Beginnings: The Point of Attack

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > STRUCTURE > SHAPE > DIAGRAM > PT. OF ATTACK >

'. . . affecting the audience is why one writes a play to begin with. You don't write it for yourself, the actors, or the director. You're there to do something to the audience.'

-- Lee Blessing

Unlike novels, plays don't have time to begin at the beginning. They begin at a point just before the primary conflict erupts out of the history of the story you want to tell.

The Point of Attack is that first thing the audience will see or hear as the play begins. And it's one of the few decisions you face in this business that can make or break a great idea for a play.

As you think about where the Point of Attack should be, remember that every story and its characters has a history. The problem is to decide where in that history to begin telling the tale:

Plays need conflict to fuel their dramatic action. So this "fuel" needs to catch fire a few pages after the Point of Attack. This tells you where the Point of Attack should be in the history of the story you want to tell. Examples are one of the best ways to sort this out . . .