How To Write a Screenplay in 76 Easy Steps (Just Ask Schadenfreude)
In this Bastion exclusive, members of Schadenfreude describe the trials and tribulations of knocking out their first screenplay, a Chicago-centric story of a hapless Alderman and his equally hapless constituents. Schadenfreude have been together for almost ten years, played at Lollapalooza earlier this year, throw some of the best rent parties in Chicago, blog like a bunch of fiends, and had their own show on NPR for several years.) Their medialicious web site is here. Their Flickr album is here. Their screenplay may soon be coming to a smooth, projection-worthy surface near you.
What is the group writing process like, and how has it evolved?
Kate James:
Schadenfreude has approached all of our projects (stage, radio, screenplay etc.) by writing as a group. We have never been an ensemble that submits individual ideas and then takes a vote to see what stays. Instead, we write everything sitting around a table (and sometimes over email), each person building off the last person's ideas. We collaborate every step of the way. One person is tasked with transcribing the notes and putting them into script form before the next writing session. Then the whole process starts all over. Each section of the screenplay was read and re-read, changed, edited and then added to. As the screenplay grew, so did the edit and rewrite sessions. Every couple of weeks, we would block off a weekend to work uninterrupted, so it was usually during these sessions that we'd see the most progress.
While writing, everyone's ideas are valid, but the idea that has the "best legs" is the one that is built upon. After writing together for 8+ years we have a pretty fierce short hand about what works and what doesn't, but we also have a huge amount of trust in one another. There isn't a lot of time for being "polite" if the idea on the table isn't working -- you have to scrap it and move on. The strongest idea wins and in the end it's hugely rewarding because it has everyone's seal of approval. It is a loooooong process, but much more fun than sitting by yourself in front of a computer.
When it comes down to it, we believe that the five of us will produce a much stronger, funnier product that any of us could individually. We also believe that that R. Kelly will never receive the fair trial he deserves, but that's a story for another time.
Justin Kaufmann:
The group writing system? You mean a bunch of under-employed writers getting together to throw ideas at each other’s heads? Yes, we write in a very unique style that essentially is a jam session. For the screenplay, we actually went away to a house in Berwyn, IL to conceive the story. So it was 3 days straight of just going over the story of Alderman. We brought the detailed outline back, wrote a couple stage sketches and rough dialogue and then went away again (back to Berwyn) to write the backbone. It is very intensive, but at least we take full advantage of the jam session.
How and when did the idea of a Schadenfreude screenplay get kicked off?
Stephen Schmidt:
We all love the city of Chicago, and have always felt there are plenty of stories that are never really explored. That's where the idea of 53rd Ward Alderman Bus came from. It came from the love of the city, the hypocrisy of the politicians and the fun that can be had at poking fun of mundane politics at the local level.
Justin Kaufmann:
Alderman Ed Bus embodies the Chicago politician. Gruff, unpolished and off the cuff. Alderman are largely real people shoved into surreal situations. News conferences, public appearances and live debates are all scary propositions for Chicago-types that just want to make sure the streets are clean and the garbage is picked up.
Stephen Schmidt:
Back in 2000, we brought Alderman Ed Bus, his Campaign Manager Jason Challenger, and his son Joey Bus to the Gay Pride Parade to do a short film. It was a candidate stumping for votes, but not realizing what the parade was for. We did a bunch of shots, captured some dialogue, and realized soon after that Alderman Bus had a greater story to tell.
We've been wanting to write that story for quite some time. Unfortunately (or fortunately) other projects kept coming our way - the Chicago Public Radio show, festivals, touring dates and showcases on the coasts. Eventually, we were able to get a good portion of this story done with the multitude of sketches written for the stage, as well as two episodes of the radio show, which kept the story line alive, and fresh in our minds.
Justin Kaufmann:
We wrote a full one hour radio episode telling a fragment of the Ed Bus story. We really jammed out on the entire story and were excited to tell the entire story through the radio. Then we got cancelled. But we did a ton of the work already on the story so we used that Ed Bus storyline as the building blocks.
Stephen Schmidt:
The good thing is, now that we've put a script to paper, this is another process we can add to our toolbox, and are already excited about the next story we're burning to tell!
Was Alderman Bus always the thing you knew you'd want to write about? (And now that I'm asking that, are there other recurring characters that are being folded into the narrative? What is the basic premise?)
Justin Kaufmann:
We’ve always loved the idea of writing a comedy about an old-school Chicago Alderman. We have written 2 other treatments for other characters in the Schadenfreude world, but several recurring characters show up in Alderman. Dinerbanski & Ross is our fake mega-corporation and they have a major part in Alderman. Lincoln Park Meathead Todd Voorhies also gets killed in this movie.
The basic premise of Alderman is that an old-school, old-fashioned, old-man (Alderman Ed Bus) is having to run for reelection for the first time in 40 years. He has always stuck to the tenants of good Chicago government. Keep the streets clean, pick up the garbage on time and make sure Daley gets re-elected. But this year, he is challenged by a yuppie upstart woman (Gretchen Ross-Stevenson). She wears business suits, sips her iced latte’s and has a gazillion dollars at her disposal. It’s an old vs. new dogfight for the 53rd Ward.
What's the timeline for something like this (start to finish), and have you mapped out a schedule to be able to focus and really work on this?
Justin Kaufmann:
Yes, we mapped out a system to work on this project. When you have to produce 60 radio episodes in under 2 years, you learn that the dry erase board and on-line calendar is your friend. We are very good producers. We know how important time management is. That being said, we worked on this screenplay off and on for about 8 months. It got really heated towards the end where we pulled some all-nighters to make it happen. We did a ton of Saturdays and Sundays and worked nights. We took off work from our day jobs to make it happen. It was hard but in a very cool I wish I were doing this all the time kind of way.
What are some things you learned along the way/enjoyed/struggled with?
Sandy Marshall:
For the screenplay, we were editing on paper -- more often than not table reading scenes, then going back and making notes. This method allowed one person to take away the bits, form them into a cohesive, formatted piece of text. But the downside? Because we're editing written lines as a group for long stretches of time, we often found ourselves debating grammar and focusing deeply on single words, when, in the end, those words may change once an actor gets on his feet.
The most challenging stumbling blocks arrived when editing problematic scenes that had more to do with plot than anything else -- and finding ways to navigate through those scenes, while still retaining an element of "What happens next?" When caught in the depths of the Edit Chasm, we started to stand-up and physically act out the scenes -- which was very useful, because we realized how long and plotty some of them read. Write a screenplay and then read it out loud -- not for other people, but to yourself or with a few friends. When you start to space out and hear yourself just reading words, that's a good indication that issues of plot or overwriting are staring you in the face.
All in all, the process worked, because we walked away with a screenplay that looks like other screenplays -- and, we think, doesn't run out of gas after the first 45 minutes. And, after reading the dang thing over 50 times, there are still moments that make us laugh.
And, like all highbrow and respectable films, there are loads of poop jokes.
Where does it go from here? What's the ultimate goal and dream - selling it, producing it, performing in it and what are the steps you're taking to achieve that?
Justin Kaufmann:
We would like to have a hand in producing it. We realize that is tough to do, but we have some very strong ideas and vision. So we hope to find a production partner who could help us get there. This would be a great life project to produce, film and release Alderman. We’ve talked a lot about whether we’d be in it or not, and right now we are leaning towards casting it externally. It’s about a 60+ year old Alderman. It might get too campy if a 32 year old is playing it.
If anything, we learned how to write a screenplay and that process will help us write the next project and the next. We are looking to the near future to create a staged-reading to introduce Alderman to Chicago. Of course, we’ll do it in a bar and offer free food and cheap beer. Some things will never change.
