In my humble opinion, 90% of the plays I read today, (I read a lot of plays) whether they are short plays 10 - 20 minutes or full-length plays, 90% of all the plays I read can be cut by at least 15% if not more. Even short plays.

Yes, in a nut shell, most plays today need to be edited.

And often, drastically.

They need to be cut, cut, cut!

Cutting dialogue and even whole scenes from your play is like giving birth. It can be painful, long and arduous, but when the editing process is over, often, you will have a better play.

So how do you know what to cut, to trim, to destroy, and to annihilate?

Start with these two questions:

What is the story you are telling?

(Write it out in 30 words or less.)

2. What do you want the audience to do after they see your play?

(Again write it out in 30 words or less.)

If you get clear on the story you are telling, clear on the core of your piece, you will easily see dialogue, and even whole scenes that don't serve your intention. I have read so many plays that are ALL OVER THE PLACE - yes, they are often clever, or funny, or heart-wrenching, but they are just TOO MUCH. (Like the Christopher Nolan Batman movies - come on Christopher just tell one story really well. Let's just do the Joker story - that is the story we want to see!)

Get clear on the core, the THROUGH-LINE of your story, and you will easily see what needs to be shredded! What needs to be cut to pieces!!!

Also, if you get clear on what you want the audience to do after seeing your play, you will easily see what in your play is not leading towards that intention. Maybe you want the audience to stop being so self-centered, and become self-aware and more spiritual. Or maybe you want the audience to begin accepting others and to love more unconditionally. Or maybe you want them to start taking chances in their lives, but whatever it is, the clearer you are on what you want the audience to do after seeing your play, the easier it will be for you to CUT all that doesn't serve your creative intention.

Learning how to cut whole scenes and internal dialogue is, in my humble opinion, the most important skill you need, to be a great playwright. Cut, edit, trim so that your play is concise, succinct, clear, and focused. You can always add stuff back in if you want, but dare to rip, shred, and CUT, CUT, CUT, your play to uncover the amazing butterfly within the cocoon you have created.

Let's talk about internal cuts.

These are words and sentences you can cut that won't change the meaning of the dialogue or the intention of the dialogue.

Here are two more questions that will help you make excellent internal cuts:

What are you saying again and again that you only need to say once?

Now go through you play with this in mind. How many times do you repeat yourself to try to make a point? How many times do you repeat yourself because you love to write poetic or dramatic dialogue? And how many times are you repeating yourself in your writing process that you are totally unaware of?

Whenever I give this exercise to one of my playwriting coaching clients, the are astounded with how many internal cuts they can make just by cutting repetition. One playwright was able to cut 8 pages out of his 90 page manuscript just cutting repetition! Try this! You will be amazed!

2. Once the actors create your characters on stage, what are they embodying that you don't need to "explain" with dialogue?

Here's what I mean by this:

Often playwrights feel they should tell the audience things like "what a relationship is like," or "how deep a love connection is," when the actors are already expressing it with their acting work.

"God, I love you so so so so much." can be conveyed by a good actor with a look, and a couple's relationship can shown by how they relate! There are so many things that can be conveyed by what the actors are doing! You don't have to tell an audience what is going on all the time. The actors live it and the audience gets it.

So go through your script and find the places where you are TELLING THE AUDIENCE things that the actors will embody and then cut, cut, cut.

And then cut some more.

A play is a condensed reality and you need to always keep that in mind when you are writing. Every moment needs to be clear, focused and perfect. No extra. No fluff. Perfect.

Cutting your work can be challenging, but by using questions to filter what to cut, edit and trim, with a little discipline and determination you can cut your way to a better play!

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