Warming-Up Lines Example

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > WORKING > EDITING > STRUCTURE > WARMING-UP

'With the rise of the 'Development Process' has come the decline of the playwright's authority, and anyone who tells you otherwise is deluded.'

-- Theresa Rebeck

Warm-up Lines are literally that -- you need to go through the exercise, but they're of no value after that. And if you leave them in the dialogue, they weaken the scene. That's mostly because these things are usually full of Spoken Subtext and Exposition.

The Warm-Up Lines are indicated in bold face. Read the scene with and then without these lines and you'll see what this is all about . . .

				JOAN
	How could you be so careless? I told you never
	to take the gun with you until you knew how to use
	it properly. So now you've killed someone, and
	for no good reason. And someone very important.

			(Larkin takes his jacket off. He's
			shaking so badly, it's hard to do.)

				LARKIN
			(Coughing)
	It went off without me doing anything. I didn't do ...

				JOAN
	Do you have it with you?

				LARKIN
	No. 
			(Pause)
	I don't know. Maybe. I ...

				JOAN
	How many times have I told you ...

			(Larkin wipes sweat from his face.)

				LARKIN
	Perhaps it's all right. Maybe it doesn't matter.

				JOAN
	How could a death not matter? Especially his.

				LARKIN
	I didn't mean to do it.

As is usually the case with Warm-Up Lines, JOAN's opening speech is chock full of Exposition and Spoken Subtext -- all of it unnecessary since it's expressed again in the following speeches. Cutting Warm-Up Lines always strengthens the opening of Acts and Scenes and increases the level of tension and interest.

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