WRITING THE SHORT DRAMATIC DIALOGUE: BEYOND THE WORDS ON THE PAGE, MAKE IT ABOUT WHAT YOUR CHARACTERS DESIRE
At the start of this module I mentioned that plays are about characters, conflicts and emotions. Yes, setting and theme, props and costumes are also essential; but without these three fundamentals you run the risk of your dramatic work falling apart, or even worse, being boring, and we’ve discussed how good writers are never boring. While I will not require you to compose a complete ten-minute play, the purpose of this assignment is to give you a taste of the dramatic in order for you to see your characters dramatized and in three dimensions, rather than simply rendering them through prose.
It’s important to remember that in all drama, characters desire. Desire is not enough, however. When characters desire something from each other, this is what is called CONFLICT. Let’s examine some of the plays in the anthology to illustrate what I’m talking about here. In Trash Anthem, Woman desires to know the truth, while Boots desires to tell the truth in his own unique way. In Love on the B-Line, Marie desires a special kind of freedom; Robbie desires her (motherly) affection. In Bone China, Lainie desires to comprehend her terminal illness and its impact on her family; Mary desires to comfort her sister, no matter if Lainie feels patronized. In Proxima b, Judy desires recognition and respect. As you can see, in each play, every single character desires something. Each desire, in turn, conflicts with the other in order to create those dramatic moments that engage us in each of these plays. In the dialogue you compose for this assignment, beyond the words you place in your characters’ mouths, make sure to determine what each of your characters desire from each other. Without this driving force, there will be no conflict, and I’ll say it once more: conflict is essential in any piece of dramatic writing. I would suggest using the characters you created for your short-short fiction assignment, especially since you’ve worked with them already. If you don’t want to use those same characters, you’re more than welcome to create two new characters for this assignment. Click HERE to use the Character Sheet I introduced in Module 3.
For this assignment your task is simple: 1) Take two characters, 2) place them in a believable setting, and 3) compose a dialogue wherein your characters desire something from each other. That’s it. This assignment has a page limit, so be sure to keep that in mind when it comes to deciding what to leave out, what to leave in. Finally, after you’ve composed your dialogue but BEFORE you upload your draft to Blackboard, I want you to ACT OUT YOUR DIALOGUE with someone you know, in-person or remotely. I suggest you provide this person with a copy of your dialogue, and after you’ve acted it out, ask this person what worked, what didn’t, what they would do differently, and finally use the feedback to make any revisions you deem necessary before uploading. Remember always that plays are meant to be performed, so acting out your dialogue will go a long way in convincing you what works and what doesn’t. And who knows? Maybe this dialogue will prompt you to enroll in one of my future Advanced Playwriting Workshops, and together you and I can develop this draft even further in that class. Above all else, I want you to have fun writing and acting out your dialogue, and I look forward to reading what you come up with. Enjoy!
Here are the full details of this assignment:
- Using Microsoft Word, use the playscript format in Starkey’s book (pg. 297) to compose a dramatic dialogue between two (2) characters.
- You may use the characters you created for your short fiction assignment in Module 3; or you may create two new characters
- Your dialogue should include:
- A TITLE PAGE with your ORIGINAL TITLE.
- A BELIEVABLE SETTING.
- At least one (1) CONFLICT between your characters. See my notes above for a breakdown of what this entails.
- LENGTH: No more than four (4) pages, including your title page.
- Use all previous readings and notes as reference, especially Starkey’s list of The Elements of Playwriting (pgs. 238-9)
- Before you upload your dialogue to Blackboard, ACT IT OUT with someone that you know, then revise as needed.
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