Day 30: Post Game Recap

Well, this is it. Thirty days of talking about plays. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm exhausted. I think we could all use a break, yes? Let the needtheater blog cool down a bit? Okay, but one more thing...

Halfway through, back on Day 15, we took an intermission break and recapped some of the things we've learned. So before I go, let's run it back for Days 16-29.

Day 16: Global Catastrophe + 1.5 years = First Plays About Global Catastrophe. Global Catastrophe + 10 years = Important Plays About Global Catastrophe. We're going to calls these Dylan's First and Second Laws of Global Catastrophe-Based Playwriting. We're going to do this because I have written a lot in the last month and I deserve at least two quasi-mathematical formulas named after me.

Day 17: The people of Finland deserve an award for their enthusiasm towards their new plays. They might not write the best plays, but they're going to make damn sure the world knows about them. And knowing is half the battle. G.I. Joe.

Day 18: Originality is overrated. You'll twist yourself in knots trying to come up with something different only to end up with a twisty, convoluted mess. Meanwhile, the themes that have always rung true continue to ring true and if you can communicate those clearly, you will find yourself an audience.

Day 19: The key to the future of theater isn't in the plays. It's in the experience of attending a play.

Day 20: Moon Over Buffalo is an incredibly silly play and making fun of it was an awesome experience. I heartily recommend making fun of plays as a form of therapy.

Day 21: There are universal conflicts that the rich and poor share. But right now the world is fucking poor. So no one wants to know how the rich are handling things.

Day 22: The Law of Packaging states that a play's probable quality is inversely proportional to the amount of secondary material that comes with its script.

Day 23: Theater rewards scrappiness. Everything about putting on a play is about problem-solving, doing things on the fly, making something from nothing. Sad as it may be, this means that the best theater will come from the scrappiest artists, i.e. the poor.

Sidenote: Have you noticed how may of these thoughts revolve around being poor? Can you guess the current state of my bank account?

Day 24: When you're talking about theatricality, the line between beautiful and obnoxious is razor thin, and playwrights would be wise to tread very carefully.

Day 25: You know how fellow magicians are probably the worst audience for a magic show because they can't just appreciate the fun of being astounded, they have to figure out how the trick works? Same thing with theater people as theater audiences.

Day 26: A play's quality improves when the environment around it feels supportive and enthusiastic. This is why theater in New York and Chicago is better than it is in L.A., even if it really isn't.

Day 27: Plays aren't getting meaner. But it does seem that way because the world is getting meaner. This sucks, both for writers and for the world.

Day 28: I am a genius.

Day 29: We have to stop taking ourselves so damn seriously.

Okay, I lied. I'm not exhausted. After the party it's the afterparty, y'all! As such, I'm moving this party over to Bitter Lemons (losangeles.bitter-lemons.com) where I'll continue to slash and burn my way through the world's bad plays. So, if you're interested, that's where I'll be.

The needtheater blog will now return to his regularly scheduled programming. Thank you.