Language, Foul and Otherwise

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > CONTENT > CHARACTERS > LANGUAGE >

'. . . I didn't plan the non sequiturs ahead of time, I just let them roll out. If effects like these are contained in a piece of writing, must the writer not have foreseen all of them, in that order, in that magnitude? The answer is no. If the writer can figure it out beforehand, the audience can figure it out beforehand. . . . We might play along because we like the effect, but we aren't really interested.'

-- David Mamet

But having said that, gratuitous nasty language -- foul, scatological, or profane -- doesn't win you points any more if it's not essential to the characters you've created. Simply loading this sort of thing onto characters' tongues was all the rage in the 1980's. Back in those good old days, a Literary Manager of a major American regional theatre tipped the scales on the bizarre quotient with this . . .

Half way through a reading of a contemporary Russian playwright's work, the LM whispered "It's about time for one of your character to say F---." "Why?" the playwright foolishly asked. "Audiences expect it."

Not any more. And this isn't an issue of censorship. A Rule with No Exceptions . . .

Take your characters seriously enough and the language they use will make perfect sense, regardless of what it's like.

Language that doesn't flow naturally and logically from the nature of your characters is deadening to a play. And to the ears of your audience. Just as deadening as . . .

And then there's the question of what to do on paper with a character who speak with an accent . . .