1. The Hero’s Journey Story Structure in Playwriting and Screenwriting

2. The Hero (Heroine)  In mythology and legend, the hero is a man who has great courage and strength, is celebrated for his bold exploits, and is favored by the gods.  The principal male or female character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.

3. Why do we like heroes?  We like to see ourselves in the place of the hero.  We imagine ourselves to have great courage and strength.  We like to believe that we are good, not bad.  We like to believe that anything is possible.

4. Stories have three parts or “acts.” StartEnd ACT 1ACT 2ACT 3 ¼½¼

5. Three Acts in Time  120 minute script:  Act 1: 30 minutes  Act 2: 60 minutes  Act 3: 30 minutes  10 minute script:  Act 1: 2.5 minutes  Act 2: 5 minutes  Act 3: 2.5 minutes 1:2:1 Ratio 1 minute = 1 page

6. Basic Act Development  Act 1: The hero is introduced to a problem.  Act 2: The hero deals with the problem.  Act 3: The hero solves the problem.

7. The Hero’s Journey In 1949, Joseph Campbell published "The Hero With a Thousand Faces". Campbell's idea was that many of our best loved stories are actually based on the same model, which he called the "Hero's Journey". George Lucas' script for Star Wars closely followed Campbell's model. Christopher Vogler, a story analyst for Disney and other movie studios, has applied this idea to movie scripts. His view of the hero's journey has 12 steps. Stories or movie scripts will not always contain every step, but he believes that many do follow this pattern.

8. The Hero’s Journey: Act 1 1. Ordinary World We see the hero in his or her ordinary world before the adventure has begun. 2. Call to Adventure Someone or something forces the hero to consider leaving the ordinary world to try to achieve a goal. 3. Refusal of the Call The hero, untested yet, has difficulty deciding to act. 4. Meeting with the Mentor The hero meets with his mentor to decide whether or not to proceed. 5. Crossing the First Threshold The hero makes the decision to proceed toward the goal

9. The Hero’s Journey: Act 2 In Act 2, the hero is out of his familiar territory. 6.Tests, Allies, Enemies This step in the hero’s journey will take up nearly half of the story. Usually, near the beginning of Tests, Allies, and Enemies, the mentor trains the hero somehow. The hero faces many tests. Along the way, the hero will meet new allies (friends) and enemies. The hero must prepare for the ultimate showdown between the protagonist and antagonist.

10. Act 2 Continued After struggling through difficult challenges and tests… 7. Approach to the Inmost Cave The “cave” is a symbol for an extremely difficult test. Often, this is the “tunnel to the hiding place” of the antagonist. The hero must get mentally and physically ready. 8. The Supreme Ordeal This is the ultimate showdown between the protagonist and the antagonist (or contagonist) where the protagonist appears to die either physically or metaphorically (the death of the dream).

11. The Hero’s Journey: Act 3 After facing the ultimate test… 9. Reward Of course, the hero is not dead. He survives. Because of his courage, he is given a reward. This is usually what he has been seeking all along. It can be a physical reward (money, the girl, etc.) or a mental reward (recognition, knowledge that he is capable, etc.). 10. The Road Back The hero is attempting to get back to his ordinary world. He has attained his goal and just wants things to get back to normal. But… 11. Resurrection Of course, the antagonist is not dead yet, either. At this point, the antagonist is back for one last try to defeat the protagonist and prevent him from keeping the reward. Often, this will take the form of a chase scene or one final confrontation. And, of course, the good guy wins again.

12. The Hero’s Journey: Act 3 12. Return with the Elixir (the goal): After defeating the antagonist for good, the hero returns to his ordinary world as a changed individual. The hero has grown from his experience.

13. Don’t Forget…  120 minute script:  Act 1: 30 minutes  Act 2: 60 minutes  Act 3: 30 minutes  10 minute script:  Act 1: 2.5 minutes  Act 2: 5 minutes  Act 3: 2.5 minutes 1:2:1 Ratio

14. Treatment  A treatment is a summary of all of the parts of a story. It’s like writing a page or two to explain what happens in an entire story.  Develop a treatment based on the theme of “disability” with your group, following the steps of the hero’s journey.

15. Example Treatment 1. Ordinary World Luke Skywalker, a farm boy on a distant planet, is frustrated with his life and wants to join the academy. 2. Call to Adventure After a confrontation with some sand people, Luke meets Obi Wan Kenobi. Obi Wan invites Luke to come along with him to learn about the ways of the Jedi. 3. Refusal of the Call Luke says that he can’t do it. He needs to work for his uncle. He returns to his uncle’s farm but finds it burned. His aunt and uncle are killed. 4. Meeting with the Mentor Obi Wan tells Luke to come with him on his expedition to rescue the princess. 5. Crossing the First Threshold Luke, Obi Wan, and the droids travel to the bar to hire a ship to take them to Alderon.

16. Example Treatment (cont.)  Step 6 – Tests, Allies, Enemies  Luke gets trained by Obi Wan Kenobi (Mentor) in how to use the force. He uses a light saber to train him.  Their ship gets sucked into the Death Star.  They hide and ambush the Stormtroopers.  R2 helps locate the princess from the control room.  Luke, Han Solo, and Chewy disguise

17. Character Archetypes: Driver Characters  Antagonist – directly opposes the progress of the protagonist  Mentor/guardian – guides and trains the protagonist  Contagonist – inhibits (gets in the way of) the progress of the protagonist, not necessarily directly opposed to the protagonist.  Protagonist – moves the story forward – the “good guy”  Main character – we see the story through their eyes their eyes  Hero – combination of the protagonist and main character +

18. Character Archetypes: Passenger Characters  Sidekick – assists the protagonist, always loyal to the protagonist  Skeptic – doubts that the protagonist can achieve his goal, may help but still doubts  Reason – thinks through everything logically  Emotion – acts on sheer emotion and feelings +