I am very proud that I received my MFA in Playwriting from Pennsylvania State University a hundred years ago. I loved writing, and I loved teaching writing. One of the challenges I have had over the years is how to come up with that very first assignment to get my sophomores to connect and really love this art. I had quite a few that had some luck- but nothing had the success of this assignment. One year we had a surprising span of time at the end of the semester and I thought it was a good time to introduce an assignment for a bit of fun and a bit of torture for the young writer, but it was amazing. Giving students each one of these ridiculous titles below, I had the very best plays of the year. This was true year after year. AND all I asked was that the title somehow be integral to the play. I HIGHLY recommend this ultra simple exercise. Here are the titles I used the first year:
| Seven Clocks |
| Telling Time |
| Little Men |
| Here, Never Lost |
| She Ate That |
| Never Knew Skippy |
| Fruit Plate |
| Duet for Four |
| It Was Blue |
| And Then She Painted It |
| It All Got Wet |
| Between the Branches |
| Without Help from Ed |
| Only If You Think It |
| Closet Tricks |
| Only Seven |
| Used, Not Abused |
| Sprinkled |
| Prayers for Rain |
| Canine Cyberbullying |
| Plastic Spoons |
| Ghost Cord |
| Blunt Arrow |
| Horse Promises |
| Glue Time |
| Mother It Shined |
| Then It Burnt |
| Blue, Always Blue |
| Blanket Envy |
| Last Leap |
| Bamboo Song |
| Plastic Promises |
| Lost Automatically |
| Vertical Garden |
| Grace and Cinders |
| Paper Cuts |
| Terracotta Balls |
| Will Vinegar Work? |
| Divided by Five |
| Horse Dreams |
| Parrot Flights |
| Outside of the Lines |
| Largest Slice |
| Dent Can |
| Clear Lipstick |
| Push and Wash |
| Tickle Parrot |
| Grief, Glare, and Game |
| Potato Disappointments Part 2 |
| Coy Yawn |
| Bent Grass |
| Religious Bubblegum |
| Free Carton |
| Yogurt Anger |
| Welcome Coughing |
| Chipped Relationship |
| Witches Harness |
| Sibling Rolls |
| Speckled Honesty |
| Pizza Trust |
| Hear Me Tap |
| Nothing Happening Slowly |
| Forbidden G |
| Louder Than You Scratch |