“I am covered in tats and my left arm is Admire Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay, 1895. And my right arm, and I think I am the only guy who has this, you tell me, is the final scene from Kramer vs. Kramer. And on my chest is the first chapter of Fifty Shades of Grey. But it’s reversed so, I can read it when I m shaving. And on my back, it’s good night moon..”

I listened to this video three times, and I will listen again. I love how David Mamet talks. He starts out talking about how he normally dresses and his tats. I have a tattoo on my right arm, ‘This Living Hand’ by John Keats. I had asked for it to be put on upside down so I could read it.  I was talked out of that placement…Hmmm, maybe  next tat.

Back to David Mamet and Lesson 9.

He tells us:  he uses corkboards and tacks on index cards or butcher paper and draws out where the story is supposed to go. He will easily ‘see’ if his story is working out.  He will be able to see if the progression makes sense: from  scene 1, to scene 2, to scene 3, By laying them out he can see if the progression makes sense.

This will reduce his story to an incident. Example:  I walk up the stairs. Or I sat down at a table;  put that on the board.  You can see if your story is staying in line with where it is supposed to go.

Need more information on David Mamet’s Masterclass dot com. Click on his name, in the top left sidebar.