Cutting a Book/Play for an Interp 101
I love original cuttings of books and plays.  They make for fantastic interps and have a lot more possibilities to be creative with.  The only problem is that it can be difficult to figure out HOW to cut a longer work.  If you get frustrated, thatâs okay.  Iâm pretty sure I cried sometime while cutting a book for the first time.  Itâs a bit of a science that just requires a bit of practice.  If middle schoolers can do it, you can too!  Here goesâŚ
Like actually read it. Â The entire thing. Â Not the sparknotes or any of that crap. Â To do this right, you have to read it all the way through without skipping anything.
grab one of those handy dandy plot organizer things that look like either a sideways weird lightning bolt if you squint or a pyramid. Â (example at the bottom) SHOUTOUT TO GAC-SSI AND MS. B FOR TEACHING ME THIS AGES AGO!
And use it. Â Write out the focal points of the lit.
Grab a pencil. Â DO NOT USE A PEN. Â ONLY USE PENCIL. Â WHEN CUTTING LIT PENS ARE A MORTAL SIN.
Go through the lit and [bracket] things that are important to the overall plot of the story.
Make sure you have the entire plot included. Â If not, go back through and try to find ways to put it back in
Read through it an a talking pace and time it. Â Just donât spread it.
Save as â[title]_[abbreviated date]_[cutting number].*â Cut.** Â I can almost guarantee that it will be too long. Â Iâve done near to 10 interps and almost all of them were from long works like books or plays that I had to substantially cut.
Read through and time it again.
Keep doing that until youâre all done. Â Honestly, it will probably be the longest part but thatâs how you have to do it. Â
Always read through OUT LOUD for every cutting to make sure it follows a logical flow and has all of the key events. Â
After it is at the right time, cut 30 sec to a minute (or more if you want to move a lot) to allow for blocking out and an intro
Add the characters and blocking
You now have a 100% original interp that was beautifully done. Â Congrats!
*Example: TKAM_11615_5 Â Â
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
**This way if you need to add stuff back later, you still have old copies and you can easily do this.
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