Tell me what you think of this idea for a stage play?

Question

I'm writing a play for a contest at a playhouse and I really want to win but this is what I was going to write about: A girl who is 17 and rich has a boyfriend who her parents don't approve of because he's poor and she's seeing him behind there back. The girl's mom is also forcing her to be a a debutante which she also doesn't want to do. And her cousin who she doesn't like comes to live with them and she finds out that she is seeing the guy and blackmails her. Her boyfriend can't afford to go to college although he has the right grades to and he decides to sign up for the military when he turns eighteen. She doesn't want him to because she's afraid of losing him so they get secretly engaged and plan to elope. Her parents find out about her plans and decide to bribe to guy with money for college and his family if he stays away from her.

That's all I have so far for the plot but what do you think of it? Is it good enough for a stage play or also I was thinking should I base it in an earlier time period like the 60s or earlier?

Answer 1

     .....seeing him behind THEIR back.  Not 'there.'

     Sounds good, but watch it.  I think you might be in danger of writing yourself into a corner.  Cut the cousin out.  There's no point in having her because her parents find out about the boyfriend anyway.  One good conflict would be that his parents accept the bribe money and do their best to stop their son seeing the girl,  He's disgusted with them for stooping so low as to accept a bribe, and flatly refuses to stop seeing her.  The rest's up to you!!!  Hope I've helped,

Good luck

Mike B

Answer 2

keep the basic story line and set it back in time.Set it to a period in history which you know particularly well.I did A-level Drama and found the plays that work the best are the most shocking push the play to the limit and make people remember it.Also add a twist at the end in which the audience will be like how did i not see that coming.

Answer 3

I think this is a pretty decent idea for a play. Even though the rich girl falling for the poor guy has been used a good bit before, I like how as you went on it became more and more original. Overall it seams interesting enough to capture an audience.

Also, I think having it take place around the 60s would be a good idea. I think this mostly because we all know what the world is like now, but it's always fun to see what it was like in the past. Plus I really like that time frame.