Next Full-Length

Now that Once More has reached a near-final state, I figure I'll start brainstorming my next full-length. I'm getting closer and closer to identifying myself as "a playwright", in that I'm starting to feel like I need to be working on something at any given time.

I want my next play to be much more lighthearted than my last two. Once More is dramatic, and The Florentine was tragicomic, so I think I'm going to play around with a more farcical comedy. Again, I'll be using this blog to think out loud, and to work through roadblocks.

I think this next show will, again, be some metatheatre. I'm thinking in terms of a production that goes terribly awry due to backstage developments. This means the play within the play will need to be one very well-known, so the audience can pick up on points of departure. This will most likely end up being Shakespeare, probably Romeo + Juliet.

However, if I use Shakespeare, it needs to be an adaptation, specifically for only 4 or 5 actors. I'm leaning towards 4. This way, we get a lot of the farcical entrances and exits and quick costume changes.

The main source of real conflict, I think, will be a love triangle among the actors, with the fourth actor being the only decent person in the cast, but the one all the awful things happen to.

Thought: if the 'outsider' member of the cast plays Romeo? Then, the only person not involved in the conflict involving Juilet is Romeo.

I'm going to work on a plot structure for this, soon. I'll post it when I'm done.

EDIT: I've decided I don't particularly like this idea. It's a little too close to Kiss Me Kat (a play I don't like) and the work required doesn't match the emotional payoff.