EXERCISE: sandai banashi, anyone?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting 29 December 2007

Hum. In poking around in the rakugo and Japanese humor stuff, I've found that they have a challenge that is familiar. Basically, ask the audience for three objects, then challenge the contestants to come up with a short tale or joke around those. I think the TV show (was that British?) that had battles of the comedians did a similar thing. Bizarre, I can almost see the MC's face, and remember some of the challenges (one was for one comedian to provide motions while another did the voice?)

Anyway, here are three objects.

1. a red thread
2. a blue ball
3. a gold mask

Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story (or maybe a poetry) involving these three objects. You probably want them to carry a bit more meaning than simply being random objects laying in the dust alongside the road where the hero passes - try to use them as turning points or perhaps in the climax? But whatever you like, you are the author. Just make sure that your story has all three objects in it.

Okay? So take two or three characters (or more if you prefer), add a dash of goals and conflict and so forth, and mix well with a red thread, a blue ball, and a gold mask (alright, you can make it a golden mask if you prefer), and write out the tale!

(oh - sandai banashi basically means three thing talk - a talk about three things? Pronounced a bit like sahn die bah nah she - soft a in all?)