Making Adaptations of Older Plays

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > CONTENT > SUBJECTS > OTHERS > ADAPTATIONS-PLAYS

'Adaptation [of classic plays] for me was a way to learn the long form of playwriting. . . . There might be either foolhardiness or arrogance involved in some of this. . . . But just to think: oh wow, you can put your tools on the same table with that person's cool stuff.'

-- Lynn Manning

A number of American playwrights have turned occasionally to adapting classic or barely known plays for contemporary audiences, Tony Kushner and Lanford Wilson among them. When you're just starting in this business, think of adaptations as a great way to learn the craft.

But while Tony Kushner lived off the royalties from one of his adaptations until he finished ANGELS IN AMERICA, it's rarely a great way to launch a career . . .

Most Regional Theatres commission adaptations
And they turn to playwrights who've begun to have productions of their own plays. Those that accept unsolicited Submissions from unproduced playwrights seldom accept adaptations.
Most Competitions won't accept adaptations
This may be short-sighted on their part, but when you do an adaptation the result is always a combination of your work and that of the original dramatist. To be blunt, it's hard to tell if you've got what it takes or if you're just skating on ice provided by the original author.

Despite all this -- and if you still want to be rash -- find an old play that few people have heard of. Preferably one first written in a language other than English by a playwright who's not a household word in the U.S. But it helps if they're a household word where they came from. And -- as with adaptations of Novels -- find a play published before about 1900 so the odds will be in your favor of it being in the public domain so you won't have to struggle with getting the rights to do this. Remember that a translation of the play may still be protected by copyright even if the original play was published many years or even centuries earlier.

The great English director, Peter Brook, once said, 'If you just let a play speak, it may not make a sound.' The goal of a good adaptation is to make a play speak to contemporary audiences.

Some keys to adapting old plays . . .

Create the dialogue with your own Voice
The reason the play needs to be adapted is usually because the original playwright's language now falls flat on our ears.
Find a play with a Theme that resonates with audiences now
And ideally one that is close to what you want to write about in your own work.
Limit the number of characters
Older plays -- 19th Century and earlier -- usually have many more characters than today's playwrights keep in their heads.
Reduce the length to what's typical today.
Playwrights in the good old days used to take audiences for very long rides.

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