The Play's The Thing

[Affirmation]

Hello,

Apologies if this has been asked (and answered) before. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if there are any restrictions regarding writing eroticia for the stage.

I've been asked to write an erotic drama -- a one-act play, which will be performed by a local Theatre Group. The theatre directors, where the play will be performed, are fine (and encouraging) about staging adult erotic material, though full nudity is not allowed. It goes without saying that no minors will be allowed into the theatre to see the play, of course.

Regarding language, I've been advised that only one word -- 'cunt' -- might cause problems, depending on the context (i,e; it must not be used in a misogynistic way). Other than that, I've been told to do some homework regarding what to do (and, more importantly) what not to do.

So, does anybody know of any MUST NOT DO rules regarding erotic drama for the stage?

Your help is much appreciated,

Affirmation

 

[TheEarl]

I don't know much about this, but I'll give my tuppence worth:

IMHO you've got to be very careful not to spill over into porn. You said full nudity is not allowed, which is probably a good thing. The best erotic stories allow their reader's imagination full rein. You're not making a porn film where the viewer has to be spoonfed everything.

The Earl

PS. What actually attracted me to this thread was this was the title. That's the first time I've seen anyone use Shakespeare in a title (It's Hamlet for you ignorant proles who don't know).

 

[batchman]

PS. What actually attracted me to this thread was this was the title. That's the first time I've seen anyone use Shakespeare in a title (It's Hamlet for you ignorant proles who don't know).

I thought it came from a Star Trek episode. The one where Kodos the Executioner is now an actor.

j/k

 

[TheEarl]

The play's the thing,
Wherein I shall catch the conscience of the king.

The Earl

 

[MathGirl]

Thank you, Earl

The play's the thing,
Wherein I shall catch the conscience of the king.
The Earl

Dear Earl,
Gosh and gee whiz! Shakespeare? Really? Who's he? It's so nice to have someone in the know around here. Personally, I never read anything but log tables. No, that has nothing to do with timber science.
MG

 

[TheEarl]

To be, or not to be,
That is the question.
Whether tis nobler in the mind
to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
and in opposing, end them.
To die, to sleep, no more
And by a sleep to say we end the heartache
And the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to
To die, to sleep
To sleep, perchance to dream - aye, there's the rub
For in that sleep of death,
what dreams may come?
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil
must give us pause.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time?
The proud man's wrong, the oppressor's contumely.

Bugger. That's all I can remember. Solilique from Hamlet.

The Earl

 

[MathGirl]

Snakeshit ...... er... Shakespeare

Bugger. That's all I can remember. Solilique from Hamlet.
The Earl

Ham who?

MG

Ps. I loved that part about the springs and marrows.
PPs. I don't know how to spell "cillouquoiey" either. Hell, I don't even know what it means.

 

[wildsweetone]

To be, or not to be,
That is the question.
Whether tis nobler in the mind
to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
and in opposing, end them.
To die, to sleep, no more
And by a sleep to say we end the heartache
And the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to
To die, to sleep
To sleep, perchance to dream - aye, there's the rub
For in that sleep of death,
what dreams may come?
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil
must give us pause.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time?
The proud man's wrong, the oppressor's contumely.

Bugger. That's all I can remember. Solilique from Hamlet.

The Earl

For some really strange reason this is the first time I've actually understood Shakespeare! Thank you TheEarl,

 

[Un-registered]

To be, or not to be,
That is the question.
Whether tis nobler in the mind
to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
and in opposing, end them.
To die, to sleep, no more
And by a sleep to say we end the heartache
And the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to
To die, to sleep
To sleep, perchance to dream - aye, there's the rub
For in that sleep of death,
what dreams may come?
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil
must give us pause.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time?
The proud man's wrong, the oppressor's contumely.

Originally posted by wildsweetone
For some really strange reason this is the first time I've actually understood Shakespeare!

Perhaps that is because he has broken the lines where you take a breath and not where the iambic pentameter breaks them.

Perhaps you should have replied:
For this relief much thanks; 'tis bitter cold
And I am sick at heart.

 

[TheEarl]

I actually have no idea where the iambic pentameter breaks the lines. I learnt that speech by saying it out loud; I wanted to be able to act it, rather than just recite it. So when I wrote it down, I wrote it as I speak it.

The Earl

 

[wildsweetone]

Hamlet

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more: and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear.
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. - Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd.

It was worth typing out just to take note of the punctuation. I'm stunned.

 

[karmadog]

When reading poetry, people often make the mistake of thinking that a line break is always the end of a sentence. That makes the meaning of poetry more confusing than it normally would be.

 

[TheEarl]

Dammit, I missed two lines in my version. Never mind; I'll redeem myself by pointing out that the lines Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd. are not technically part of the solilique. A solilique is a monologue directed to the audience alone and those two lines return the Prince to the story itself by the entrance of Ophelia.

The Earl

 

[Lovepotion69]

Mmmm....Shakespear. I love his work.

 

[pop_54]

Yo

Mmmmm Shakespear, didn't do much of that at the Institute of correction. Love it though.
He didn't have to worry too much about his choice of words and subject matter, did he? Not like we poor souls who have a million anti everything laws to contend with.

Well Affirmation, I know nothing of the law concerning plays and the theatre.
I suspect it would be along the lines of the written word though, as long as the audience is controlled to adult only, and you don't offend too many of them, all will be well.

Why not inject a bit of humour, a bit of a Farce as it were.
A couple of scenes with guys in just underpants and neat little suspenders holding their socks hiding in Wardrobes from the sudden return of the husband.
The cheating wife in her bra and panties looking innocent on the bed.
Mix this with a bit of raunchy stuff and you should be OK.

pops............

 

[NoJo]

So, does anybody know of any MUST NOT DO rules regarding erotic drama for the stage?

As I understand it, it depends largely on whether the play is open to the public or performed for members of a club. If the latter, you can do pretty much what you like, I think.


The laws of physics, particlarly gravity, should only be broken on the stage in exceptional circumstances, and only if it is essential to the plot or to elucidate key characters. A good example of this is found in Strindberg's "No Pears of Anna", where Blomqvist turns himself inside out to demonstrate to his fiancee that her demands on him to be both a good husband and expert at bird-calls are impossible to achieve.

 

[MathGirl]

SubJoe's AV

Dear SubJoe,
Another priceless avathingie. Thank you so much for sharing.
MG

 

[pop_54]

Re: Re: The Play's The Thing

As I understand it, it depends largely on whether the play is open to the public or performed for members of a club. If the latter, you can do pretty much what you like, I think.


The laws of physics, particlarly gravity, should only be broken on the stage in exceptional circumstances, and only if it is essential to the plot or to elucidate key characters. A good example of this is found in Strindberg's "No Pears of Anna", where Blomqvist turns himself inside out to demonstrate to his fiancee that her demands on him to be both a good husband and expert at bird-calls are impossible to achieve.

Nice camera Joe.

 

[NoJo]

That's my mum. Nice, isn't she?