Script Writing
Script Writing
Creating believable action and drama through writing scripts using the proper format and techniques
Embedded Files
Play writing
Play writing
Intro to Playwriting
Intro to Playwriting
Step 1:
Each group has one of the following four parts of the Plot Structure: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action/Denouement.
You will be telling the story of Cinderella as a class. Each group has a part of that story that they will tell. Write down your group’s best storytelling of ONLY the part of the story you are assigned. For example, If this were the story of Frozen .. it might go something like,
EXPOSITION: There was once a faraway kingdom where two young princesses lived happily with their mother and father in their beautiful castle. They loved to eat and swim and dance. But most of all they loved to play with ice.
RISING ACTION: Elsa, the oldest princess, had the special ability to create and manipulate snow and ice. They spent hours building snowmen until one day, Elsa accidentally hurt her sister Anna with a ball of ice. To save Anna, her family took her to some trolls who wiped her memory and healed her. Because her family was scared that Elsa might hurt someone else, they taught her to conceal her powers from everyone, even her sister, and to never use them. Over the years and through the death of their parents, Anna and Elsa grew apart because of this secret.
ETC
Step 2:
Telling the story. It’s okay if your interpretation of the story or what parts of the story fit into their elements is different from everyone else’s. Don’t change what you wrote, even if the pieces don’t fit together perfectly. Just have fun and enjoy moments where it doesn’t quite fit together right.
Step 3:
Find the plot diagram on the jamboard. What is this? Why is this important to understand as a writer? How can this help us create interesting stories?
Step 4:
If basic plot elements can make a story interesting, what makes a story meaningful? What’s the point of telling stories or doing theatre? Think about the books, the plays, the movies you have seen that changed you, made you feel something, or made you think.
Step 5:
What book, play, movie, tv show, poem, song, etc that has had a great impact on you.. so much so that you discussed it earlier. Reflect for a moment on why you like that particular work and how it affected you or what it taught you. Try to synthesize that reason into a short life lesson or theme. Write in your book examples that becomes the theme... example, “Sometimes all we have to do is listen” and “we should celebrate our differences” .
Step 6:
Words are powerful. Words written for the stage have an extra power to come to life that can teach us and inspire us. If we want to learn to share our voice and say what the world needs to hear from us, we need to study a few things first.
Assignment Script 1: Students must record at least 40 seconds of a natural conversation. This can be at the dinner table, at the mall, at lunch at school. You will then transcribe that dialogue into the format of a play and upload it on GClass
Adapted from the Playwriting unit by Jennifer Ansted
Dialogue
Dialogue
Discussion:
Do the lines give enough information to understand the scene? Too much? What do the lines tell us about character relationships? Was it engaging? Did we understand things about the scene and about characters that were not explicitly stated in the dialogue? How did we understand those things without them telling us? Does the interaction feel true to life? Why or why not?
Step 1:
You will discuss in breakout groups how the real-life conversations they observed use exposition, subtext, logic, and if they feel true to life.
Share observations. Talk about ways real-life dialogue might need to be changed to be more engaging. For example, real dialogue often doesn’t give the exposition an audience member would need to understand. Real dialogue often doesn’t make sense because as humans we tend to ramble and repeat ourselves.
Adapted from the Playwriting unit by Jennifer Ansted
Boyhood Clip
Boyhood Clip
Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society
Watch from 2:30 to end
Getting Ideas
Getting Ideas
Step 1:
Get into breakout rooms and share what you were able to finish so far. If there is more than one character, you may do a dramatic reading which means characters are assigned and the play is read with emotion but not necessarily acted out. This is what we will do with our final scripts as well.
What made these stories meaningful? Is this an issue that our country still faces? Why might it be valuable to read and watch plays about these themes or issues?
Today we are going to do a few different activities to help us come up with ideas for our final scripts. Please be paying attention to things you like or don’t like and ideas that come to your mind.
Step 2:
Everyone open a new prompt on the padlet. Don’t think too hard about this. Take thirty seconds for each step. Write a main idea or theme at the top of the paper.
Write a profession on the padlet
Write a Place.
Write two nouns. Any nouns. It can be a food, an article of clothing, a person, an animal, etc.
What is a plot summary?
What is a plot summary?
You now need to spend the next 3 minutes writing the plot summary of a story including these elements underneath your padlet prompt. Think of how the different things written in your script writing journal can come together into an interesting story that focuses on the main idea or theme written at the top. Have fun. There aren’t any rules to how you do this. Just DO IT.
OPTION A
This is just another way to brainstorm ideas. Keep trying new things until you figure out what story you want or need to tell. I encourage you, whatever you do, to make it meaningful. Make it something you are proud to put your name on because you are talking about something important or significant to you.
OPTION B
Brainstorming activity:
Write a list of everything you remember from your life from beginning to end. The day you lost your toy at the beach when you were 2. The day your first grade teacher wouldn’t let you go to the bathroom and you peed your pants in class. The day you lost your first tooth.
Choose one of these OPTIONS to write a story about. It is helpful if this event is meaningful to you. It might be because it reminds you of good memories or people you love. It might be because you learned something important that day. But figure out why these memories stand out to you and use that to inspire your stories! It doesn’t have to be about YOU but you can draw inspiration from this real life event and maybe place other characters in a similar situation or use that story in the plot of the larger story you tell.
Adapted from the Playwriting unit by Jennifer Ansted
Assignment Script 2: Come to class with the plot summaries of at least 2 different story ideas that you might use for your final scripts.
THE FIVE ACT STRUCTURE & Three Act Structure
THE FIVE ACT STRUCTURE & Three Act Structure
Nineteenth century critic Gustav Freytag, thinking particularly of Greek and Shakespearean drama, articulated a five act dramatic structure. The first act contains the exposition, introduces the characters and setting, and ends with an inciting incident. The second act complicates the problem created by the inciting incident, frustrating the protagonist's efforts. The third act is the climax, in which the fortunes of the protagonist reverse. (In terms of Greek drama, the fortunes of a comic protagonist would go from unlucky to lucky, while the fortunes of a tragic protagonist would go from lucky to unlucky.) In the fourth act, the results of the protagonist's turn of fortune plays out; this may end with a final moment of suspense, such as a confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist which puts the final outcome in doubt. Act five, the denouement, documents the consequences of the resolution, and ties-up any secondary plots. Freytag's dramatic structure is often illustrated as a pyramid.
The five act structure is out of favor in modern drama. Instead, a three act structure is often used, particularly for screenplays or stage plays. As in the five act structure, the first act of the three act structure established characters and setting, and includes an inciting incident. The second act is the confrontation.
The third act contains the climax and denouement.
Often the first act is about 30 minutes, the second act about 60 minutes, and the third act about 30 minutes.
Plot and dialogue
Plot and dialogue
As we write any play, but particularly a 5-6 minute play, we need to be aware of our restrictions. Time is a restriction. Our play can’t be five hours long. The medium of theatre is a restriction. As we discussed a few lessons ago when we talked about the difference between a short story and a play, we cannot describe everything in great detail or narrate what the characters are feeling. We have to SHOW our audience where we are and actors need to SHOW the audience what characters are feeling. We have to limit how much we change scenes or do montages like you see a lot in movies.
Step 2:
Breakout groups: Get into groups of 3 and share a brief summary of your 2-3 story ideas. You will get feedback from your peers based on the following questions.
Does the story have each of the plot elements?
Can the story be told in 5-6 minutes? What can be added or cut to fit the criteria?
Does it have a strong start?
Do the character actions and relationships interest you? Does the audience care about them?
Does the audience remain interested throughout?
Does it have a strong ending?
Step 3:
Make revisions to your plot summaries/story ideas individually. After 3-4 minutes, begin writing your 5-6 minute plays on your own. Pick one of the story ideas you came up with and just start writing everything that comes to mind. Make bold choices and feel confident in an idea or to revise ideas. Do this on a Google Document you can share later.
Step 4:
After about 10-15 minutes of writing, you will speak out your written lines of dialogue out loud. How does the line sound? Does it feel true to life hearing it out loud. Make necessary revisions
Step 5:
Share your scripts on screen or share a copy with others and read lines of dialogue from their partner’s script aloud. Give feedback to your peers on how easy the lines are to say aloud, how they sound, if they feel true to life.
Step 6:
Work on scripts individually.
Adapted from the Playwriting unit by Jennifer Ansted
Assignment Script 3: You are expected to bring copies of your plot diagrams to class NEXT TIME as well as whatever you have completed of their script. It needs to be at least 2 pages.
Many stage plays use the following elements to create a satisfying narrative:
Optionally, start with a short, exciting hook, which creates a question in the mind of the audience.
Give the audience enough exposition that they know the who, when, and where of the story. Establish the status quo of the characters' world.
An inciting incident unbalances the status quo in such a way that the protagonist feels compelled to fix things.
The protagonist will attempt to solve the central dramatic question in the easiest, most obvious way. This problem is too difficult for the easiest solution (or the protagonist misunderstands the problem, possibly because of their own limitations) so the protagonist's initial solution fails. This is the start of the second act.
The protagonist devises a more complex, ambitious (or desperate) plan, which can be brought to fruition only after completing a series of sub-tasks. This culminates in a false climax, and a reversal. The outcome is not what the protagonist hoped, or they learn something that changes the goal (and possibly also changes the protagonist).
Repeat the last step as needed.
Often a brief epilogue shows the new status quo established by the protagonist's actions.
Writing a stage play is a big job. Break down the job into smaller parts.
Assignment Script 4: Bring in your complete script (5-6 minutes = 5-6 pages) for sharing out in Breakout groups
OTHER THINGS TO REMEMBER
OTHER THINGS TO REMEMBER
The protagonist would realistically try the easiest or most obvious solutions first.
Repetition and variation are interesting.
In each scene, the audience should be asking: will the protagonist get what he so badly wants or not?
Moving the audience repeatedly between hope that the protagonist will get what he wants and the fear that he will not creates dramatic tension.
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE GOAL.
SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE. SOMEONE HAS TO MAKE THE SCENE DRAMATIC. IT IS NOT THE ACTORS JOB (THE ACTORS JOB IS TO BE TRUTHFUL). IT IS NOT THE DIRECTORS JOB. HIS OR HER JOB IS TO FILM IT STRAIGHTFORWARDLY AND REMIND THE ACTORS TO TALK FAST. IT IS YOUR JOB.
EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW UP IN THE SCENE. ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE (THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN. THE JOB OF THE DRAMATIST IS TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE WONDER WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. NOT TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT JUST HAPPENED, OR TO*SUGGEST* TO THEM WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. IF YOU DEPRIVE YOURSELF OF THE CRUTCH OF NARRATION, EXPOSITION,INDEED, OF SPEECH. YOU WILL BE FORGED TO WORK IN A NEW MEDIUM - TELLING THE STORY IN PICTURES (ALSO KNOWN AS SCREENWRITING). I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF “IS IT DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.
IF THE ANSWER IS “NO” WRITE IT AGAIN OR THROW IT OUT.
Dave Mamet on Paul Gorman's website
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