Playwriting Exercise: The Office
What does your office look like? Does your office represent you or your work? Are you devoid from your office? Or do offices make your skin crawl? Does the thought of being in the same room from 9 to 5 eat away at your soul?
This Imagur album shows people in their offices around the world. Not just the shiny Wall street office. But offices from Russia, Liberia, India, Bolivia, France and more.
I think one of the comments says it best: “No matter where you are in the world, the look of silent desperation of having to work in an office is identical.”
Exercise
Go through the pictures and choose three. Do the following for each picture.
- Automatic write on this picture. What comes to mind when you look at it? Don’t self-judge or critique your thoughts, get them on the page.
- Describe this office using the five senses. What does it smell like, what are the sounds?
- Who is the person in this office? What do they do? How long have they been at this job?
- Write the internal monologue for this person. In this moment, what are they thinking? Where are they in their heads? Where do they long to be?
- Don’t be bound by the look on their face. Some people put up a wall when they’re in a place they hate. Think about what’s going on behind the wall.
