{"id":4916,"date":"2017-10-26T17:46:06","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T17:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=4916"},"modified":"2018-08-20T14:27:05","modified_gmt":"2018-08-20T14:27:05","slug":"playwriting-liz-lermans-critical-response-process-for-workshopping-new-plays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/playwriting-liz-lermans-critical-response-process-for-workshopping-new-plays\/","title":{"rendered":"Playwriting: Liz Lerman\u2019s Critical Response Process for Workshopping New Plays"},"content":{"rendered":"

Playwriting: Liz Lerman\u2019s Critical Response Process for Workshopping New Plays<\/h3>\n \"\"<\/a><\/span>

Written by\u00a0Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n

October 26, 2017<\/p>\n<\/font>

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Every new playwright needs a garden in which they can cultivate their growing script. In our continuing series for beginning playwrights, we discuss the advantages of Liz Lerman\u2019s Critical Response process that\u2019s <\/span>perfect <\/span><\/i>for every growing playwright. Obviously, you’ve got questions, right? We’ve all got questions. Let’s start from the beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who\u2019s Liz Lerman?<\/h4>\n
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Liz Lerman is a MacArthur Award-winning choreographer based out of New York City. In the 1990s, she became frustrated with her experiences of being on the receiving end \u00a0\u2014 \u00a0and the giving end \u00a0\u2014 \u00a0of artistic criticism. In 2003, Lerman and her colleague John Borstel collaborated to write <\/span>Liz Lerman\u2019s Critical Response Process: A method for getting useful feedback on anything you make, from dance to dessert. <\/span><\/i>(Available <\/span>here<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.) Thus was born the Critical Response Process, a way to help artists feel more in control of the growth of their work. (For the purposes of this article, I\u2019ll be referring to the \u201cartist\u201d as \u201cthe playwright\u201d when talking about how to hold a CRP session.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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What\u2019s this \u201cCritical Response Process\u201d thing?<\/h4>\n
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The CRP can be used by any artist for any sort of art. It\u2019s a four-step system that focuses on inquiry and dialogue about a piece of art in its early stages. This aims to help artists maintain some control over the degree of criticism given to their work (while also learning how they can improve the work through multiple offered perspectives). Ever watch <\/span>Project Runway<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>Top Chef<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>Face Off<\/span><\/i>? This process is a lot like the judging process in those shows, except the artist is in charge and everything is <\/span>much <\/span><\/i>more friendly. (Picture the playwright behind the table asking the questions instead of the judges.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Who\u2019s involved?<\/h4>\n
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Three to four parties are involved in the CRP: the playwright, the performers, the audience, and the facilitator(s) (who ask the questions and orchestrate each step of the CRP). (If you\u2019re performing the piece yourself, you can take the performers out of the equation.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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What are the steps to the CRP?<\/h4>\n
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The CRP has four steps, and you can arrange them in any order you like. (You can also choose to omit any of the steps.) Additionally, here\u2019s where the facilitators come in \u00a0\u2014 \u00a0they can ask the questions <\/span>for you<\/span><\/i> (while you sit onstage, backstage, or in the audience) or they can regroup the audience if the audience gets loud, carried away with opinions, etc. They\u2019re basically there to act as moderators and keep the CRP session on track so it doesn\u2019t spiral out of control.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1: Statement of meaning by the group:<\/strong> Audience members take a few minutes to tell the playwright what they found meaningful, interesting, evocative, startling, or exciting about the play or things that really hooked them on the story. Statements of meaning are positive and specific. This includes statements like, \u201cI thought the pacing of the piece was just right, \u201c or, \u201cI loved the way you introduced your characters.\u201d This step reinforces the idea that what a playwright does <\/span>well<\/span><\/i> is what they build on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 2: Questions from the playwright:<\/strong> The writer asks questions they have either prepared before the reading, during the reading, or during Step 1 (or during all three). This begins a dialogue between the playwright and the audience that supports the playwright in solving problems that the audience and\/or the playwright see with the play. This includes questions like, \u201cDid you actually believe he would shoot her in scene 2?\u201d or, \u201cWere there enough moments of levity in such a dramatic piece?\u201d Questions can be answered with \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d, or the playwright can choose to engage the audience in a conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 3: Neutral questions from the audience:<\/strong> The audience asks questions of the playwright in the form of an neutral question. And by \u201cneutral question\u201d, Lerman and Borstel mean this: if you bake a cake and give a piece to your friend and they ask, \u201cWhy is this cake so <\/span>dry<\/span><\/i>?\u201d it implies that they don\u2019t enjoy the cake, that its dryness is <\/span>bad<\/span><\/i>. (Their question is opinionated<\/span>.<\/span><\/i>) However, if your friend asks, \u201cWhat kind of texture were you going for?\u201d it implies that they\u2019re interested in the process behind the cake\u2019s creation, not judgmental of it. This includes questions like, \u201cWhat was your intention by including the mother\u2019s ghost in scene four?\u201d or, \u201cWhat inspired the use of a foreign language in the play?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 4: Offered opinions from the audience:<\/strong> The audience gets to raise their hand and say, \u201cI have an opinion about <\/span>this<\/span><\/i>. Would you like to hear it?\u201d \u00a0\u2014 \u00a0and the playwright can say \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d. That\u2019s it. The audience must abide by the will of the playwright. (And if you\u2019ve heard enough or there\u2019s a particular audience member who has been insistent on arguing with you the whole night, you can <\/span>SHUT. IT. DOWN.<\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Alright, I\u2019m intrigued. How do I do one of these?<\/h4>\n
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First, if you\u2019re in high school or college and you want to stage a CRP session, ask your drama teacher or professor if you can hold one after classes or during the evening and invite other students (and\/or parents) to participate as audience members. See if the auditorium or a classroom is free. If you\u2019re out of college, look into renting a theatre space or renting a coffee shop out for a night. Or, if you\u2019re looking for a less expensive and smaller option, you can host one at your home.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What kind of materials do I need?<\/h4>\n
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It helps to give the audience a sheet of paper with the basic guidelines for your session (the play title, what the play is about, steps 1-4 and what they mean, rules for the CRP, etc.), a pen, and a couple of sheets of paper. This allows them to become familiar with the structure of the session, take notes, and then hand those notes back to you so you can study them and use them in your revision process.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why should I do this as a playwright?<\/h4>\n
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As playwrights, we\u2019re offered criticism that seems to enter the conversation at the most inopportune or inappropriate time. Somebody says, \u201cI really didn\u2019t like the way this happened,\u201d or, \u201cYou should definitely include this one thing in your next draft,\u201d (even if you don\u2019t plan on revising for a fifth or sixth draft anyway). People <\/span>like <\/span><\/i>their opinions, so they give them often. The CRP allows you, as a playwright, to hear criticisms and opinions on your own terms in a structured way that gives you the chance to ask questions, take notes, and collect notes from the people who attended your reading \u00a0\u2014 \u00a0without feeling as though someone just ripped apart your full-length play like a werewolf tears apart an unsuspecting victim.<\/span><\/p>\n
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Interested in playwriting? Check out our other features below!<\/h3>\n