Curtain Lines for Acts & Scenes

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > STRUCTURE > SHAPE > DIAGRAM > CURTAIN LINE >

'I've heard people comment on a play by saying, I didn't like that moment, it was out of character. I'd say that was probably the best moment, the moment that made that character believable. People have different sides to them, and that's what interests me.'

-- Edwin Sanchez

Jason Miller ends Act I of THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON with a character yanking a loaded shotgun off the mantle and threatening to blow the head off his old friend who's been sleeping with his wife. Well, that's the concept of a Curtain Line. But most contemporary playwrights are a bit more subtle with this.

Technically, a Curtain Line is a mini-Inciting Incident that is not allowed to resolve itself through further dialogue.

Curtain Lines at the end of Acts or Scenes can be the last . . .

Line of dialogue spoken
Physical action by a performer
Visual image
Sound effect

The Rule -- and this one has almost no exceptions -- is . . .

The Curtain Line needs to leave us with something unanswered. And that something needs to be strong enough to make us want to know what will be the outcome in the next movement of the play.

If the Curtain Line ends a Formal Scene, but not the Act, then its job is to propel us into the next Scene.
If it's at the end of an Act, its job is to make us want to come back after intermission for the consequences.

The milder the Curtain Line, the more its power depends on the build to it. So they can't really stand on their own. And when these things are weak or simply not there at the end of Act I, audiences often ask themselves the worst possible question . . .

Is there really any reason to come back after intermission?

It's another one of those Thinking-About-How-Much-You're-Paying-The-Baby-sitter moments. And that's the last thing you want your audience to do.

If you have trouble coming up with a reasonable Curtain Line, it may be a signal that you've got structural problems with the Act or Scene. These lines usually grow out of the conflict that's been building since the beginning of the play. When that's happening, they'll come naturally to you.

And here are some . . .

Recent Curtain Lines

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