Themes & The Meanings of Plays

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Order 'I don't believe in a message. I think it would be disastrous if you could say what the message of HAMLET was. Even with a minor play, everyone is going to come away with something different depending on if they've just left their lovers or if they've just had a child or if they've just been fired.'

-- Beth Henley
But plays nearly always tend to be about something that matters. Film has the luxury -- if it wants it -- of only needing to be about what-happens-next. But plays need this something of consequence. And being about something that matters guarantees that a play comes with a Theme.
Themes come from your personal values -- moral, social, political -- expressed through a play's Plot and Characters. In a sense, they are your moral or ethical conclusions about the story you're telling.
Playwrights don't often think consciously about their Themes as they write. Their personal values are integrated enough into how they live their lives that these themes flow into the play as the dialogue goes on the page. That's why the same themes often show up in a writer's work from one play to the next.

If you're new to this business, spend some time consciously thinking about what matters to you socially, politically, ethically, as you look at the world and the people around you . . .

What Matters Deeply to You
Will Matter to Your Audience

Examples of Themes

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