There are more unconventional places to find scripts. If they are not in screenplay form, you or someone else still has to write it up, but it often helps if you already have a story source to draw from so you’re not starting from scratch.
A few alternative places I have found good script sources:
- Short plays (there is a fundraiser I work with as director and actor every year called First Stage that provides me with a wealth of short film script possibilities),
- Real-life newspaper and TV articles/stories (just make sure that the story has not been optioned by someone else – contact the people mentioned in the article to find out),
- And even overhearing a story in the ladies room of a dance club (again, get the option from the folks involved).
- For documentaries, if you are passionate about an issue (like the environment), find an interesting twist on the story that has not been covered and make a short documentary.
- Is there a unique story from your life or your family’s history? Just make sure it’s not too costly because it’s in a different period (or modernize it if that’s possible.)
I also find doing improvisational acting to be a rich source of storylines. Join an improv group and record all the rehearsals and performances. You will often be able to grow an idea that started as a basic improvisational exercise. This is especially good for people interested in comedy. In fact, in the book Impro, the writer discusses how boring theater group meetings were when they would simply discuss show ideas, but once they decided the must act out every idea, the meetings were much more lively and the theater pieces they came up with were much more entertaining and creative.
You or someone else will still have to write up a script from the story you have found, but this will make it a lot easier than to go from scratch if you do not consider yourself a writer or do not currently have any ideas.
