It is 4:30 in the morning. Lights slowly reveal a battered wooden bench, some empty pizza boxes scattered here and there, and a wobbly teeter-totter off to one side. From offstage we hear someone whistling a tune. Then silence. A few moments later, a clown leaps into the scene, and lands with a flourish. After checking out the playground, the clown picks up one of the pizza boxes, sniffs around the edges for a moment or two, opens the lid and picks out a limp, half-eaten piece of pepperoni pizza. But just as the clown is about to take a bite of the pizza, from offstage we hear “Eat that pizza and you die!” Or maybe the voice says, “That’s my pizza, Clown Boy!” Or “Stop! The pepperoni is poisoned!” Which choice intrigues the most? And why? This workshop will explore how to make provocative choices about character and plot, and how dialogue and stage business work together to make interesting stuff happen!
