Have you ever had an idea for a play (or any fictional story) that seemed workable, with a lot of promise … but you just couldn’t keep it going past the first two-dozen pages? I have. But I don’t like to get stuck in that situation, losing days or weeks writing something that doesn’t pan out.
I’ve learned that I have to choose a story idea that has enough “juice” to propel the audience through one or two hours of dramatic tension all the way to a resonant ending.
Crafting a pitch is a good way to determine if your idea is a good one. Alternatively, it is a good capsule description to use when interesting others in a completed project.
Here’s a sample pitch outline, courtesy of Pamela Beason. My play, [title], is about [protagonist name, short sympathetic description of protagonist]. When [inciting incident] happens, [protagonist] decides to [action the protagonist takes] in spite of [obstacles in their way].
Here’s how that pitch outline works for Hearts of Palm (pictured above, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart as Brittany; photo by Jim Norrena): “Hearts of Palm follows Vi, a negotiator trying to make a humane, eco-friendly deal for land on a palm oil plantation in Southeast Asia. Saddled with an amorous co-worker, and increasingly suspicious her company is up to no good, Vi confronts a hostile district negotiator and a local uprising in pursuit of her goal.”
When you put together a pitch for a project underway or nearing completion, you can add things like cast size, single set, and so on, or any specifics that will add appeal.