Pops, Questions, Small Potatoes

I'm expanding a bit on my previous entry to hopefully shed some light. I'm going to be pulling back the veil of mystery that may or may not exist about the MFA Playwrights Workshop at the University of Iowa. When we meet, we hear readings of new plays and immediately adjourn to a conference room to discuss. The discussion is given a loose framework in three parts:

1. "Pops" (This is what I was alluding to in my previous post) This is a time when the members of the workshop tell what "popped" for them in the script. What worked? What images linger? What moments were the strongest? What was really engaging in the story, characters, etc.?

2. "Questions" This is the meat of the conversation, fueled by curiosity. Members pose questions to the playwright, probing for clarity. One of the main rules is that your questions should not be veiled prescriptive comments. This is the playwright's play, come to it as written, not as you wish it were written.

3. "Small Potatoes." This is the time to bring up lingering small issues, snags in the story, character, lines that pulled you out of the action. Sometimes small issues can shed light on larger issues. When I teach, I think I'll call this section "Crucial Minutiae."