Today we focused on refining Act II. In an ideal world, a second act shouldn’t just be a continuation of Act I. Some sort of change needs to occur. How is Act I different from Act II? Why separate the two?

Therefore, the discussion today focused primarily on how to escalate the plot. How can we take what we’ve done in Act I and either go deeper or turn it on its head?

Director/writer Michael Perlman said something today that stuck with me about the nature of successful collaboration. He mentioned that everyone must trust that everyone else in the room is the best person to do their job. If this baseline is present, then no one’s ego is hurt by comments or suggestions. There is safety to say anything, ask any question, and raise any concern because it is all in service of the story. Michael guides the discussions, but outside of that, every voice is equal and every voice is respected.