Playwriting - Part 3 - The Dramatic Premise

The dramatic premise can be thought of almost like an abstract. There are no embellishments to it. It is straight forward. Why do you want to write what you are going to write? That's the difference between a premise and an abstract. An abstract explains why a paper was written. The premise explains why you want to write your piece and the subject matter.

I don't know any premise statements for plays or movies because people don't generally share them. They are also not necessary, but they can help. You probably already have these ideas of why you want to write what you are going to write. Of course, there are the times that inspiration just strikes and those times are completely valid. There are also the times when such things as premise statements are needed and are helpful.

I imagine a premise statement for Legally Blonde may have looked something like, "I have always been fascinated with the culture of law school and of the the attitudes that rich blondes are not smart and only depend on their parents money. I wanted to write a piece that explored both cultures and proved the stereotype of the 'dumb blonde' to be false."

I imagine a premise statement for Groundhog Day to be something like, "I've always wanted to be able to get a relationship right the very first time, but I've found that this seems impossible. What if a person were able to constantly retry relationships until getting them right, and then time would move on? I want to explore this idea."

A premise statement is simply where you start. It is your idea. It is okay if things change while you are writing. You can think of a premise statement as a "launching pad" or a "springboard." Start with your idea. Then write.