play review

http://independence.kernhigh.org/teacher%20assignments/Ballard/PLAY%20REVIEW%20WORKSHEET.pdf

Staging direction notes

REMINDER: staging directions should not be placed first thing after a CHARACTER TAG. You can place staging directions for a character before their tag, after the previous character finishes speaking.

play script format

PLAY SCRIPT FORMAT:

Plays are made up of two things: dialogue and stage directions, and they both have different formats on the page

DIALOGUE

Character Tags (character name):
Character tags  are in all CAPS and centered .

You can use their full name or a shorter version (such as a first name or last name), as long as it's unique within your draft.

The dialogue is single spaced below the name and ALL the way to left, no indentation.

EXAMPLE:

.

STAGE DIRECTIONS

There are three different kinds of stage directions:

1.) Scene Directions

 Format: Center of page

These start the play or act, and yes, they are pushed halfway over to the right side of the page. This is where you give the basics of where and when this particular scene is set, and what is happening as the lights come up and perhaps what has happened between the scenes as it applies to what is on the stage at that time.

EXAMPLE:

2.) Staging Directions

These describe what happens on stage during the scene. Entrances, exits, major movements of characters, new characters, fights, light changes and being chased by a bear are all examples of action that would require stage direction.

FORMAT:  -In parentheses

                -skip one space below dialogue

                -Indent (if your directions go on to a second line, make sure                            it is indented as well)            

-skip one space before next character begins speaking

EXAMPLE OF STAGING DIRECTIONS

Note that the stage directions are single spaced when within a single character's dialogue, but a blank line is left when between character passages.

3.) Character Stage Directions

These are always brief and fit right under the character’s name. These types of directions give a clue to the style of the line. Often they are line directions such as "waving him off" or "sing-song" or "whispering to ROBERT" or “yelling.” These should be used sparingly, as they are regarded as directorial. They are needed only when a reader wouldn't understand what was going on without them.

FORMAT FOR CHARACTER STAGE DIRECTIONS:

-         In parentheses

-         Centered, directly below character name

EXAMPLE:

**LINE SPACING:
For the most part, stage plays are single spaced. Additional blank lines are left between character's dialogue and stage directions

Our town quiz, day 2

1. What does Mrs. Gibbs fear in regards to George living on his own?
2. According to Mrs. Webb, a groom should never see the bride on the morning of the wedding. According to Mr. Webb, who shouldn't the groom be allowed to see?
3. Where are Emily and George when they first discover they are meant for each other?
4. What does George ask Emily to do "every once while" while he's away at college?
5. Who calms Emily down right before she marries George.

NOTE: This play is a satire. A satire is a literary genre that makes light of or  ridicules an issue in society in order to get people to reflect, examine, and possibly make a change in their community.


How many scenes are there?


How many characters are there?


How many storylines?



What might those last three responses suggest to you about the structure of extremely short plays?


When and where (setting) does this play take place? Does the setting (note: not the actual stage set) give more meaning to the play?

10 minute play formula/ brainstorming

You will need a premise: the organizing theme or idea that defines everything in the play. A good premise will indicate an interesting inciting incident to help you start off your drama with some effective action or conflict, and will carry you through to the end of your play. The things to remember about 10-minute plays is that they are similar to short stories:

• They have a premise
• They have a dramatic situation (setting, characters in action, & a complication)
• They have a beginning, middle, and end
• They have a tight structure (most never change scene or setting)
• They are at most 10 pages long.
• There are usually fewer than four characters. Often two or three at most.
• The beginning of the play starts at a very early POINT OF ATTACK.
• By the end of the first page or the top of the second the argument or conflict has been presented.
• The play usually has only one conflict and one plot line.
• There is not much exposition (in other words, very little in the way of introduction). By the middle of the first page, exposition has been stated (we know the setting, characters, and conflict). 
• The end of the play falls very close to the climax. Only a few lines are devoted to resolution.
• Most plays deal with the exceptionally brief, but powerful moment in a character's life.

Take ideas from your journal, reading, or handouts, or your own memory & imagination.



Brainstorming:

If you were going to die tomorrow, and this play includes your last words to the human race, what MUST you say before you go? Make a list of things you HAVE to say to the world.

Make a list of common, ordinary settings. Make a list of uncommon or unusual settings.

Jot down time periods that interest you. Choose a time period other than our contemporary period.

Make a list of secrets that people you don't know have. Assume a good friend told you these secrets. What are the secrets?

Think of a memory or experience you hold dear. Why is this memory so powerful? Why do you keep going back to it? Is it something you may be able to develop into a play? Is it something that might be universally understood?

What's the best advice you've ever received? At what point in your life did you receive this advice and why? Can this advice be universally meaningful? Since taking the advice, how has your life changed?

The names of characters often help an actor or viewer understand something about that character. Some names are suited to royalty, while others are clearly of the lower or working classes. A name gives a character a personality long before one is developed in a script. As a writer, it is important to gather as many interesting and useful names as you can. You will use these names later in this course.

In your journal/notebook, list a series of names that would be appropriate for each category. Try to get at least 5 names for each topic (you may come up with more than five, if you'd like):

1. Male protagonist or hero names
2. Female protagonist or heroine names
3. Villain or antagonist names
4. Names of old people
5. Names of young people
6. Names from the 1920's (you may do as many decades as you'd like)
7. Names of Roman soldiers or their wives
8. Names of Europeans (you may pick a country or two, but please label or identify the country)
9. Names of ambiguous gender (names that can either be male or female)
10. Names that make you laugh

The essential building blocks of a scene (even in fiction or poetry):
A. Who: the characters
B. Where: the setting
C. What: the dominant image you hold in your mind (like a theme or main idea)

Writing Activity:
1. Write 3 WHO's in your journal/notebook
2. Write 3 WHERE's in your journal/notebook
3. Write 3 WHAT's in your journal/notebook

our town quiz

Our Town: Act II Quiz

1. What is paperboy Si Crowell so upset about at the beginning of Act II?

2. Where does George go on the morning of his wedding?

3. What does Emily say about George’s character on the way home from school (before they begin dating)?

4. What’s the main reason George decides to skip out on Agricultural school?

5. The stage manager plays 2 different townspeople throughout act 2. Name one of them.