SCRIPTREMIX Session 1: Adaptation, Genre, and Platform

Welcome to the first session of ScriptRemix!

We’re going to start off by thinking about the adaptation process, different story genres, and the platform for your story.

Part 1: Adaptation

In this video, you’ll learn about adapting known narratives (stories) from your own perspective and how this can diversify our so-called literary canon.

Adaptation means you are writing for a built-in audience that already likes the original story, but you get to subvert existing narrative structures and language.

How loosely based on the original story do you want your adaptation to be? Could the Matrix be considered an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland? What would an adaptation of Dracula look like from the perspective of his teeth? Be as wild or close to the original as you’d like. Adaptation allows you to use an existing story to fuel creativity!

EXERCISE: Select the Material You Want to Adapt

1. Choose one of the stories below that you’d like to adapt and consider whether this script will be a film, podcast series, play, etc.
2. Write down 10 things that drew you to the story. This can be a bullet point list. Was it the characters? The setting? The political climate and context of the piece? 

RESOURCES

Choose one of the following stories. You don’t need to re-read the text if you are familiar with it, but if you want a refresher, click on the links. You can also choose a different narrative that is pretty well known, as long as it is in the public domain. A simple Google search will help you to identify if it is in the public domain. 

Shakespeare

• Macbeth
• Romeo and Juliet 
• Hamlet

Horror/Thriller

• Dracula
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Frankenstein 

Children’s Stories

• The Little Mermaid 
• Beauty and the Beast
• Peter Pan

Alice in Wonderland

• Alice in Wonderland – the original
• Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House (ballet) 
• Alice in Borderland – Japanese Netflix series (TV series)
• Down the Rabbit Hole – Minecraft Animation (New Video/Gaming)

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Part 2: Genre and Platform

Next, you will identify the genre you are working in and the platform you’re writing for…

EXERCISE: Humour, Genre, and Platform

1. Write a short outline of your story. It can be as sketchy as you want, but make sure it describes a new twist on the old story.
2. Do you want to see your script in a cinema (movie), on stage (play), streamed episodically (podcast, series), as a game, a comic book or new media?
3. Do you want to take a “realistic” approach or play around with a genre like mystery or horror or rom com or science fiction/fantasy?
4. Write down a few ideas about how you might play around with the story you’re adapting and mess with your audience’s expectations. 
5. Is there a scene from any of the suggested works that you could adapt as a comedy by adding slapstick, wordplay, or unexpected twists on characters. Brainstorm some humorous versions of a scene from one of the stories you might be thinking of adapting.

You could also get topical or political: Donald and Melania Trump as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth? Could the Montagues and Capulets disapprove of their kids’ romance because it doesn’t adhere to the heterosexual norms they’re used to?

resources

• The Complete List of Film Sub-Genres
• Learn about J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, which will never go into the public domain in the United Kingdom. The British government passed a law saying that royalties would be payable forever after Barrie donated them to a children’s hospital in London.
• Diversifying the Classics Project – an article on remixing the classics/canon.

Takes on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein:

• Young Frankenstein (1974) – Mel Brooks’ beloved satire film. The sets look enough like the original that Universal could claim ownership; Brooks changed the shape of the Monster’s head to be on the safe side!
• Frankenweenie (2012) and Edward Scissorhands (1990) – Tim Burton’s adaptations.
• Frankenstein (1910) – the very first film adaptation, produced by Thomas Edison. 
• The Golem (1920) – this German silent horror film draws upon a Jewish folk tale several centuries older than Shelley’s story, in which a rabbi creates a monster out of clay to protect his people from antisemitism.
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – late-night cult classic film adapted from the stage musical.
• Here’s a more detailed discussion of copyright as it relates to both the 1818 book and the 1931 movie.

Other interesting adaptations:

• Death of a Chief – Indigenous stage adaptation of Julius Caesar.
• F%&king A  – Suzan Lori Parks’ stage adaptation of The Scarlet Letter.
• Romeo + Juliet (1996) – Baz Luhrmann’s modern adaptation.
• Girls Made of Snow and Glass – Melissa Bashardoust’s feminist novel adaptation of Snow White.

Theatre/Playwriting Resources:

If you’re interested in the future of theatre, check out this amazing resource: Howlrounds Commons. They have excellent articles, podcasts, and interviews on the future of theatre. You might also want to check out Intermission Mag.

Land Acknowledgement Resources:

• About Land Acknowledgements
• About the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 

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Wrap Up

So… have you figured out what story you’re going to be adapting? Great! Head on over to the next session, where we will be looking at character development. Which perspective will you choose to focus on? If you are doing an adaptation of Macbeth, will it be from the perspective of one of the witches? Off we go…