Playwriting - Part 7E - Creating Unique Dialogue, Using Slang

In a way, this post is related to Finding Speech Patterns and to Using Regionalisms. Sometimes regionalisms may be referred to as slang. However, slang may easily change within local groups while regionalisms are fairly well known throughout a region, hence why they are called regionalisms.

Instead, slang are words used by certain groups. The words used may only be local to a group. They may span across a country or even the world, but only make sense to a group that understands them. When I was in high school, my local friends knew what I meant if I said I had QB practice. That is because they knew me and knew my interests and activities. It meant that I had Quiz Bowl practice. However, I once type that I had QB practice, not thinking about how others would interpret that. I had somebody asked me if I had Quarterback practice.

I looked up some slang because I wanted to find some slang that I probably didn't know. It was easy. Within the first post I viewed, I found slang that I didn't know. I saw GOAT. I'm not really into sports in any fashion. I'll watch some at times, but they aren't my thing. Apparently GOAT means Greatest of All Time, referring to an athlete when people think they are the greatest "something" of all time. So, GOAT is slang that is familiar among people who are sports fans.

Of course, if there is a sports fan in a group of more people that are not sports fans, then that person might bring GOAT into that group. Sometimes slang can be between just a few, or even two, people. My sister and a few of my Facebook friends know what I mean when I put that I am going to flosh my teeth. The term means to "floss and brush" my teeth. It came about from a slip of the tongue. I was going to say, "floss and brush," but it came out "flosh." That's also some slang.

To make dialogue more authentic in your play, use slang if it is appropriate for the characters. Don't force your characters to explain the slang. Let the context clues explain the slang unless explaining it is actually part of the conversation that happens naturally in the play.

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Playwriting - Part 7D - Creating Unique Dialogue, Using Regionalisms

In a way, this post is similar to Finding Speech Patterns. Another key element of speech is regionalisms. If all of your characters are from one region, they will probably all know the regionalisms that are used there. However, if your characters are from different regions, they are probably going to use different regionalisms.

Of course, with the Internet, some of this has calmed down to where it isn't a huge deal about knowing different slang, but much of it still exists. Then, if your play is set in a time before people had consistant access to the Internet, this will be extremely important.

The main thing that people probably know is the coke/soda/pop debate. I know that when I was in high school and went to a national youth gathering for the church of which I was a member, that it was a major conversation point. "What do you call it?" If people were from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Albama, or Georgia, then tended to call "it" Coke. If people were from Illinois or Indiana, they tended to call "it" Pop. If people were from Michigan or Wisconsin, they tended to call "it" soda. Sometimes some of the terms got mixed up. This could depend on where people's parents grew up and if they moved to another state.

Apparently, in Massachusetts, a liquor store is called a "packy." However, down in Southwest Louisiana, a liquor store is just a liquor store. As somebody who had parents that didn't grow up in Louisiana, but then moved the family there, I didn't understand many Louisiana phrases at first and there are some that I've still had to learn as an adult. I didn't understand what it was to "waste a drink," "make groceries," or "save the dishes." I know what they all mean now, but I didn't and it's likely that people who don't live in Louisiana don't know what those phrases mean, either.

However, when using regionalisms in your play, don't go to lengths to explain them unless that is a necessary part of the dialogue for your characters. If they aren't understood, researching them is the dramaturg's job.

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Playwriting - Part 7C - Creating Unique Dialogue, Using Swear Words

Warning: This post will contain swear words.

People use all different types of expressions in their speech. Some people don't like swear words at all and try to avoid them all the time. Some people don't mind them, in general, but they try not to use them, especially in the company of others. Then, there are those people who use them all the time.

That doesn't mean that you have to include swear words in plays that you write. Most plays probably don't contain swear words. However, in general, when swear words are used, they should be used sparingly. The reason for this is that then when they are used, they make more of an impact. There is a reason for the swear words to be there. They may be because of anger or they may be celebratory. They may just because a character talks that way.

However, if one character talks that way, you probably don't want all your characters to swear. Maybe two might, depending on how many characters are in your play. However, you don't want your play laced with swear words.

If you are going to include swear words, listen to how people use them. If you use them, pay attention to how and when you use them. It is important to sound natural. Being creative is a good thing, but don't try to be so creative that it doesn't sound natural. If you find somebody that uses swear words in a creative way and you can fit that into your character's speech, do that.

I know of poeple that use the word "fuckin'" to emphasize that something is great or pretty. It's not used in an offensive way. A character might say, "Those are some fuckin' awesome shoes." I know of people who yell "Fuck!" when something extremely scary happens. I once slid off the road while driving in the dark and hitting some gravel. A friend that was with me, yelled, "Fuck!" It was completely understandable. I saw a play where many of the characters spoke Spanish. One of them was extremely foul mouthed. In the play he said, "Como fuckin' esta?"

If you use swear words or even fake swear words, you want to make sure that they way they are used sounds natural. While you may not agree with everything in this post, Taylor Dennis's article on the Grammar of Swearing can help you to make swearing sound more natural. Don't force yourself to include swear words in your play, but if it seems like they should be there, write them. Of course, if you have to write a play for a class in high school, if you do use swear words at first, you should probably either remove them or replace them with fake swear words. However, that is up to each person.

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Playwriting - Part 7B - Creating Unique Dialogue, Sounding Natural by Including Cutting Off of Speech

Listen to conversations that people have. You don't have to listen in to conversations closely. Position yourself in a busy area where you easily overhear conversations. Make it so it is a place where it is appropriate that you might hear others talking.

Maybe you go to school, so you can sit in a place that has lots of students pass by between class times. Maybe you like to eat out. Position yourself in a busy restaurant. A fast food place is most likely the best place for this. People stand in lines and talk. Sometimes others join in the conversation if it is a topic in which they have knowledge. (I changed that sentence right now because I didn't want to end the sentence with "if it is a topic they know about," even though that is fine as vernacular - the way people speak, and it is okay in a casual blog post).

Listen to how many times people cut others off and how it is done. It's not in a rude way that people do that. They do it because they understand. It's not wanting people to stop talking. It's understanding them. This is especially true of close friends. They don't need to hear everything because they will understand.

Don't be afraid to incorporate this into your play. Let characters cut each other off. It happens. When this happens in a play, put a dash at the end of the line where the character that gets cut off is speaking. Then put a dash before the speech of the character that does the interrupting.

Sometimes people suddenly cut themselves off when speaking. If this happens, still use the dash at the end of the speech, but you don't need to put a dash before the next bit of speech. People also trail off in their thoughts when they can't think of things. When this is done, don't use a dash. Instead, use an ellipsis. That is a series of three evenly spaced dots.

Listen to other people's conversations. Listen to your own conversations. Figure out where people cut others off, where they cut themselves off, and where they trail off. Experiment with these styles in your writing. The more you listen and the more you write natural dialogue, the more natural your written dialog will sound.

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Playwriting - Part 7A - Creating Unique Dialogue, Finding Speech Patterns

A habit that all playwrights fall into at times is making all the characters have the same pattern of speech. They all might sound like the playwright or they all might sound like somebody the playwright knows. It is natural to write what you know, so it is natural to write dialogue like you hear it or think about it.

However, a play doesn't work when all the characters talk the same way. Characters have to be different in vocal and conversational styles. One way to start to figure this is out is to listen to different people talk. Find the differences in their speech. Even use people who have different conditions to help create your characters.

A way to get into this is to keep notes for yourself about the specific things you hear from certain people. For example, I know that I often end my sentences by saying, "Ya, know?" However, when I say that, I don't catch it. I don't remember saying it, either. I will only truly hear it if it has been recorded and played back. It's not something that I catch, but others do. However, I could assign that to one of the characters in my play.

My sister has Asperger's and one of the things she tends to do is constantly repeat an answer or a phrase even when somebody has never asked her something. She seems to hear it like somebody has asked her. Or, she'll repeat the phrase or the general idea about three or four times. Even if a character doesn't have Asperger's or a similar condition, I can still use that style of speech for a character.

When I was in high school, I had a friend that would come into a room and say, "Eep!" as a greeting. I've had teachers that greet students by saying, "Howdy." I've had teachers that always complained about being at school to teach. I could use the greetings with characters. I could use the complaining with characters.

My list would probably look something like this:

• Ending sentence with "Ya, know?"
• Repeating answers or phrases three or four times for no reason
• Greeting a room of people by saying "Eep!"
• Greeting students by saying, "Howdy."
• Always complaining about being at work/the situation

Your characters are human, so make them human. Give them little quirks and remember that creative writing is not the same as formal writing.

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Playwriting - Part 6K - The Working Process, Exposing the Subtext or "Shut Up"

A passion of mine besides theatre is Youth Ministry. One time I was in a workshop for Youth Ministry and musical performers. One of the key lessons in the workshop was, "Shut up." This seemed strange to me at first until it was explained.

The idea was that once people in general know a popular part of a song, usually the chorus, to take a break from singing it and instead tell the audiene to sing. They know this, therefore the band doesn't have to sing the chorus.

The band that was there was a small two person band, but popular among the crowd at the workshop. They had them sing their song and then show this by having them stop before the chorus while they vamped on their instruments and then the participants were told, "You sing it."

The band stopped singing and the majority of the people sang, "Nobody calls her baby. Nobody says I love you so. Nobody calls her baby. Oh, I guess she'll never know." The band didn't need to sing any of the lyrics for that chorus. There were enough people that knew them.

When you write, let the dialogue expose the subtext. Make your characters shut up. Perhaps you have a character where something like this happens. I'll call this character Bill and just make up names for the other characters. There's no significance in this blog post to the names of these characters.

(Bill and Mary have a huge argument about how to go about recruiting team members for their baseball team and Bill heads home.)

Bill: What a horrible day.

(Bill heads over to the piano and starts to play "Broken Wings." His sister comes out into the living room and listens to him play. After he is finished playing, they go to bed.)

There might be another time when Bill has just been fired from his job and he goes and plays "Broken Wings" on the piano and the same type of thing happens.

From simply reading that example, the subtext has already been shown. However, when beginning writing, it is tempting to put something like this afterwards. Let's call Bill's sister, Sally.

(His sister comes into the living room and listens to him play.)

Sally: Why do you always come play "Broken Wings?"
Bill: I've had a bad time. I need to feel like I can escape.
Sally: And that song makes it feel like you can escape?
Bill: Yes.

The second part isn't needed. We can already figure out that playing "Broken Wings" on the piano helps Bill to feel like he can escape from the bad situations and the bad feelings brought on by what happened to him in the world.

The subtext is exposed simply by Bill saying that it was a horrible day and then going to play "Broken Wings" on the piano, especially if it happens more than once in the play. You can make all your characters shut up because commentary on why Bill does this isn't needed. The subtext is there.

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Playwriting - Part 6J - The Working Process, Specific is General

This entry, in a way, goes along with the last entry. The desire for a large group of people to relate to a play is understandable. When people start writing plays, they often try to make situations seem extremely general without tackling specific details. They may only refer to troubles or loves or hobbies.

Of course, everybody has t hose things and that makes it obvious why playwrights, early on, may try to be general. However, when trying to be general, that doesn't allow for details in a play and things are no longer clear. The play suddenly has no substance and often nowhere to go.

Instead of being general, be specific. If a character's hobby is collecting stamps and the hobby is an important part of the play, go into detail about collecting the stamps and about finding the certain stamps wanted. People are going to relate that hobby to hobbies of their own. If a character is dealing with kidney disease, be specific about the struggles of dealing with disease. The audience will relate that disease to times they have been sick or to reasons they are sick if they've had or have those things and the struggles they have.

When you are specific in a play, you give the information that is needed so the audience can understand the play. Then, because the audience understands the play, they can relate the different concepts in the play in their lives.

If you feel that the audience cannot relate the play to concepts in their lives, you have forgotten to be writing for the smartest people that you can imagine. Even if the audience doesn't relate to the concepts, you've given them important details for your play. They need to understand the play and not feel lost in it.

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Playwriting - Part 6I - The Working Process, Less Is More

It is tempting to fill a play full of unnecessary exposition. As writers, we start thinking about things and wondering if the audience will understand. We ask if there is enough information and we think that there is, but then we start doubting ourselves. When we start to doubt ourselves, then we start trying to cram more information into the play that isn't really needed.

We might have the characters start talking to each other about things they already know in these situations. Of course, this has all probably come out somewhere in the play. However, we become overly concerned that the information hasn't been given to the audiene in any way.

Rather than worrying if an audience understands everything in the play, write it as if you are writing for a group of extremely smart people who can figure things out easily from context clues. Don't concern yourself with the others who you think will not understand. It is likely that what you are writing will be understood.

So, in a play, in general, "less is more." Much of the exposition and content can be gleaned through the natural dialogue of the characters. Sometimes it is something that is quickly written in as information for your set or stage directions that the audience will see in the performance. You don't need to pack in more information.

You can write the play and then have a table read with people. The readers can help you know if they understand things in the play. They can let you know what needs more exposition. Worry first about writing the play with natural sounding dialogue. Only be concerned about adding more exposition if readers think it is needed once they read it. Keep that as a part of editing and rewriting.

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Playwriting - Part 6H - The Working Process, Dialogue as Action

When anybody starts writing, it is usually in a narrative format. We are introduced to this format from a young age because we are told stories. They often begin with, "Once upon a time" and end with "happily ever after." Even if they don't start or end that way, they are still usually in a narrative format.

Narrative formats are great. Stories and novels read extremely well in a narrative format. However, the narrative format doesn't work for plays. If plays were in a narrative format, nothing would be happening on stage or only action would be happening on stage with very little dialogue. Most likely, things would not be understood by the majority of the audience.

It is important to make sure that your dialogue can be used as action. What does the dialogue say that would make an actor want to move or a director think the actor should move? You don't need to be heavy on stage directions. Include the ones that are important, but let directors and actors make choices in your play. If you are too heavy on stage directions, the play becomes difficult to perform and also does not allow variations from one performance to another.

Specify what is extremely important in the play and what is extremely important to you. However, let your dialog speak to others. Let the others make decisions based on what you write. A good playwright will be able to use dialogue to convey action and not have to be overly concerned with stage directions.

Do you have places in your play that are heavy on stage directions? Is there a better way to make these things happen with dialogue or are they better as stage directions? You are the one that has to decide at first. Then let others see your play. They can help you as well.

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For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf is in Lake Charles for Three More Performances

If you haven't caught a performance already, you need to view one of the upcoming three performances of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. This play is a choreopoem that was written by Ntozake Shange and was first performed in 1976. Despite now being over 40 years old, the issues in the play are still relevant today.

A few of the issues dealt with in the play are abandonment, domestic violence, and rape. While the issues are ones that females of color face every day, it doesn't mean that those who are white won't be able to identify with the play. These issues can affect every person and it needs to be known that they are still out there. It is sad that the same issues still exist over 40 years after this play was first performed. However, this choreopoem does exactly what theatre should do. It addresses these issues and makes people think about them.

This play is expertly directed by Joy Pace. The choreography was done by the talented Tony James. The lighting by Michelle Brunson. All of the cast is extremely talented and graceful in their movements. However, Bianca Augustine (Lady in Brown), Shereka Jackson (Lady in Red), and Alana Jennings (Lady in Blue) are worth keeping an eye on for extreme talent. Yet, the play would go nowhere without Hannah Barker (Lady in Orange), Sierra Demouchet (Lady in Yellow), Lauren Edwards (Lady in Green), and Tasha Guidry (Lady in Purple). Also, important to the crew are Dillon Royer (Spotlight Operator), Natalie Sell (Stage Manager and Sound Operator), and Romm Silwal (Light Operator).

The last three performances are in the Benjamin Mount Theatre at Central School located at 809 Kirby St. in Lake Charles, LA. They can be seen on Friday, April 6 at 8:30pm, Saturday, April 7 at 7pm, and Sunday, April 8 at 3pm. Tickets can be bought at the event's EventBrite page.

Playwriting - Part 6G - The Working Process, The Style of Your Play

lays have two styles, representational and presentational. It is important to know that it is likely that no play is fully representational and no play is fully presentational. However, plays will fall mainly into one of the categories.

In a representational play, the play aims to represent real life. The characters may not be real, but they will most likely seem realistic. The setting should also seem realistic, or at least realistic for what it is supposed to be. Each actor usually plays only one character. If an actor happens to play more than one character, they are not found in the same scene and they are probably found in scenes that are not back to back. It is certain that the actor will have a different costume and the actor will probably make different vocal choices.

In representational plays, the fourth wall is also not broken. The characters go about their own business on the stage and ignore the audience. It is as if the audience is not there for the characters, even if the actors see the audience and are trying to elicit a response from them through their acting.

Some plays that are probably at least close to fully representational are The Miracle Worker, The Producers, and Pizza Man.

However, representational did not come about until the 20th century. While there will be representational plays, it is likely that you will find more presentational plays. A presentational play acknowledges that it is still part of theatre. The audience is going to be addressed. Shakespearean plays are considered presentational plays. If you think about it, Romeo and Juliet opens with a prologue that addresses the audience. Hamlet has a soliloquy, and while some poeple may talk to themselves, it is unlikely that it is done in this style. Hamlet is most likely saying these things in order to address the audience, even though he is not directly addressing them. It reminds the audience that it is theatre.

Any play that has a narrator is presentational in nature. The Glass Menagerie is a presentational play. If you saw The Teenager Project: Mythbusting Adolesence in Lake Charles, LA, that is a play that is mainly presentational. The characters address the audience. The actors play more than one character. This is done by different vocalizations and physical choices. Costumes may be changed by quickly adding or removing a piece of clothing or just decoration.

So, know what type of play your play mainly is once you get the main part of it written. It will help you to understand your own play. Remember, though, don't try to force it to be purely one style. It is likely going to be a mix of both styles and that will most likely feel the most natural.

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Playwriting - Part 6F - The Working Process, Keeping the Audience Engaged

When it comes to writing plays, you want to keep the audience engaged. You don't want them to become bored and stop watching the play. You also don't want them to jump to the conclusion of the end of a play.

The idea of keeping a play moving has been compared to that of "carrot dangling." It is as if a driver of a cart full of vegetables is dangling a carrot in front of a horse's nose in order to get the horse to pull the wagon full of vegetables.

The driver is the playwright. The driver controls all of the action just like the playwright controls all of the action in the play. The carrot is the play in performance. It is what is being seen at that very moment. The view changes over time, but it is what is being seen. The horse is the audience. The horse sees the carrot in front of its eyes just like the audience sees the play. The wagon of vegetables is the play's content and ideas.

If the carrot is removed, the horse stops moving. This would be like the play suddenly ending with no reason for it to end. If the horse reaches the carrot, then it eats the carrot. This is like the entire audience figuring out how the play goes and the meaning in it. The horse has to follow the carrot until it gets to the final destination. By then, it will be allowed to eat all of the vegetables. This is akin to the audience seeing the entire play and then being able to think about it and process their ideas and feelings.

The question is how to keep an audience engaged. In order to do that, you have to keep them wondering what comes next. There are a few different ways to do this. You can build conflict or create expectation. You can evoke emotion that requires some type of closure. There are other ways, too. If you aren't sure about your play, read it and think of the image of the carrot, horse, driver, and wagon full of vegetables. Try to put the elements of your play to the image where you need it and figure out what is missing at a moment that your play doesn't feel correct.

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Playwriting - Part 6E - The Working Process, Using Repetition

Writers are often told to keep things concise and not use repetition. Of course this is true in professional and academic writing. However, it can cross over into the creative writing. We get caught up in not repeating things.

Yet, if we listen to conversations, even our own, it is natural to repeat things. We repeat things for different reasons. Sometimes it is because we forgot we already something. Sometimes it for emphasis to express that a feeling is strong (how many times does somebody "really, really, really like another person" or "really, really, really hate" something? Sometimes it is because a person is just that angry and needs to vent and a word or a phrase helps them to do that. There are other reasons, too.

This repetition doesn't have to be extremely literary in cases like people study Shakespeare's repetition, whichis not a word or a phrase repeated over and over again immediately afterwards. Rather, it is more like a theme for the play or for a character in the play. This repetition is the one that happens in conversation all the time.

What if a character is extremely impatient about something that is supposed to happen? Maybe it is a couple of friends waiting for the bus and the second friend is in a hurry. You could have the first scenario:

Friend 2: I really need to get to the grocer store so my dad can eat.
Friend 1: The bus will come soon.
Friend 2: Soon? When's soon?
Friend 1: Soon.
Friend 2: When? Friend 1: As soon as it gets here.
(This bus arrives)

Or, it could be this: Friend 2: I really need to get to the grocer store so my dad can eat.
Friend 1: The bus will come soon.
Friend 2: Soon? When's soon?
Friend 1: Soon.
Friend 2: When? When? When? When?
(The bus arrives)

Which one seems more natural? In my opinion, the first seems like forced dialogue while the second seems natural. Don't be afraid to use repetition. If it makes sense to you, use it.

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Playwriting - Part 6D - The Working Process, Not Being Afraid of Pauses

As artists, we are often afraid of using pauses. This can be especially true for playwrights because we don't want to keep the audience waiting. We want them to be satisfied.

However, having no spaces is far from realistic. Pay attention the next time you are having a conversation. How many times do you or your conversation partner pause while talking? What effect do these pauses have?

Of course, there can be some pauses that are extremely awkward, but in general, pauses are made when people are thinking. We have to think about what we are going to say next either in response to what somebody else said or what we are going to continue saying. If there are no pauses in a play, it doesn't seem realistic.

Of course, a director can tell actors to pause at certain points in the dialogue as long as the dialogue and directions in the play are being followed. However, as playwrights, we also have the right to tell directors and actors where pauses should happen. We don't have to constantly put pauses in our speaking directions, but there can be places where they are extremely effective.

What if a character said the following? Read it exactly as it is.

Character: He stared at me as if I had three heads, as if I had toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my shoe.

What if it were the following way instead?

Character: He stared at me as if I had three heads . . .

(About five second pause)

Character: as if I had toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my shoe.

Which one is more effective?

If you don't like giving a specific time for pausing, you can insert the stage directions, "(pause for dramatic effect)." Remember, pauses can be your friend. They work.

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Playwriting - Part 6C - The Working Process, Mixing the Processes

I've stressed many times that there is not one correct way to write a play. You write how things work for you. I was in a playwriting class where it was stressed that we had to do things in one certain way. We had to write character biographies first. We had to write plot treatments before writing the play. This is not my style of writing.

I often like to start out with whatever my initial idea was. I tmight have been the beginning where a character or a few characters speak. For a story, it might just be the opening lines of a story. I will use what I need when I need it.

If I know that I have a character and I know that I need to figure out more about the character, I'll use a character biography, but I don't force myself to fill out everything. I write down what I feel I need in order to continue writing. I may find that I need to create another character to make the play work, so then I'll use a method of character creation.

I'm not fond of plot treatments, but if I find that I'm stuck, I may use a plot treatment for some of my story to figure out where my story is going. However, it is more likely that I'll use a method of storyboarding.

It is perfectly fine to combine methods in order to write. As long as you get your writing done, ther is no wrong method. It's always up to you.

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Playwriting - Part 6B - The Working Process, Storyboarding

The first thing many people think of when they hear the word storyboarding is movies. It is understandable that they think of this because that is usually where storyboarding tends to mostly be seen. People don't tend to associate storyboarding with writing. However, if you think about it, it really is no different than a movie. A movie is telling a story in picture format and a play is first telling a story in the format of words to later be told in live pictures.

If you're not sure what storyboarding is, it is putting small parts - scenes or plot points - on a separate card or piece of paper so the points can be rearranged to where they can make a story.

This can be done physically with notecards and taping them on the wall or using pushpins to pin them to a cork board. I know that I started storyboarding by simply using a text document on my computer and moving plot points around on it by using copy and paste,then deleting the duplicate that was where I didn't want it. There are also software programs that allow people to storyboard.

It's hard to think that Shakespeare storyboarded, but maybe he did. Perhaps he did not have everything in Romeo and Juliet planned out in order at first. While it is based upon the poem The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Iuliet by Arthur Brooke and from a story in the collection The Palace of Pleasure by William Painter, Shakespeare had to write his play, too.

Maybe, at first, Shakespeare had a storyboard with plot points that went like this:

1. Romeo is in a relationship with Rosalind.
2. Romeo falls in love with Juliet.
3. Tybalt kills Mercutio.
4. Romeo kills Tybalt.
5. Romeo is banished.
6. Roslind becomes upset that Romeo is banished.
7. Juliet becomes upset that Romeo is banished.
8. Rosalind and Juliet meet and they explain why they are upset to each other.
9. Rosalind gets upset with Romeo and decides to break up with him.
10. Romeo gets Rosalind's letter.
11. Juliet is upset with Romeo, but she still loves him.

Of course, this isn't at all how the play goes, but it still would have been a valid story. Shakespeare would have moved each little plot point around and moved or edited the ones that no longer fit as he moved them.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

_{Yes, this counts as my March 30th post.}

Playwriting - Part 6A - The Working Process, The Plot Treatment

There are many playwrights who like the plot treatment. I can honestly say that I am not one of them. I may use it in part, but I do not like using it in whole. However, that does not mean that you won't like using plot treatments.

Plot treatments are esentially writing out every bit of detail in a narrative format rather than writing dialog for the play. Even if there are elements that you aren't going to include in the play and that aren't going to be seen on stage, you include them. The plot treatment includes lots of detail.

For example, a plot treatment of Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley may have started like the following example:

In the interior of a grand Catholic church where the altar is mainly white, but has green paraments hanging on each side of the altar, stands a Catholic priest, 6' high and thing with long fingernails, dressed in an all white chasubel with a green stole, stands behind a dark brown lectern that comes up to his waist. He had a mop of blond hair and wears square framed glasses. As he talks to his congregation, he nervously rubs his hands together and his eyes dart back and for as he says, "What do you do when you're not sure? That's the topic for my sermon today." As he continues to talk, he gains his composure and confidence. He clasps his hands behind his back. The rattling of paper bulletins can be heard from the congregation.

This has obviously come from my imagination, but there's the possibility that Shanley wrote it, even though he probably didn't. I included dialogue in this part that might have been written as a plot treatment. It is likely there will be dialogue in your plot treatment because it is for a play. It doesn't mean that the dialogue won't change as you write your play.

When you write a plot treatment, you make sure to label each act and scene for your play so you are able to keep them organized. The label can go above the sections or be in bold to the side of them.

You can do a plot treatment in different ways. If you like plot treatments, you may like making a plot treatment out for the whole play at once. You can also make a plot treatment for each act that you write, most likely following the three act structure, so you'd have three different times you would write a plot treatment before starting to write dialogue for a play.

Playwriting - Part 5I - Creating Characters by Treating Them As Imaginary Friends

This entry somewhat goes with the last entry, Playwriting - Part 5H - Creating Characters by Letting them Speak to You. Since your characters will become real and start talking to you, treat them like they are real people. It is always okay to have imaginary friends. It is just that when you are an adult, you have to be able to admit they are imaginary. As long as you can do that, there's nothing wrong. There's especially nothing wrong when these friends are your characters.

Talk to your characters. Where would they want to go out to lunch? Why there? Is there something special about that spot? Is it just because that is a favorite food?

What do your characters want to do with you for fun? Do they all want to be together with you in one large group? Do they all want separate times with you? Do some of them want to be in a group with you while others want to spend one on one time with you?

Sit down and talk to your characters. What do they tell you? Do they talk about trivial things like the weather and current events? Do they talk about deeper things like their dreams and aspirations for their lives? Do they let you in to their lives by letting you know their troubles and their joys? Do they hide their lives from you?

Write down the things you feel you need to remember. Perhaps the things you need to remember are everything. Maybe they are only a few things like favorite colors and relationships. Write down whatever you need to develop your characters.

It is extremely likely your characters will come talk to you when you don't expect it. This may be while you are driving or at night when you are relaxing. You may want to keep a notebook and some type of audio recording device nearby. That way you can turn to one and take notes in some way.

If somebody catches you "staring" off into the distance, don't be ashamed to tell that that you were thinking. When they ask what you were thinking about, if you feel they won't understand you talking to your characters in your head, just tell them that you were thinking about the current play you are writing.

Playwriting - Part 5H - Creating Characters by Letting them Speak to You

No matter which ways you've used to create your characters, you've obviously got characters for your play. If there are no characters, there's no play. Maybe you created characters first and then put them into a situation. Maybe you thought of a situation, and then created characters to fit into that situation.

Whether you are writing your play or you are only writing about your characters, something magical seems to happen in a writer's brain. Your characters start to come to life. They start to tell you about themselves. You may have had one idea, but your character starts to tell you that it isn't how that event happened or isn't who he or she is.

One of my writer friends literally yelled, "Shut up!" to her characters once when she was at a family gathering. She told a group of writers that I was in this story, so we all found it funny because we could relate.

Your characters will tell you who they are. If you are concerned about keeping them one way and not letting them change, then you are being too strict on yourself as a writer. Let your characters change with your writing. Let them take your writing to where you didn't know that it was going to go.

Your characters are part of your creativity. Let them speak to you in daydreams and at night when you are resting. You'll be pleasantly surprised, even if you don't like the details that your characters are giving about themselves, you'll like the way those details fit into your play.

Playwriting - Part 5G - Creating Characters with Shared Milestones

While you may have a play where characters only first meet each other during the play, that is highly unlikely. It is likely that at least two of your characters are going to share at least one milestone. Each character is going to have his or her own memories and perceptions of what happened.

When characters share a milestone, if you use character creation techniques and monologues, then you should have each character give his or her monologue about that milestone. The characters aren't going to have the exact same story. They are both only going to remember that the event happened. Let them each tell in their own way.

Once you have written a monologue for each character about the event, then you can have the two dialogue about the event. Find the feeling of how the two characters interact with each other.

Remember that just because the two character share the same milestone, it doesn't mean that they like each other. The two characters could've always hated each other and still hate each other. They could've not liked each other and then "grown up" to start getting along. On the other hand, they could have always liked each other and could still be friends. Or they could have liked each other and something could've happened to where they don't like each other.

It's your play. Any of those scenarios or even a different one is valid. Don't let others tell you that the scenario is not valid. Write your play.