The Script is the Blueprint for our building
A. Wheelwrights, millwrights, shipwrights. A craftsman (and artist) thatis first in the line of "evocateurs." Robert Edmund Jones said,"All art in the theatre should be not disruptive, but evocative. "The playwright is the person who first evokes the imaginary world of thestage. It is his work which the actor, director, designer, and producerfollow in the creation of the unit of theatre known as 'the play.'
B. What is the image of the playwright? What is the reality?
C. Who wrights plays:
Shakespeare Lawrence & Lee Wisdom Bridge
Moliere Kaufman & Hart Steppenwolf
Tenn. Williams Green & Wright R S C
Philip Barry
Thornton Wilder
Tom Stoppard
Arthur Miller
Maria Irene Fornes
Lillian Helman
D. A general description of a Playwright:
1.. An independent artist- usually working in isolation
2. a Person who strives to transmit his/her personal life views, somepersonal aspect of reality, through the theatrical medium, to fellow humans.An intensely personal vision (He/She must own and cannot helpbut reflectpersonal perceptions & philosophies)
3. There are no rules or STYLEs they must conform to. The present stateof play writing is perceptual chaos- To be sorted out and named later.
A. A point of origin (the dir. and des. gather the troops)
B. "A Conceptualization of the interactions of myriad elements inthe theatrical medium: movement, speech, scenery, costume, staging, music,spectacle, and silence. The beginning of the collective endeavor."
C. A stimulus to action(the series of events taking place on stage)
1. Two tools are used to denote this action and must be provided by theplaywright: dialogue and physical action)
2. Both are outward evidences of the human condition. They are cluesto the inner story (The Theme) of the play.
1. credibility, (the play must have internal consistency- events musthappen in a logical pattern Characters should be consistent within themselvesand seem to speak for themselves- not as a mouth piece for the play wright.)intrigue, (those aspects of dialogue, character and plot which keep us wonderingwhat will happen next. Any time you see a "cliff hanger" whereyou are not sure of the outcome- that is intrigue. Not just action- IndianaJones and the Temple of Doom is action oriented intrigue, but Sherlock Holmesand Agatha Christie have mental intrigue. Suprise actions and plot twistsis one common source of intrigue.)
2. speakability (The rhythm, meaning, overall effect of the spoken wordand the impact of a well written piece of dialogue. It seems to be whata character needs to say at a particular point in a play- its part of theoverall style of the performance. . Richard Burton could read the phonebook, but it still isn't drama.), stageability (words not only convey ideasbut also aid and abet action on the stage. A demand that the dialogue notonly fit the scene and the characters, but also be the source of action,be a continual source of information) and flow (the play continuously saysand does something- keeps the flow of information going our to the audience)
3. Richness (depth of character) (that satisfaction that comes from adepth of detail- all the hundreds of small things that allow and reinforcethe willing suspension of disbelief and leads to a deeper understandingor "connection" with the presentation. A "rich" scripthas enough detail to inform us of the "stage-world-" (throughdialogue and description) to allow the reader to imagine that world, andan audience member to be satisfied that the playwright knows where of hespeaks. Much of this richness is dependent upon characterizations that conveycomplex human behaviors. A "rich characterization" is one in whichthe things the character says, how it is described, and its stated likesand dislikes are sufficient to draw a fully three-dimensional l "person"from the script.)
4. gravity (has to do with the fundamental importance of the theme. Isit a serious enough theme to have a lasting impact on the world? Not justseriousness, but also a sense of appeal to make the audience want to partakeof it again.) and pertinence (The play relates in some way to the livesof the audience- a social question, a common situation we all must go through,etc.)
5. compression (ability to manipulate time and space and still maintaincredibility while providing only the events needed to focus the story) andeconomy (using only the characters, plot and action needed to convey theexperience intended for the audience) If both are done well they combineto create intensity- a boiling away of the extra and distilling the centralaction to create a straightforward experience
6. celebration(a good play can go beyond the surface events that makeup the plot and can deliver a deeper meaning- an affirmation of humanity.Even sad or tragic plays explore something larger than the mere actionsdepicted in the story. That "larger something" is a recognitionof our participation in the "game of life"- sometimes it's thingswe don't like to look at, but always about a human situation that hopefullywill lead to a deeper understanding of what it means to be human
A. Start with a storyline or plot line
1. This could be a real event, a setting that is animated, a theatricaleffect or setting, a personal experience, a story or legend , or a biography.
B. Follow with dialogue (either remembered(transcribed from an actualevent- historical record, trial transcript, taped, etc.) or imagined (whatmight have happened here?)
C Develop the line of Forced Conflict in the play. Sometimes built intoa legend or story or actual event, sometimes created from whole cloth, alwaysshaped to best fit the construction of the "shaped experience."Text speaks of scenes of separation, loss, crucial decision, rejection,or emotional breakthrough are usually the big climatic scene and help definethe architecture of the play--- the rest of the action might very well bethe "getting to" and "getting away from" these moments.
D. A good dramatic structure will hold our interest, in fact, will whetour appetite for more and more until there is no more- the old theatre maxim"Always leave' em wanting more" is very true. The structure shouldbuild the emotional involvement of the audience with each scene until theclimax. The playwright often writes a few scenes, perhaps even the scenesof central conflict, and then proceeds to outline the rest of the piece.Some might even set down the entire play as a piece., followed by numerousrewrites.