Playwriting Winter 2010Name

Julia Heaton

Writing the One-Act

One of the litmus tests of a good play is that it is not a television script in disguise. I think, “Could this only work in the theater? Could this be better done as a movie…?” I think theater should stick with what it as nothing else can provide: language, imagination, dream.” – Eric Overmyer

Never fear the audience nor despise it. Coax it, charm it, interest it, stimulate it, shock it now and then if you must, make it laugh, make it cry, but above all… never, never, never bore the living hell out of it. --Noel Coward

Put yourself in a position where you can get your plays made public… Don’t harbor plays in your trunk; doing them whets your appetite. – A.R. Gurney, Jr.

The imagination is not our escape. On the contrary, it is the place we are all trying to get to.” -- Paul, Six Degrees of Separation, 63

On Structure (Adapted from L. E. Catron, The Elements of Playwriting, Long Grove, IL: 2000)

Though it may seem formulaic or dull, it is important to consider the structure of your play before you sit down to write. Every play must have an arc of action; the exact shape of that arc is up to you. In other words, you must structure your play to fit the particular demands of your story.

  1. Action: A one-act play is a “compressed dramatization” surrounding a single action. Due to its short length (usually less than 1 hour), a one-act play must be written in an incredibly efficient manner. Therefore, each scene should be designed to advance the action. Most one-acts typically maintain unity of action, place, or time. It may be easier to limit yourself to one setting or a “single, crucial event” rather than try to treat a whole series of events (Catron, 42-3).
  1. Plot: You can divide the plot into three sections: beginning, middle, and end. In a one-act play, the beginning and endtend to be short, with the middle taking up the bulk of the script. Within each section, there are a few crucial elements:
  2. Beginning=> inciting incident, background information, foreshadowing of events to come, setting the mood, introduction to major characters/settings
  3. Middle => major actions or conflicts, protagonist’s motivation and obstacles to that motivation, entrances and exits, complications, negotiations
  4. End => resolution, “scene of suffering,” catharsis or relief

FOCUSED FREEWRITES TO HELP YOU IN YOUR PROCESS

FF #12: Write about the following aspects of your play’s structure (2 page minimum)

  • Describe the inciting incident that sparks your play? When does it happen? Who was involved? How does it influence the characters?
  • Write a few moments of foreshadowing into your opening pages.
  • What is the protagonist’s motivation? What are obstacles to achieving that goal?
  • What is the climax of the play? Does it end “up” or “down”? Be detailed.

FF #13: Write on one of the études below (2 page minimum)

(Adapted from Michael Wright, Playwriting in Process, Portsmouth, NH: 1997)

* Get In Late/Get Out Early (to intensify plot/action)

Write a one-page version of each scene of your one-act play. Try to convey all of the details of setting, action, characterization, and intensity of the scene using only the bare minimum of dialogue and stage directions. When you are forced to limit yourself to one page of text, you will start to recognize the most important aspects of the play.

* Blackboard Workout (to plan structure)

Using a blackboard or large paper, chart the structure of your play by plotting key moments along a horizontal line. Annotate the chart with details (e.g. what does the character know at this moment? What is foreshadowed in this scene?) Now graph the relative intensity of each moment (climax is high, background exposition is low, etc.) and the duration of each moment to get a sense of the play’s arc. When finished, look carefully at the movement from one moment to the next. Are major events concentrated in one part of the play? Do scenes vary in tone/intensity or do you spend the whole time at an even level? Do you spend too long on some moments and not enough on others? Make changes accordingly.

* Notecard Shuffle (to revise structure)

Write each important plot element on a notecard (approximately 10-20 cards for a one-act play). Place the cards in order, according to the sequence of events in your draft. Now reshuffle the cards into random order. Read through the plot in this new sequence. What do you see that is surprising, interesting, or intriguing? How does this change the understanding of the characters, the conflict, and the resolution? Write down your observations in your Writer’s Notebook. Reshuffle and observe again. Repeat the process as many times as you like, until you find something to use in revision.

FF #14: If you are working with a partner, try at least one of the following collaboration études. If you are working alone, go back to one of the character exercises from Portfolio 2.

* Dialogue Collaboration

Write a scene where each writer is responsible for the lines of only one character. You can write together, taking turns and contributing one line at a time, or write separately and then combine the two halves of the conversation later.

* Filling in the Front

One person writes the end of a scene. The second person writes the first half of the scene that will arrive at the resolution created by the first person. Limit your scene to a certain number of pages or write with a time limit. Switch roles and write a new scene in the same way.

* Enhancement

One person writes a simple scene with low-level conflict and “normal” everyday activities. The second person enhances the scene by adding surprising or experimental elements. For example, if the original scene was written in a coffee shop, the second writer could revise the scene to take place in a space shuttle during take-off.