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.
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