Challenge #9 - The Bechdel Test

Hi folks

There’s been some confusion as we push into week two about the nature of the challenge, and the individual prompts.

First, specifically about yesterday’s prompt about Series and Cycles, I don’t expect anyone to write an entire cycle or series of plays, long or short, in a single day.  This was just to give you an idea to get started on a new play, or group of plays.  If you think, hey, the 5 stages of dying/grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance - is a great idea, and I know just the thing to write about bargaining, and then you write a few pages of your bargaining idea - that’s enough.  A few pages from one part of whatever your cycle idea is will be more than fine.

Second, this has been part of the discussion before but,

you can ignore the prompts.  

You can do part and not all of a prompt if you want.

Whatever you write is fine, as long as you’re writing.  

This is a random series of prompts.  They are unrelated to one another other than that they’re part of this overall month-long writing challenge exercise.  No one is expected to take the challenge from day 1, and then for day 2 take that day’s challenge and write something that builds on everything you wrote the day before.  This isn’t a puzzle that will magically lead you to a complete play at the end based on the puzzle pieces of each day’s writing prompt.  Would that it were.  If I had a secret blueprint which I could build all my plays from which worked with all ideas at all times, I would have written a lot more plays by now.  If someone actually does manage to create a single play tying all of these challenges together in order, I will either be very impressed, or concerned for your mental health, perhaps both.  To be clear, I only have the prompts mapped out as of this morning through #21 right now.  Even I don’t know the end yet.  There is no overall narrative plan to these, they’re just a bunch of exercises.

Don’t contort your writing to fit the challenge.  

Just write.

Several writers are using the daily deadline as a drive to push through creating a first draft of a new play they’re working on that has nothing to do with any of the prompts.

That’s great.

Some people got an idea with one challenge and decided to run with it, ignoring the other writing challenges each day in order to keep developing their first idea instead.  That’s great, too.

Don’t make this harder on yourself than it actually is.

All you have to do is write,

something,

every day.  

And then turn it in before 8am the following morning.  

That’s it.

There’s even an escape hatch option of a short one line play at the end of every one of these posts.  If you’re dry one day, stressed out, unable to write anything, just email me the mini play at the bottom of the challenge and you get a pass for that day.

And, as has happened, if you have a personal issue related to your own health or the health of your loved ones, that takes precedence, of course.  Take care of yourself and your loved ones.  Writing is not the most important thing in life.  Life is.  If you need a special dispensation because of a sudden emergency, absolutely let me know.  I like to think we’re very understanding.  We won’t be mad or disappointed in you for circumstances beyond your control.  Just keep us in the loop as you’re able.

So… week one down… on to week two…




Let’s get you that writing prompt…


Challenge #9 - The Bechdel Test

Due: Wednesday, November 10th, 8am
(whenever 8am arrives in your time zone; we’ll do the math here in the Central Time zone, no worries :)

This prompt came from a call for scripts put out by a theater company in New York City called The Bechdel Group (www.thebechdelgroup.com):

“We work with scripts in development that include the feminine experience beyond a woman’s romantic relationships. While we acknowledge that love, sex, and romance are all primal parts of being women, we insist that no real, three-dimensional woman lives in a romantic bubble. We want stories about women with diverse, layered, complex lives.

Our selection criteria is based on The Bechdel Test, which states that, in order to pass, a movie or play must contain:
    1. two women (with names)
    2. who speak to each other
    3. about something other than their romantic relationships.

The Bechdel Test first appeared as a conversation in a comic strip of Alison Bechdel's (see picture above). Although now an integral part of feminist film theory and criticism, The Bechdel Test was never meant to be a test. As such, we are excited to continue the discussion of what we believe the 'spirit' of the test to mean, how plays might push the boundaries of the test, and what we mean by 'woman.’”

I will freely admit right now that a great many of my scripts do not pass this test.  So I try to remind myself to examine new stories as I build them, so I’m not just defaulting to a bunch of gay guys (who, granted, also need representation, it’s part of the reason we started Threshold Theater, but they’re not the only people I could be telling stories about.  There’s a lot of different kinds of humans behind the letters in LGBTQIA+)

So, for this one, whether it’s something you do all the time already or not, write something that passes the Bechdel Test, as if you wanted to write something to submit to The Bechdel Group (and no, we have no direct connections to them, we’re not forwarding anything from the challenge to anyone else, that’s up to you, after you finish writing your plays.  These are just ideas to help you start churning out those rough drafts you can revise and polish over the coming year.  No one’s watching or judging, the stakes are SUPER low, put no additional pressure on yourself, just write and have fun.)




How to submit your work for Challenge #9

You have options.  They are:

Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and send as an attachment to an email sent to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com

OR

Copy and past your script in the body of an email and send it to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com

OR

Post your script online (as a Google doc, or in a blog post, on your own personal website, etc.) - email a link to this script to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com
(If you’re going to Google doc route, just make sure to have the document public, or give permissions to our email address to open it)

When emailing us, make the subject line of your email - Challenge #9
(That just helps us sort through the email more quickly)
(Or, you know, just reply to this email if you want :)

OR

Post the link for the online document option above in the comments section on this very blog post for this challenge on our writing challenge blog.



Again, this is: Due: Wednesday, November 10th, 8am
(whenever 8am arrives in your time zone; we’ll do the math here in the Central Time zone, no worries :)

And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.

We will be VERY understanding about technical difficulties and how they can screw up making the deadline on the first few days.  No need to fret about anything except the writing (and hopefully that’s not something causing you to fret too much either :)

Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 8am on Wednesday to write if you need it.  When you’re done, you’re done.

A friendly reminder - you don’t have to write to the prompts if they don’t inspire you.  You can ignore them and just write whatever you want, just as long as you’re writing (that’s the main thing, not what you write)

Someone had a good question about the overall goal of the month, are we supposed to write a full-length play, or two one-act plays, etc.?  The short answer is no (unless you want to).  The longer answer is here if you’re curious.

For those concerned about format, we’re pretty liberal about that, too - just as long as it’s legible and in English.  More on that here.

Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)

Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. You have 21 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it make sense to you.

It just needs to be something.

And that something can be:

Lights up.

Two women, named Kelly and Sandra, appear, and talk about something other than men or their romantic relationships. 

Lights down.

The End

That’s always your escape hatch, every day.

That’s your base line.

Build on it.

Have fun.

Don’t stress.

Make an impulsive decision and run with it.

Breathe.

You’ve got the day (and a half).

Just write.