What's It About?
This week I decided to stop talking about writing a musical and begin really writing it.
As soon as I sat down at the piano I realised how little I actually know about this piece.
I know it will feature Salvador Dalí. I'm almost as certain his wife Gala will be a central character. But who else from the cast of his famous and not so famous acquaintances will appear?
After researching him for a couple years I have collected many stories and anecdotes about Dalí. Which ones will make it into the show?
I had lunch with a colleague whose debut musical was a sensation in Sydney last year. Since I was in the thick of it, I asked him: "How did you decide which characters and stories to include in your show?"
He referred me to one of his secret weapons, Blake Snyder's book "Save the Cat." It's written as a book about screen-writing but the ideas apply equally to theatre.
"Save the Cat" urges writers to come up with a compelling log-line and title for your film before you start penning the first scene.
The log-line is essentially a one or two sentence movie pitch. It should identify the main character, their main problem and what's at stake if they fail. It should involve some irony or sense of surprise so that there's a built in twist or hook. It should be easy to imagine in your head as a movie the moment you hear it.
Of course, it's harder to do than it sounds. But once you nail the log-line, it pre-answers many of the questions that will arise during the writing process.
Add a great title and you have broken the backbone of your story.
So while I've been jotting down some random musical ideas that aren't specifically connected to a story or song just yet, I've been experimenting with log-lines and titles.
Log-lines
- a madwoman reins in the chaos of her even madder husband by getting him to create the art that saves him
- while trying to escape his nightmares, an artist discovers they are his best creative resource
- The woman behind the world's most notorious artist runs his career, manages his money, and endures his chaos — but when his act starts to fool even him, she has to decide whether saving the man means destroying the brand she built.
Two of these log-lines actually centre Gala. As I learn more about her from the wonderful biography Surreal - The Extraordinary Life of Gala Dalí I begin to wonder if she's a more fascinating subject than her husband.
Potential titles:
- Mo 'stache, Mo money
- Perverting Expectations
- Persistence
- Avida Dollars
Avida Dollars is famous anagram of Salvador Dalí coined by André Breton. It was intended as an insult, but Dalí loved the name.
I keep reminding myself that I'm at the beginning of the process. I don't know all the things that will need deciding yet. But I'm starting to believe that nailing a few key elements early will make the actual writing easier — and give me something to sit down to.
Log-line for this post:
On his first real day of writing a Dalí musical, a composer discovers the show isn't about Salvador at all. It's about Gala, the woman who made him possible.