That word ‘revision’ so perfectly epitomizes the process of doing creative work, letting it sit for a day, a week, or ten years, and coming back to look at it through new eyes: a re-vision; returning to a past vision to look again and discover what new things there are to see in the old vision. As Shaffer says on page 25: “I was going to have to wait quite a long time before I at last saw on stage a version which pleased me all through.”
These are the things I learned from reading Shaffer’s reflections on revising ‘Amadeus’:
- When I am more comfortable with my characters, plot, and dialogue the next step is figuring out how to bring out/emphasize motifs and themes, morals—the bigger picture.
- The beauty of hindsight.
- With revision, we as authors have the ability to bring a theme to the forefront that had been minor before; the ability to kill off a no-longer needed character—the power of the playwright!
- How little changes can make the play say something different—with the same overall play, but with some variations, we can put the audience through different emotional, psychological, etc. experiences.
- By watching the play new ideas come because you can really know what works and what doesn’t work. A play is alive. It is never a finished, perfect product. Also, just writing it and just reading it are not enough for revisions—as a playwright, you must see it on an actual stage to know if it works.
- Playwriting is an art!
- Appreciation and respect for playwrights. Appreciation for theater! Also, productions are collaborative.
- I love playwriting! (Who would’ve thought?)
- A playwright’s job is evocation.
- Film and theater are NOT THE SAME!
- The more revisions, the more complex, multi-layered, and deep the characters can become.
- Revisions are worth it.
