Class Four: May 24th

Group discussion
Review of the past week. Writing, reading, plays, movies, etc.
Check on playwright habits
The craft of play writing is re-writing. Get it down; review; re-write, How does this relate to inspirational writing? Inspiration is fleeting. By all means get it down; but when it’s passed, the graft begins.How to get the muse talking.

Review preparation for 10 minute plays
Write brief character bios, with single adjective, and driving passion.
Identify Protagonist/antagonists.
Summarize the plot (story) in one paragraph. Include the inciting incident, rising action, climax and resolution.
Max 3 words - what is the theme?
That this work is the basis also of nay full length play.

Exercise
Ten minute play. Write the Time, Place and Setting of your play.

Character and conflict: rules and reasons
Concentric circles of conflict. Illustrations from Death of a Salesman
The end of the main conflict is the climax of the play (or false climax). Illustrate from Romeo and Juliet.
How the arc completes (R&J again)
Tricks and misdirection add to the fun. These are twists and turn of the plot. (Hamlet)

More about planning a play
Summarize your scenes.
Say what happens in each scene and how the action moves forward. How does the status at the end of the scene differ from the start? Have you fulfilled the scene object
What are plot points? Each scene ends with a plot point.

The heart of the matter - Clothing the summary with words
Have you met the scene objectives?
What if it changes mid scene?

Homework
Write the first 4 pages of your 10 minute play, with Time, Place and Setting

Set the meeting for next week