Starting from Scratch
'It's always a question of the balance between intuition and conscious choice. It is the obligation of the playwright to account for every choice, so the director or actor can ask you, 'What is the meaning of this?' I don't think you can say, It doesn't mean anything. I just write. I'm just a vessel through which it passes.'
-- John Guare
Telling stories by getting characters to talk to each other is the flesh of this business -- and the good news is: it's one of those things humans tend to do naturally. Even the rhythms of dramatic conflict will most likely be second nature to you. Even if you don't know it yet.
But the more complicated part of playwriting lurks beneath the surface. The flesh may be willing, even second nature to you, but the bones are another matter. So here are the bare bones of this business -- or at least the four most important bones . . .
- Consequences Count
- Plays deal primarily with the emotional Consequences of events, not the events themselves.
- Plots Come in Pairs
- Plays use a Suspense Plot as an excuse to hold audiences while they spend 90% of their time on what's really interesting to playwrights: the Emotional Plot.
- Subtext is Essential
- What characters don't tell us in dialogue is as important as what they do say.
- 'Voice' Matters
- How your words on paper sound when spoken is what gets you through the door in this business.
RETURN TO: | Seminar Homepage |
THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS: THE FULL-LENGTH PLAY
Copyright © 1995-2007 by Richard Toscan
http://www.vcu.edu/arts/playwriting/