WriteGirls Aren't Afraid of Making a Scene
By Laura Lambert, WriteGirl Volunteer
There was an alien, asking a heartbroken guy about the meaning of love. A girl, confronting her mother in a department store changing room. A group of AV Club nerds, nervously welcoming a new girl into the fold. We learned about these characters’ wants, needs and foibles. We laughed. We were moved. And yes, maybe a few of us shed a tear.
That is the magic of the WriteGirl Character & Dialogue Workshop, which took place at the Linwood Dunn Theater in the heart of Hollywood on Saturday, March 9, 2018, amidst gleaming gold Oscar statues and iconic set photography from award-winning films. In this day-long workshop, more than 80 girls and 90 mentees gathered to learn the mechanics of character, dialogue and setting, try their hand at writing both monologues and scenes, and, at the end of the day, witness the inimitable magic that happens when a girl’s words are put in the hands of professional actors, who harness their talents (and volunteered their time) to bring those words to life.
This year, WriteGirl was joined by 12 acclaimed female screenwriters from a wide variety of genres. Jane Anderson (The Wife) described how monologues can be like a song in a musical — a moment when a character has to express something in a way they couldn’t ordinarily express it, and discussed how she created a character out of nothing for her recent play, Mother of the Maid, which starred Glenn Close. Josann McGibbon (Descendants) explained why characters need conflict, and how a “high stakes” moment can be anything from a life and death decision to who gets the last french fry. Clare Sera (Smallfoot), who hosted the event with endless warmth and humor, as she has for the last 17 seasons, explained the “Rule of Threes” for comedic scenes, in which the writer sets up a pattern, repeats it, then breaks it — as well as the weird-but-true comedic power of K-words, like the name Kevin.
Then, in the afternoon, screenwriters worked directly with the girls on their drafts. “It’s such a wonderful community of young girls and professional writers,” says Grainne Godfree (Legends of Tomorrow), who has been a WriteGirl mentor for two seasons now. At this event, however, Godfree came as a screenwriter, sitting center stage to give feedback on scenes, and offering one-on-one feedback in the breakout rooms. “It’s hard to feel depressed about the future when you’re surrounded by girls who are so rambunctious, bold, funny, scared and hopeful themselves,” she says.
As with other WriteGirl workshops, screenwriting is a new genre for many of the girls. Machaela M., a 15-year-old high school sophomore, says she usually writes poetry, but the Character & Dialogue Workshop pushed her to explore other topics — and to try her hand at representing reality. This was her second time at the workshop. “Last year, I didn’t have such an open mind,” she says. “This year, I know I can produce something good, something with universal feeling — something not just for me or another teen, but that adults can feel, too.” Machaela wrote a monologue about an injured dancer, who must sit on the sidelines to heal instead of pursuing her dreams, as well as a scene between two friends who say all the right things, but whose inner dialogue reveals other, more painful truths. “I like being able to make other people feel like someone else knows what they’re going through — and that they're not alone,” she says.
More than a dozen of the monologues and scenes written at the Season 18 WriteGirl Character & Dialogue Workshop will come to life on April 6, 2019, when Seth Rogen, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Wayne Brady and other incredible actors join the stage at Lights! Camera! WriteGirl — our biggest fundraiser of the year. This year, Lauren Graham, best known for her work in Gilmore Girls and Parenthood, hosts. Click here to learn more about Lights, Camera, WriteGirl!
