Chapter 4: the Playwright
The Role of the Playwright
As we saw in Chapter 3, theatre is someone, doing something, somewhere, for someone else. The something that is performed is the Idea; and the Idea usually comes in a literary form – the play script. The playwright is the person who writes the play script. It could be argued, therefore, that theatre begins with the playwright.
It was Thespis, the ancient Greek playwright/actor, who first stepped out and delivered the first lines in a formal drama. It was Aeschylus who added a second speaker and created dialogue. It was Sophocles who added a third speaker and developed Oedipus Rex, which so amazed Aristotle that he wrote his analysis of drama known as The Poetics.
The playwright is the person who begins the process which ultimately comes to fruition in the performance (someone, doing something, somewhere, for someone else).
The word playwright is slowing fading from our contemporary language. Many playwrights now refer to themselves and are referred to as playwriters, and what they do is called playwriting. But the word playwright bears upon our understanding of what a playwright does.
wright n. a workman, esp. a constructive workman (used chiefly in combination): a wheelwright, a playwright (from Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary).
A playwright is one who constructs the drama, who builds it. The playwright takes various incidents and bits of dialogue, and he or she constructs an action which is then brought to performance by the actors and designers.
The play script which the playwright constructs is a literary work in its own right as well as the blueprint for a potential performance. It should stand alone as literature; it should cry out to be performed.
Some contemporary playwrights work in conjunction with directors and actors, and are part of the process of casting, rehearsing, and performing. Other playwrights send off their scripts, and don’t show up at the theatre until just before the opening curtain. But if the playwright is gifted enough, and fortunate enough, her work or his work will continue to inspire performances long after the playwright has died. Just consider, Sophocles died in 406 B.C. and his plays are still produced and performed today. Now that’s drama.
The Playwrighting Process
The process through which a playwright works when constructing a play script is a relatively easy process to explain and comprehend. Like the game of chess, the names of the pieces, how they can and cannot be moved on the board, and the object of the game are relatively easy to explain and comprehend. But mastery may take a lifetime or more.
Essentially, anyone can be a playwright. You have simply to sit down and write a play. It has been estimated that approximately 10,000 play scripts are written every year in the United States alone. Of that number, about ten plays will achieve any kind of success in professional production. (Actually, those are better odds than playing the lottery.)
The process of writing a play is covered in four steps or phases: conceiving of the idea, writing the script, revising the script, and production of the script.
Finding an Idea
The idea for a play can be found anywhere. Or, the idea for a play can be as rare and elusive as a white rhinoceros. The initial idea may not even seem like an idea for a play – it might simply be a question or a problem which the playwright has been facing. The idea may spring from a conflict in the playwright’s life, or it may come from observing people in an airport or bus terminal.
Contemporary theatre tends to prefer performances that run from 90 to 120 minutes in length. Some audiences will accept a performance that runs longer, but they might complain later than the play was a little long. So the playwright is looking for an idea that will take about two hours to perform, right?
Not necessarily. The idea could be a story, a person, a thing, a hope, a song, or a philosophical observation on the nature of human beings.
Finding an idea can be made easier if the playwright is willing to prepare himself or herself ahead of time. If a person wants to write plays, it’s a pretty good idea to read plays that others have written. Some teachers of playwrighting suggest that the student read the masters: Sophocles, Shakespeare, Brecht. Some teachers of playwrighting suggest that the student read everything: plays, short stories, newspapers. Some teachers of playwrighting suggest that the student simply start writing, and keep writing, and keep writing.
Being well-read in dramatic literature, however, does have its benefits for the aspiring playwright. Being well-read in dramatic literature will give the aspiring playwright a mental framework of what a play is, how long a play is, and what types of action will fit a full-length script. Being well-read in dramatic literature will provide the aspiring playwright with an unconscious sense of what makes a story or a character or an idea the very material sought for her or his next play.
Some playwrights have Idea folders or Idea boxes in their dens. Whenever they get an idea, they write it down and put it in the folder/box. When they are seeking inspiration for their next script, they pull out the folder/box and sift through the gems they’ve collected.
Getting ideas may be difficult, or it may be easy. One thing is certain, however. You can spend your lifetime collecting ideas, and never write a play.
Dialogue-ing
The actual writing of a script may begin as soon as the playwright finds an idea that compels her to write. On the other hand, some playwrights spend hours or months in pre-writing activities: brainstorming, outlining, and day-dreaming. They choose to let the idea cook in their imaginations.
The act of writing the script is sometimes called dialogue-ing. A play script, in its rudimentary form, is nothing more than a written record of what the audience sees and what the audience hears. Some playwrights include a lot of stage direction and detailed description; some playwrights note nothing more than a table and two chairs. The meat of the play is the dialogue – the characters speaking.
The purpose of writing is to get the ideas out of the playwright’s head and onto the paper. For some, this is a painful part of the process. For others, this is only the preparation for the hard part: revision.
Revising
Nearly all writers, of all types of writing, agree – the battle is won or lost in revision. It is the revising and re-working of the script that makes the most difference. When the playwright is working with the director and actors in preparing the first performance, revision can take place right up until the curtains open and the lights go up on the stage. Many playwrights, from George Bernard Shaw to William Inge, continued to revise their scripts right up to their death.
Since it’s never perfect, there’s always room for improvement.
Some revision is minor. A line isn’t working, I’ll cut it. Some revision is major. The play isn’t working with three characters; I’ll add a fourth character. Some plays will be revised forever, and never be any good. Some plays seem to pour gently and wonderfully from the keyboards of the masters. Since every person is unique and individual, so too is every playwright’s process.
Production
For the fortunate few, the script is selected for production. In some cases, the playwright will be allowed and encouraged to participate in the casting and rehearsal processes. In some cases, the playwright may not be readily available. In many cases, the playwright has long since passed. Only the script remains.
The key to successful production, for the playwright, is to remember that the script ceases to belong to the playwright only. Once the production process begins, the script becomes the possession of the director, cast, and designers, and the playwright becomes one of the company. Successful playwrights learn to participate in the production process, as one of the team, and they continue to contribute to the process right up to opening night.
Playwrighting is so easy, anyone can do it. Writing a masterpiece is so difficult, only the rare few ever achieve it once. Great playwrights achieve it several times in their lives. That is why we study them.
The Six Elements of Drama
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who lived in the fourth century B.C. At the age of eighteen, he enrolled in Plato’s academy as a student. His own powerful intellect and intuitive mind frustrated Plato; the young Aristotle openly disagreed and challenged him. Indeed, Aristotle served as tutor to the young Alexander the Great. Aristotle opened his own school, the Lyceum, in 335 B.C.
Aristotle developed numerous philosophies and inquiries, treating a wide range of disciplines and sciences. He even addressed his analytical mind to understanding what made theatre such a powerful influence in the lives of Greek citizens. His investigation into theatre became a written treatise we know as The Poetics. The document we have today is believed to be only a part of the entire treatise; what has survived is his opening discourse on drama in general and on tragedy in particular.
Aristotle grasped that the power of drama came from what we might call the Idea or Theme. For Aristotle, this was an action, a main action if you will, having a beginning, middle, and end. The action was arranged in a certain way, carried out by the characters of the play, and (quite essentially) composed of what the audience saw and what the audience heard.
Earlier, we have discussed the four essential elements of theatre (the art form). Aristotle identified six elements of the drama (the literary form) – Plot, Character, Thought, Diction, Music, and Spectacle.
Plot
Aristotle used the term plot to refer to the arrangement of the incidents. Consider, when a play begins, something happens first. In good drama, something happens next which furthers the story of the main action. In great drama, according to Aristotle, something happens next which grows, necessarily, from what happens first. And what happens after that grows, necessarily, from that.
The playwright determines the story of the action. But the playwright also chooses which scenes she will write about, which scenes she will include in the play script, and which scenes she will leave out.
The arrangement of the incidents for Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, looks like this:
Oedipus enters to find out why the people of the city of Thebes have come in supplication. A priest tells Oedipus that they seek an end to the plague.
Creon enters, having gone to inquire of the Oracle at Delphi. He tells Oedipus that the murderer of the dead king Laius is still at large in Thebes. The murderer must be found and killed or exiled.
Oedipus promises to fulfill the word from the Oracle. Unknowingly, he pronounces his own doom.
The Chorus sings of the terribleness of the plague.
Oedipus solemnly calls upon all Thebes to help discover the murderer. The leader of the Chorus suggests calling Teiresias.
Teiresias enters unwillingly. He angers Oedipus by his refusal to answer Oedipus’ questions about the murderer. Then his anger erupts and he accuses Oedipus of the murder. Oedipus responds by accusing Teiresias of conspiracy with Creon to overthrow the king.
The Chorus knows that the murderer’s time is short but is confused by this accusation against Oedipus.
Creon enters to respond to Oedipus’ accusations of treason. He and Oedipus erupt in a volley of accusations against one another, leading to Creon’s solemn vow that he is blameless of treason.
Jocasta enters and tries to calm the argument. Creon leaves, still avowing his innocence.
Oedipus explains to Jocasta how Teiresias accused Oedipus of the murder of Laius. Jocasta dismisses the words of the prophet as folly. She explains that a prophet once proclaimed that Laius’ son by Jocasta would one day kill Laius. The child was put to death shortly after birth, and Laius was killed by robbers. Her description of Laius’ murder sparks recognition with Oedipus. He presses her for additional details. He explains that he killed a man in a place similar to the place she has described as the place where Laius was murdered, shortly before Oedipus’ arrival in Thebes. Jocasta dismisses Oedipus’ words because the surviving witness claimed that Laius was overwhelmed by a group of robbers, where Oedipus acted alone in his deed. At Oedipus’ pressing, she agrees to summon the sole survivor of the murder of Laius.
The Chorus ponders the leaders’ dismissal of the prophet’s words.
Jocasta enters with libations for Apollo. She greets a messenger from Corinth who has come to Oedipus with news of the death of Polybus, Oedipus’ father in his homeland.
Oedipus enters and is told of Polybus’ death. He is still discouraged to return home because of the second portion of the prophecy which caused him to flee from home in the first place – that he would also lay with his mother. Polybus’ wife, Merope, still lives.
The messenger inquires into Oedipus’ concerns. When told of the second half of the worrisome prophecy, the messenger explains that Merope is not Oedipus’ mother. The messenger explains that he himself received Oedipus as a babe from a shepherd of Thebes. Oedipus is thrilled by this news, but Jocasta quickly puts two and two together. While Oedipus determines that the shepherd of Thebes referred to by the messenger is the same servant who has already been sent for, Jocasta vainly attempts to distract him from his search for the truth. Rebuffed, Jocasta enters the palace, never to be seen alive again.
The Chorus speculates as to Oedipus’ possible divine origins.
The shepherd is brought in. He is frightened at first by the king’s sudden interest in the past. In response to Oedipus’ threats, the shepherd blurts out the whole truth – the babe he gave to the messenger from Corinth was the very child born of Laius and Jocasta. The truth is now revealed. Oedipus rushes into the palace.
The Chorus sings of Oedipus’ great loss.
A second messenger enters from the palace to tell how Jocasta hung herself and how Oedipus blinded himself.
Oedipus (blinded) enters to bemoan his misery.
Creon enters to assume authority and restore order. During this scene, Ismene and Antigone are brought in but have no lines. Creon takes Oedipus and his daughters into the palace to remove this event from the public eye.
This is the plot of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. This is an outline of the events and the order in which the events are performed for the audience. There is a clear omission of some scenes; i.e., the scene when Oedipus sends Creon to the Oracle at Delphi is missing as is the scene when Teiresias first refuses to respond to Oedipus’ call for an audience. Also, the scenes of violence (Jocasta hanging herself and Oedipus blinding himself) are offstage; the playwright has these events described for the audience by a third party.
The selection and arrangement of the incidents in a drama is what Aristotle referred to as Plot.
Character
As you read through the outline of the plot above, you see how the movement from scene to scene is determined by the characters and their actions. Creon returns from Delphi, because Oedipus sent him. Jocasta explains about the prophecy that Laius would be killed by his own son, because she is trying to calm down her husband who was just accused of killing Laius by the blind prophet. The messenger comes to Thebes to report the death of Polybus, because he is the shepherd who took Oedipus from the Theben shepherd and gave the child to Polybus.
Aristotle understood that the incidents of a drama are neither randomly nor arbitrarily selected and arranged by the playwright. There must be forethought and care taken in the selection and arrangement of the events. The action of the story is carried out by the characters in the story.
Aristotle used the term Character to refer to the qualities of personality given to the agents of the action. Oedipus, Creon, Teiresias, Jocasta, the Messenger from Corinth, the Shepherd of Thebes are all agents of the action in Sophocles’ play. Character refers to the traits, preferences, actions, beliefs, and intentions of the agents.
But Character does not include all the personality traits and characteristics. Rather, Character refers to the personality traits and characteristics that are necessary for the carrying out of the Plot.
Character has been defined as follows: Such-and-such an agent, given such-and-such qualities of personality, when presented with such-and-such as situation or stimulus, will respond in such-and-such a manner. For example, there is something about Oedipus, some quality of his personality, that when he is accused by Teiresias of murdering Laius, he concludes that Teiresias and Creon are plotting against him. Not everyone, in similar situations, would respond the way Oedipus did. But it is absolutely critical to the action of the story that Oedipus does respond that way. This is what Aristotle referred to when he talked about Character.
Thought
This third element of drama has been interpreted two different ways by scholars. In one sense, Thought refers to the moral argument of the play as a whole. In the other sense, Thought refers to the moral beliefs of the individual agents. Aristotle’s writing can be used to justify both interpretations; so let us examine both.
In the first case, the Thought of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles might be (1) that humans live their lives at the arbitrary will of the gods, (2) that human beings are endowed with a destiny or fate, even before they are born, which they cannot escape, and (3) that, as the Chorus notes in the closing lines, it is unwise to call a man blessed or happy until his entire life has been lived. Any one of these might by the moral argument which Sophocles intended.
In the second case, the Thought of the play is really the tapestry created by the individual moral philosophies of the agents. Jocasta, discovering that her husband is also her son, goes into the palace and hangs herself. Oedipus, looking upon his dead wife/mother, and the children they bore together, blinds himself. And, remembering the curse he pronounced at the beginning of the play upon the murderer of Laius, accepts his fate as an exile. Creon left the palace after his argument with Oedipus, and, learning too late of Jocasta’s suicide and Oedipus’ blinding, returns to assume command of the kingdom and restore a sense of order for the citizens. In all of these cases, the playwright is presenting a moral argument to the audience about how we should live our lives.
Diction
We, the audience, watch the play, but what we are really doing is listening to the voices of the agents. Their words (and perhaps even their actions) are chosen by the playwright to indicate the Character and Thought of the agents, which is necessary for the carrying out of the Plot. Diction refers to the word choices, the choices of the language by the playwright, consistent with the character and thought of the agents, to perform the incidents of the action for the audience.
Oedipus explains to Jocasta why he has been arguing with Creon. He tells her that the prophet has accused him of killing Laius. Jocasta, in attempting to show that prophets cannot be trusted, mentions the place where three roads meet. Oedipus, remembering an event in his own life, an event that occurred at a place where three roads meet, asks Jocasta to describe the place.
Oedipus doesn’t have to inquire. He doesn’t even have to mention that he killed anyone, let alone that he killed a man at a place where three roads meet. Jocasta’s words are an attempt to show that prophets cannot be trusted. Oedipus chooses to inquire more specifically into the death of Laius. He acknowledges that he is becoming fearful in his investigation into the murder of the former king, but he presses her for more information anyway. His words, his Diction, demonstrates more of his Thought and, ultimately, of his Character.
Music
The Greek plays which Aristotle was examining when he developed The Poetics, we believe, were accompanied with some form of musical accompaniment. There are references in the surviving texts to flute-like instruments. Aristotle noted that Music is an essential element of drama. Was he saying that play performances must include flute-like accompaniment? Probably not. Rather, he was noting that drama is literary in form, and any performance of drama must be spoken. He referred to the musical quality created by the actor’s voices, and their interpretations of the lines of the play, in what might be called the symphony of the drama.
(Some directors, when casting a show, pay close attention to the actors’ voices, in an attempt to assemble a cast whose voices blend together harmoniously.)
The Choral Odes were more than likely sung, at least partially. And modern productions of the Greek plays have even attempted harmonies in the delivery of the Choral Odes. Aristotle recognized the Music of the performance as an essential element of drama.
Spectacle
Similarly, Aristotle understood that the visual elements of performance were also an essential element of drama. He referred to all of the visual elements as the Spectacle of drama.
Thus, everything the audience sees and everything the audience hears comes together to form a whole action, complete with beginning, middle, and end, and having a certain degree of magnitude, of power, in the delivery of the performance to the audience. Plot, Character, Thought, Diction, Music, and Spectacle make up the essential six elements of drama.
Conventions of Playwrighting
A convention is a rule, method, or practice established by general consent or usage. Over the millennia, certain conventions of playwrighting have emerged. Some conventions have applied to a particular time period or philosophical movement. Some conventions have persisted because of their effectiveness in producing powerful works of dramatic art.
The following conventions are some of those rules, methods, or practices which have been established over 2,500 years of theatre.
Exposition
The beginning of the performance and the beginning of the action are two separate things. There are important pieces of information which the audience needs to know before the action of the story can commence. The giving of these pieces of information by the playwright is called exposition.
Typically, as basic information, the audience usually needs to know where and when. What is this place where the play is going to take place? What time of day or time of year is it? Are we indoors or outdoors?
Exposition also includes information about the agents, their relationships, and any pertinent history which the audience needs to know. In the opening of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus comes out from his palace and asks the citizens of Thebes why they have come. The response of the priest is the exposition: there is a famine and a plague, and the citizens are seeking relief. During the scene, we learn that Oedipus is king, and that he has ruled Thebes since the former king died and Oedipus killed the sphinx. The citizens hope that Oedipus can rescue the city once more. Oedipus provides more exposition when he tells them that he has sent Creon to the Oracle at Delphi to inquire of Apollo. These are the pieces of information the audience needs to know before Creon can enter and deliver the mandate from Apollo.
But every play has its own story, and every story has its own mandates for what information the audience needs before the action of the story can begin. Some plays have very little exposition; some plays must provide an enormous amount of exposition before the action can begin.
And not all exposition is given to the audience at the beginning of the performance. Sometimes, it is more dramatically effective to hold back pieces of information until they are dramatically appropriate. In fact, Aristotle believed that the overall magnitude, or power, of the drama was increased if the exposition flowed naturally from the action itself rather than being artificially delivered by the playwright.
Other playwrights have not been as effective at exposition as Sophocles. It was a common practice during the nineteenth century to begin a play with two servants discussing the business and news of the day. The dialogue between them provided the exposition. In The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen, the curtain opens on two butlers. A large party is finishing dinner just offstage, and the butlers are preparing the room for the after-dinner conversation. One butler has been serving the household for many years. He has the information the audience needs. The other butler has been hired specifically for the dinner party; he is new and wants to know about the household he is currently serving. He wants what the audience wants. As the veteran butler informs the hired butler, he also provides the exposition for the audience.
Point of Attack
The point of attack, or inciting incident, is the beginning of the action of the story. This is the point, near the beginning of the play, where the action of the story gets its start. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the point of attack begins with Creon’s entrance. He informs Oedipus, the Chorus, and the audience of what Apollo’s oracle has said. The chorus has come to Oedipus for help to relieve the famine and the plague; Creon tells them how this can be achieved.
Complication
Consider the following scenario: Creon enters and informs Oedipus that the murderer of Laius must be killed or exiled; Oedipus confesses the crime and banishes himself from Thebes. This would be a very short play.
The playwright lengthens the play, and builds suspense and interest for the audience, by maneuvering the primary agent through a series of complications. The complications, or obstacles, are hurdles or challenges which the primary agent must face and overcome in his or her journey through the action of the play.
In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus does not know that he is the murderer he seeks. He needs information, and in his search for information about the murder of Laius, he finds himself encountering information about his own life and lineage. Teiresias doesn’t want to say anything, at first. Then Oedipus and Creon argue. Oedipus appears to be going in the wrong direction.
Complications can be simple obstacles that the agent must overcome. However, Aristotle believed that complications were most effective when overcoming the obstacle also provided the agent with some new knowledge or tool which would be necessary for the agent to reach his or her goal. Oedipus’ scene with Teiresias leads to his scene with Creon; his argument with Creon leads to Jocasta’s entrance; in trying to calm Oedipus, Jocasta makes reference to the place where three roads meet.
Crisis
Complications, effective complications, will lead to a crisis, or turning point, in the action of the story. Oedipus refuses to entertain the thought that he is the murderer of Laius when Teiresias declares it. But when Jocasta makes reference to the place where three roads meet, a significant crisis for Oedipus, he begins to consider the possibility that he might be the murderer he seeks. This is a major turning point in the action of the story.
All crises arise from complications. Not all complications lead to crises.
A more technical term, from Aristotle, is discovery and reversal. Aristotle used the term discovery to refer to the introduction of a new, critical piece of information in the action. Jocasta is trying to persuade Oedipus to disregard the words of the prophet when she mentions the place where three roads meet. The comment arises naturally from the action, from her desire to calm her husband. But this discovery, the introduction of this new piece of information, causes a reversal in Oedipus. He was unwilling to consider that he is the murderer of Laius; this discovery reverses his position, and he becomes willing to consider the possibility.
Climax
The ultimate crisis is the climax of the story. The climax has been defined in numerous ways. For our purposes, the climax is the point which answers or begins to answer the question of the story. For Oedipus Rex, the question is whether Oedipus will discover that he killed his own father and has born children by his own mother. The point of the story where this question is answered – unmistakably answered for Oedipus – is when the Shepherd confirms that the babe given to the man from Corinth is in fact the babe born to Jocasta and Laius.
In some actions, the point of climax is sudden and abrupt. In other actions, the climax is spread over several minutes of performance. In either case, the point of climax is the point of no return. Just before the Shepherd confirms Oedipus’ fears, Oedipus himself says he does not want to hear it, “but hear it I must.” He commits himself to the truth, realizing full well the consequences of that truth. This is the climax of the action.
Denouement
Occasionally, the point of climax comes at the very end of the play. The question of the play is answered, and the curtain closes. This is actually very rare. More often, there is a denouement, or falling action, which leads the audience from the climax to the final curtain.
The denouement is the closing of the play after the action has been completed. Sometimes, this is referred to as “tying up loose ends.” Oedipus has learned that he is the murderer of Laius, his own father, but exiling the murderer must still be taken care of.
Foreshadow
Another playwrighting convention which has served to increase the magnitude, or power, of a drama is foreshadowing. To foreshadow is to provide hints or clues to the audience of events in the future of the action. The fact that the only survivor of the murder of Laius is the very shepherd from whom the man from Corinth received the baby, is a foreshadow of the connection between the murder of Laius and the lineage of Oedipus. Jocasta’s distress before her final exit foreshadows the distress awaiting Oedipus later in the play.
Dramatic Irony
An advanced form of foreshadowing, dramatic irony is basically defined as information given to the audience which has not yet been given to the agent of the action. The Greek audiences never questioned whether Oedipus was Laius’ son and murderer; they were well-acquainted with the legend. The audience never wondered whether Oedipus would discover his own guilt and shame; rather, they came to the theatre to witness the process of his discovery. Dramatic irony is the power of knowledge in the audience which is withheld from the agents of the action. I know something you don’t know; now I want to watch you find out.
The Unities
Another convention from the Greeks to the modern day is the unities. The unity of time refers to the plausibility that the action performed onstage is equal to the amount of time such action would require in real life. During the Neoclassical period, it was firmly believed that the play itself could only portray an action which would take no more than a 24-hour period. Telescoping and organization make it possible, however, for the playwright to put two hours worth of incidents into a play which span a much longer period of time.
But Oedipus cannot grasp his own guilt and shame in less time than it would take someone in real life to grasp his own complicity in his father’s murder. If he moves from Point A to Point B too quickly, plausibility is lost and the audience is not willing to accept the events of the story. They simply won’t believe it.
The unity of action refers to the wholeness of the action of the story. During the Neoclassical period, it was firmly believed that the play could only have one story, only one action. Shakespeare has demonstrated with absolute certainty that several stories can be woven successfully into one action and that several actions can be woven together into one play.
The unity of place once referred to the Neoclassical belief that the events of the story must take place within a limited area (a single house, a single wooded area, or several locations but all within the range of a single day’s journey). Advances in technical theatre (and television and the cinema) have all but destroyed this requirement. Indeed, the surrealistic plays (i.e., A Dream Play by August Strindberg) have demonstrated that location onstage can change and alter as quickly and easily as the audience can imagine it.
Simultaneous Plots
Also called double plots, simultaneous plots have demonstrated that several stories can be woven into a single action and that several actions can be woven together in a single play. The magnitude, or power, of the action derives from how successfully the simultaneous actions support and comment on each other.
Play Within a Play
Though used more sparingly, the play-within-a-play is a form of simultaneous plot. A modern farce, Noises Off by Michael Frayn is the story of the actors as they perform a play. The audience in engaged in both the offstage story and the onstage story simultaneously, and successfully.
Other conventions of playwrighting have been observed in various historical periods of theatre or have been proposed by various philosophical and artistic movements within theatre. These other conventions were important to the time period or to the artists involved in the movement. A study of a particular period or movement would bring to light conventions of playwrighting that were important at that time.
Magnitude
Several references have been made to magnitude. The concept itself bears further examination. Another word for magnitude is power. When there is an earthquake, we talk about the magnitude (or power) of the quake. Aristotle believed that the difference between average drama and great drama is the magnitude (or power) of the action.
Let us use the analogy of cloth or fabric. Burlap is a fabric which is very loosely woven. The purpose is to allow air to circulate freely through the fabric. The problem, if you will, with burlap is that the fabric will fray (come loose at the edges) very easily. At some points in fashion history, frayed edges have been popular. But weave the threads together very tightly, and you have canvas. Not only will air have difficulty passing through the fabric, even a light rain will not penetrate.
So too, magnitude in drama is developed by how tightly the playwright weaves the incidents of the play together. Aristotle believed that with a great drama, one with great magnitude, no element, no line of dialogue, no incident or character could be removed without seriously damaging the whole play. In plays of lesser magnitude, it may be possible to take two (servant) characters and combine them into one character (therefore one actor), without damaging the play. Scenes can be cut without damaging the play. In fact, sometimes a director will cut a weak, irrelevant scene from a play script and actually increase the play’s overall magnitude.
Magnitude refers to power. The power is derived from the interconnectedness of the whole action.
Playwrighting: an Exercise for Students
When you first begin to learn how to play a musical instrument, it is very common to begin by learning to play the musical scales. Many of us, learning to play the piano as children, remember spending an hour each afternoon, sitting at the piano, playing the scales over and over and over again. The playwrighting exercise most approximating the playing of scales is the 10-minute play.
If you’d like to try your hand at playwrighting, try this exercise. Develop and write a 10-minute play with three characters.
Remember, the playwright writes only what the audience sees and what the audience hears. Therefore, write only what the characters do and say. Put the character’s name against the left margin of your page, followed by a colon. This is called a character/speaker tag. Then write the words which will be spoken, the dialogue for the actor playing the character. If you want the actor to do anything, put the stage directions in parentheses.
You’re aiming to tell a story, complete with a beginning, middle, and end. Remember that there are some pieces of information which the audience will need to know initially, before you can start your story. This information is the exposition, and it will need to be provided in the early part of the play.
Because you are aiming for a 10-minute play, you will want to identify a simple action. Pick one thing your primary character wants to accomplish. Let the secondary character represent some sort of obstacle. Let the tertiary character be a helper or hindrance, as you see fit.
Because you are aiming for a 10-minute play, you will want to limit your action to a single location and a single scene.
“Late for Class”
(The scene takes place in front of Professor Fonseca’s office. At rise, the door opens and Dr. Fonseca leaves his office. He is carrying a briefcase. He appears to be in a hurry. From right, John enters.)
John: Dr. Fonseca!
Fonseca: (turning) Yes?
John: I wanted to talk to you about your lecture last night.
Fonseca: I’m on my way to class right now.
John: It’ll just take a minute.
Fonseca: I really don’t have a minute. Why don’t you stop by during my office hour tomorrow. (Dr. Fonseca starts to walk away, but is stopped by John’s words.)
John: It’s okay. I just want to know what the assignment was.
Fonseca: I can give it to you tomorrow.
John: I’m leaving for the weekend, this afternoon.
Fonseca: The assignment is in your syllabus.
John: I lost it.
Fonseca: Okay, write a play.
John: (not understanding) Huh?
Fonseca: The assignment is to write a play, a ten-minute play.
John: That’s it?
Fonseca: Ten minutes. Three characters. One location. One action.
John: Can I have just two characters?
Fonseca: No. Ten minutes. Three characters. One location. One action.
John: What do you mean, one action?
Fonseca: Have you been paying attention in class?
John: Yeah, but I think I missed that class.
Fonseca: I really don’t have –
John: You mean, like a fight scene?
Fonseca: No, one action means the story is only one story. It’s only a ten-minute play; you won’t have time to develop anything more.
John: Could you give me an example?
Fonseca: Anton Chekhov wrote a brilliant short play called “The Proposal.”
John: What’s it about?
Fonseca: Read the play.
John: Aw, come on, professor.
Fonseca: It’s about a proposal, a wedding proposal.
John: That’s it?
Fonseca: Read it.
John: Do you have a copy?
Fonseca: I have a copy, at home, in my den.
John: Could you bring it to school?
Fonseca: Yes, but you’re leaving for the weekend, remember?
John: Oh, yeah. So what happens in the wedding proposal?
Fonseca: Ten minutes. Three characters. One location. One action.
John: Yeah, but . . .
Fonseca: A man comes to his neighbor’s home to ask for the hand of his daughter in marriage.
John: Dude, nobody does that anymore.
Fonseca: They did a hundred years ago.
John: I have to write a play a hundred years ago?
Fonseca: No, but when Chekhov wrote the play, it was a hundred years ago.
(Wendy enters from right. She is carrying several papers.)
Wendy: Mr. Fonseca, I’m glad I caught you.
Fonseca: It’s Dr. Fonseca.
Wendy: Yeah, okay.
Fonseca: And you didn’t catch me. I’m on my way to class.
Wendy: I was just wondering if you could look over my research paper.
Fonseca: I don’t have time. Stop by tomorrow during my office hour.
Wendy: Can I just leave it with you now, and I’ll stop by tomorrow?
Fonseca: No, I’m on my way to class. You can stop by tomorrow during my office hour, and you can bring the paper with you.
John: But the guy? The wedding proposal?
Fonseca: The young man has inherited his father’s large estate. He’s a weak young man, always getting sick.
Wendy: Who is?
John: This guy in a play.
Fonseca: He comes to his neighbor’s house to ask for the hand of the neighbor’s daughter in marriage. She’s about the same age as the young man.
Wendy: Why doesn’t he just ask her?
John: It was a hundred years ago.
Fonseca: Yes. Believe it or not, they did things differently then.
John: So what happens?
Fonseca: As he’s talking to the young woman about his fortunes, his lands, etc., he mentions a meadow that lies between their two estates.
Wendy: Whose estates?
Fonseca: The young man’s estate and the neighbor’s estate.
Wendy: Oh.
Fonseca: But when he mentions the meadow, the young woman gets upset. She believes that her family owns that particular meadow.
John: Do they?
Fonseca: That’s not the point.
Wendy: What’s the point?
Fonseca: The point is that she interrupts the marriage proposal to fight with him over a piece of land.
John: Maybe it’s an important piece of land.
Fonseca: It isn’t.
Wendy: What does her father say?
Fonseca: He agrees with her. He thinks he owns the meadow.
John: Does he?
Fonseca: That’s not the point.
John: They should get a lawyer.
Fonseca: They don’t need a lawyer, they need someone to marry the daughter.
John: Is she ugly?
Wendy: Pig.
John: No, I just mean –
Fonseca: She isn’t ugly. She’s just very quick to anger. Just like her father.
Wendy: So what happens?
Fonseca: Read the play!
Wendy: What play?
Fonseca: “The Proposal” by Anton Chekhov.
Wendy: It sounds interesting. Do you have a copy I could borrow?
Fonseca: No.
John: Do I have to write about a proposal?
Fonseca: No. You just asked me for an example of a short play with three characters, one location, one story.
John: Who are the three characters?
Fonseca: The young man, the neighbor, and the neighbor’s daughter.
John: How about a scene between two ninja warriors?
Fonseca: That’s fine, but there needs to be a third character.
John: Who?
Fonseca: I don’t care. It can be a flying nun for all I care.
John: What’s a flying nun?
Fonseca: (He pauses for a quick breath.) It’s a cocktail.
Wendy: Really? I’ve never had one.
John: What’s in it?
Fonseca: Really, folks. I’m late for class. How do you feel when you’re sitting in a classroom, waiting for class, and the professor walks in late?
Wendy: I’ve got this one professor who’s never on time for class.
Fonseca: Maybe it’s because he has students clamoring for his attention as he leaves his office.
Wendy: Naw, it’s a woman.
John: What’s a flying nun?
Fonseca: It was a television show, a long time ago.
Wendy: What was it about?
Fonseca: It was about a nun, who could fly, so they called it “The Flying Nun.”
Wendy: Sounds stupid.
Fonseca: Not any more so than what’s on television today.
John: How about two ninja warriors and a girl?
Fonseca: That’s fine.
John: And they’re fighting over the girl.
Wendy: Why are they fighting over the girl?
John: It’s a play.
Wendy: What kinda play?
Fonseca: A ten-minute play. Three characters. One location. One action.
Wendy: Like a fight scene?
Fonseca: Not necessarily!
Wendy: Is this for a class?
John: Yeah, Introduction to Theatre.
Wendy: I was gonna take that class, maybe next semester.
Fonseca: Good. I’ll see you then. I’m late for class, this semester.
Wendy: Oh, can I just slip this paper under your door?
Fonseca: No, you can bring it by tomorrow during my office hour.
Wendy: I’m not on campus tomorrow.
John: You going away for the weekend?
Wendy: No, just clubbing.
(Dr. Fonseca starts to walk away.)
John: Professor! Can I walk with you?
Fonseca: If you can keep up. (He keeps walking away right.)
John: Hey, can I call you?
Wendy: Nah, I’m seeing someone. But you’re writing a play?
John: Yeah, for the class. (Fonseca is gone.)
Wendy: Sounds hard.
John: Naw, I’ll put something together the night before it’s due.
Wendy: What’re you majoring in?
John: Business. I’m taking Fonseca’s class for general ed.
Wendy: And you have to write a play?
John: It’s one of the lame assignments. Like I’m ever gonna even go to a play, ever.
Wendy: I was in a play, in junior high.
John: Really, where’d you go?
Wendy: Wilson. You?
John: San Jose. I moved here my second year of high school.
(Dr. Fonseca returns.)
John: Hey, professor.
Fonseca: I forgot my attendance book. (He fumbles for the key, and unlocks the door of his office.)
Wendy: Could I just leave this paper with you?
Fonseca: (Opening the door.) Give it here.
Wendy: Thank you. (She gives him the paper.) I’ll stop by on Monday.
Fonseca: Isn’t it due on Monday?
Wendy: Yeah. But I can make any last minute changes in the computer lab.
Fonseca: You think that’s all it will need, just a few last minute changes?
Wendy: Sure.
John: Professor, how about if I write about two ninja warriors who both want to marry the girl, so they fight to see who gets to ask her.
Wendy: Doesn’t the girl have any say? (Fonseca disappears into his office.)
John: Well, yeah, she’ll get to choose whoever wins the fight.
Wendy: If only one guy wins the fight, there won’t be any choice for her.
John: She can always say no.
Wendy: What’s the point?
John: She can always say she’s seeing someone else.
Wendy: Ouch. (Dr. Fonseca comes out of his office again.)
John: I’ll walk with you, professor.
Fonseca: Fine. (He makes sure the door is locked.)
Wendy: Thank you, Mr. Fonseca.
Fonseca: It’s Dr. Fonseca.
Wendy: Right. I’ll see you on Monday. (She exits right as Fonseca and John start off left.)
John: Actually, I was thinking about two ninja warriors and a third ninja warrior from another city. The first two warriors are brothers, who hate each other . . . (They are gone.)
The play you write does not have to run for ten minutes, exactly. Different actors will interpret the same character differently, so run time (the length of a performance) will vary from production to production. You’re aiming for a three-character play that runs approximately ten minutes.
Enjoy!