Theatre I & II
Ms. Clifton
Five Minute Two Person Play Assignment
NYSTEA Playwriting Contest Theme, 2015: Dead as a Doornail
(If you cannot think of anything having to do with this theme, you may write a play that doesn’t connect, but you will not be able to submit it for the playwriting contest.)
Step 1: Brainstorming – do not limit yourself! Write as many possibilities you can think of.
o Ideas: What are all of the possible things the theme can mean? Write down at least five possible ways to interpret this theme.
o Based on the possible meanings, what basic scenarios, settings, or characters can you think of?
Step 2: Narrow it Down – Narrow it down and decide on at least 2 possible locations, scenarios, and at least 4 possible characters
(See below for an example for your work.)
2 possible locations / scenarios:
· Under the bridge – a person is going to drown the other character; reason:
· In a car – three co-workers late for work because one guy lost his wallet and had to go back home to look for it, and they got stuck in traffic
Possible characters:
- Julie – brief description
- James – brief description
- Sean – brief description
- Morgan – brief description
Step 3: Character Stories: Decide on two to three characters and one setting you feel will work best and work out the background story for each.
· Write two to three quick character stories (one for each character), describing each character’s background – everything leading up to the moment your play will take place.
· Make these first person narratives so that you can capture your characters’ voices – include thoughts and feelings.
· Include details, sensory imagery, to describe your character’s background. JUICY DETAILS!
· Each character story only needs to be around one paragraph (1/2 page each maximum).
*Hand in Work for Steps 1 – 3*
Step 4: Write a Story Flow Map or Outline
· Using good story structure: exposition, inciting incident (conflict introduced), rising action, climax, falling actions, resolution, denouement (anything happening after the resolution – this is optional). Please note, you also may begin the story with the conflict being introduced. You also may choose to end your play with a climax or even include more than one climax (which is not necessarily the best idea given the time limit). Plan action for three to five minutes.
· Make sure that the flow map or outline details what will happen in the play moment by moment (each box in the flow map or item in the outline represents an action, event, topic of conversation, etc. in the play). DO NOT WRITE DIALOGUE AT THIS TIME.
Hand in your outline before going on to step 5; Ms. Clifton will also make two copies of the map for step 5.
Step 5: Improvise Your Stories
· Get into groups of 3-4 and take turns reading your character stories and explaining your story flow map to the other two people – they will each have a copy of the flow map.
· Watch the other two people improvise actions and dialogue for your outline.
· Discuss how well the dialogue and actions as well as the story itself work.
· Maybe repeat the improvisation based on these ideas.
· If you still don’t have enough ideas, find other more people to improvise your scene.
· Make sure to record the improvisations.
· Listen to and/or watch the recording of the improvisations. Revise your outlines based on what happens in improvisation, and write down any action and dialogue ideas you got from your partners that you think will work.
Step 6: Write the First Draft of Your Script
· Write a detailed script, including stage directions and dialogue – this is only your first draft.
· Bring in your first draft for a read through – this first draft needs to be typed and formatted properly. See the attached sample script as a guideline for your work.
· At least four people should read your script and give you feedback on the following: clarity of plot and dialogue, characterization, mechanics, and format. After the read through, make any revisions your read-through partners suggested.
· Type your final draft.
Hand this in.