A Guide To What's Here: Structure

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'We had an ending and a beginning to LA BAMBA which . . . seemed right on paper. . . . it was a stepping back and looking at the fifties from the perspective of the eighties. Our audiences told us they didn't want to come back into the eighties. They wanted to stay in the fifties. I had been trying on some level to alleviate the pain of Ritchie Valens' death, but audiences told us, Leave us with the pain. So that's where we left it.'

-- Luis Valdez

• STRUCTURE
  • Shape of A Play
    • Structural Diagram of Two-Act Plays
      • Point of Attack: The Beginning
        • Point of Attack Examples
          • Teaser Point of Attack
            • Teaser Point of Attack Examples
        • Exposition: What's Happened Before
          • Using Narrators
            • A Few Good Narrators
        • Foreshadowing: What May Happen Later
      • Inciting Incident
        • Inciting Incident Techniques
          • Inciting Incidents from Recent Plays
            • More Inciting Incidents from Recent Plays
        • Plots: They Come in Pairs
          • Suspense Plot
            • Suspense Plot Techniques
              • Clarifying Suspense Plots
                • Example with Dialogue
                • 'Red Herring' Suspense Plots
              • Using Mundane Activity as Structure Substitute
            • 'Elevator' Plays: The Bisquick Plot
          • Emotional Plot
      • High Point of Act I
      • Curtain Lines for Acts & Scenes
        • Curtain Lines from Recent Plays
      • Act II & Its Problems
      • Climax
        • Obligatory Scene
          • Diagram of Obligatory Scene & Resolution
            • Annotated Example: 'night, Mother
              • Example with Dialogue
          • Emotional Patterns
            • Emotional Pattern Examples
      • Resolution
        • Happy Endings
        • Open Endings
  • Length
    • The Hamlet Question: Technical vs. Psychological Motivation
      • The Hamlet Answer
    • Acts & Intermissions
      • Act Titles
      • One Act Plays
        • Tips on Writing One-Acts
  • Time
    • Continuous Time Examples
    • Flashbacks: Showing the Past
      • Adding A Third Layer of Time
        • Hyper-Time: Blending Past and Present
      • Time Advantages with Formal Scenes
  • Characters: How Many
    • One-Character Plays
      • Solo Performance
    • Animals as Characters
    • Kids as Characters
  • Monologues: They're Mini-plays
  • Style & Theatrical Devices
    • Naturalism: Showing It Like It Is
    • Addressing the Audience: Representation vs. Presentation
    • Serious Comedies & the Reverse: Mixing Humor and Tears
  • What's Here Guide: STRUCTURE