Tips for Beginning Writers

Make it Sparkle Video with Mark Armstrong
Artistic Director and Playwright

4:30 (runtime)

Director’s Notes

Artistic Director and Playwright Mark Armstrong underscores the irreplaceable value of hands-on production experience for writers, advocating for participants to gain insights through different roles and processes, amassing their "10,000 hours."

• Mark recounts learning about theater through acting, discovering the transformative power of interpretations and the impact of the rehearsal process.

• He observes the insightful moments of being a spectator during rehearsals, where he analyzed scripts and learned to adapt them for better performance delivery.

• Mark notes the critical experiences gained on the fringes of theater productions, asserting they were as beneficial as classroom lessons.

• He highlights the importance of immersive experiences, recalling his personal journey of understanding the collective moment while working on a soundboard.

• Mark concludes by emphasizing the lasting impact of striking moments in theater, and the director's role in creating these memorable experiences.

About Mark Armstrong

Mark Armstrong (he/him) is the Artistic Director of The 24 Hour Plays. Highlights from his tenure include annual productions of The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, the Broadway and Los Angeles debuts of The 24 Hour Musicals, many partner events in the US and abroad, the growth of The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals and The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues, which have produced over 500 new theater pieces that have engaged millions of viewers around the world since March 2020. As a director, his collaborators include Emily Mann, Christopher Shinn, Dan O’Brien and many more. Instructor, The New School for Drama.