a first line and make it so that it is something you can remember.

  (Catalano welcomes the new member of the audience who has finally stepped into the group.)

  By the way, I’m Frank Catalano.

  (Audience member: “I’m Maggie.)

  Hi Maggie. How do you do? Okay, here we go… okay, so what’s your first line?

  Audience: “What are you doing here?”

  Audience: “Why did you kill my child?”

  Audience: “But I always wanted to do that.”

  Audience: “Hello, Frankie angel…”

  Audience: “I don’t want to do much of anything.”

  Okay, that’s a good start… should I have a first line too? Here’s mine

  Catalano: “I’ll take cherry vanilla.”

  I hope I don’t forget that… I know I will.

  Alright, let’s spread out a bit and let’s start with two people in the center and we will start the first line of the improvisation with the line you have selected and the person already in the circle will respond with their first line Every time someone is tagged out, the new person coming in will always start (no matter what the physicality of the position they are taking) with the line they have selected. You know the ones we said when we went around the circle a moment ago.

  Let’s give a try:

  (Two audience members take the center of the circle and begin)

  (Note they will always be identified as Audience #1 and Audience #2.)

  Audience #1: “Hello, Frankie Angel…”

  Audience #2: “What are you doing here?”

  Audience #1: “Well, just… oh wait you weren’t Frankie Angel. I’m so sorry, my bad… well I guess I better go now.”

  Audience #2: “You obviously don’t know what the hell you’re doing here?”

  Audience #1: “Well… actually I don’t. You know… Well my “meds” I thought I was going to be on certain “meds” and they got them mixed up and now I’m… I think I’m lost.”

  Audience #2: “You’re lost? I’ve got some “meds” here if you need them.”

  Okay cut. Good.

  (One audience member remains and one steps out of the center of the circle and is replaced by a different audience member.)

  Come on in… remember you start with your first line and you respond with your first line.

  Audience #1: (whisper) Why did you kill my child?”

  Audience #2: “Hello, Frankie Angel…”

  Audience #1: “You’re caught…”

  Audience #2: “I’m who?”

  Audience #1: “You’re caught… I died to come after you.”

  Audience #2: “What?”

  Audience #1: “I want to know why you killed my child.”

  Audience #2: “I don’t think I know… oh my goodness, that was your child? I thought that was my child. I’m confused, that was your child?”

  Audience #1: “I gave birth to him…”

  Audience #2: “Wait… that was our child… why are you saying it’s your child. It’s always about your child… it’s always about your needs. What about my needs?

  Audience #1: “I gave birth to him… I have the sagging breasts… I have the cesarean scar to prove it!”

  Audience #2: “You know what? Prove it!”

  And cut… that was good. That was great!

  (Audience laughter)

  Should we write that down? That was good. Oaky, let’s go back out… are you okay with this?

  (Audience member responds with a “yes.”

  I thought you said you didn’t like improvisation. You know what this is… she’s a “plant” who knows how to do this cold. She is going to just come in

  (Audience laughter.)

  and says to herself “I’m just going to play this fool…” Okay, you have your first line. Let’s do another one.

  Audience #1: “I never want to do much of anything.”

  Audience #2: “But I always wanted to do this…”

  Audience #1: “But I don’t…”

  Audience #2: “But I do… and I thought…”

  Audience #1: “Oh, please…”

  Audience #2: “But it’s really fun… it’s really fun… it’s great… it’s great.”

  Audience #1: “It could be…”

  Audience #2: “…and that parachute on the back… ignore the bricks… they put bricks in the special back packs. But’s it’s okay; you’re going to love this. They’re going to put you in a plane. It will be fabulous – you signed the insurance policy. Right?”

  Audience #1: “Sure… whatever. Just somebody is going to have to push me… because I’m not going otherwise.”

  Audience #2: “They’ll push you… they’ll push you. I’ll push you.”

  And cut. Good… very Hitchcock…

  (Audience laughter.)

  Let’s bring in a new person and a new line.

  (Audience member leaves and a different one enters the circle.)

  You start.

  Audience #1: “I don’t want to do much of anything.”

  Audience #2: “What are you doing here?”

  Audience #1: “I just walked in by mistake and it was a mistake but I didn’t realize you guys would ask me to do anything.”

  (Audience laughter)

  Audience #2: “You mean you walked through a door that says “ACTION IN HERE” and you expected no action?

  Audience #1: “I
t didn’t say that. It didn’t say anything like that.”

  Audience #2: “Did you read the door?”

  Audience #1: “No…”

  Audience #2: “Oh come on… it’s on the door – I wrote it there…

  Audience #1: “You did?”

  Audience #2: “Yes, I wrote there… I took my pen and I wrote it there.”

  And cut… good! Don’t run away.

  (Audience laughter.)

  Okay, who do I want to pair up? Okay… you start.

  Audience #1: “What are you doing here?”

  Catalano: “I’d like a cherry vanilla…”

  Audience #1: “A cherry vanilla?”

  Catalano: “Yes, sir.”

  Audience #1: “I’m sorry, we don’t have cherry vanilla.”

  Catalano: “Oh? I saw cherry over there and vanilla over here and I thought maybe you could put them together.”

  Audience #1: “If you saw an elephant over there and a zebra over there would you put them together?”

  Catalano: “Look, my kid’s in the car… can you give me a break? He’s crying and the kid gives me… you know I really shouldn’t even be here. I took…”

  Audience #1: “Look, all I have here Pee Boo Bear and Black Walnut… would you like a shake?”