1. DO NOW DO NOW 3 Minute SCRIPTs! TASK: Complete your….
Today we will be working on
SCRIPTS!
TASK: Complete your….
3 Minute SCRIPTs!
We will read, analyze and perform some of our scripts within our groups.

2. It is a dark, cold night and Mel and Sid are sitting on a green park bench. The street lights are dim and the sound of the traffic can just be heard in the background.
Mel: Ooh its so cold out here, do you think it might rain?
Sid: (Shrugs his shoulders) Dunno.
Mel: Not very talkative tonight are you? What’s up?
Sid: (Huffs and stretches legs out) Dunno.
Mel: I was thinking about my holiday, (looks up to the sky) all that sun and luxury.
Sid: Dunno what for, it ain’t ever gonna ‘appen.

3. SETTING / CHARACTER / CONFLICT
2 Minute Scripts!
SETTING / CHARACTER / CONFLICT
School Cafeteria - An Eighth Grade & The Lunch Lady – No More French Fries
Grocery Store - The Cashier & An Old Person – They forgot their money.
Business Meeting - Boss & Employee – Employee is getting fired

4. 7 Elements of a Script 1. Plot 2. Character 3. Setting (Exposition)
4. Conflict
5. Theme
6. Language
7. Style

5. Plot
Opening Situation - The reader is often told where and when the story occurs; introduces the character (s).
Inciting Force/Incident - A conflict is usually established between characters.
Rising Action - The conflict between characters develops and becomes more pronounced.
Climax - The moment of greatest suspense.
Falling Action - The action leads to the resolution or final outcome.
Final Outcome - The writer wraps up and ties up any loose ends in hopes that the reader will leave the story satisfied.
You may or may not have time to include these last two steps.

6. Our old friend…The Story Arc:

7. Character Tips: Explore your character before and after you write.
Consider the following:
Actions—What does your character do? What are the bad habits/good habits that he/she has?
Dialogue—How does he/she speak? Is this consistent throughout your piece?
Physical Description—What does he/she look like?
Idiosyncrasies—What makes this character unique? Remember nobody is “perfect.”
Possessions—What can your character not live without?

8. Supporting Characters
Just because he/she is not your protagonist or antagonist does not mean that he/she can be ignored in the development process.

9. Conflict—The Good Stuff
What type of conflict will it be?
Internal - man versus himself
External - man versus man, man versus nature, man versus society , man versus unknown, man versus supernatural, man versus time
Remember you are exploring a social issue that may cause a conflict but that does not mean it has to be man vs. society.

10. Setting WHERE and WHEN is this story taking place?
Is this a social issue that has been around for a long time?
Do you need to do research?
Establish this quickly and efficiently early in your story to make it easier on your readers.

11. Style Continued Imagery Language Dialogue vs. Description?
Purpose—Consider why you are including the things that you are. Is everything relevant?

12. Style-Narration Point of view
third person narration - when the person telling the story is not part of the action.
first person narration - This is a major, minor, or a silent character who tells the story.
Omniscient narration - The author who knows everything about the characters and events and who can enter the mind of any character at will.
Limited omniscient narration- The author/narrator who knows about everything but only gets into the mind of one or a few characters.

13. Playwriting Tips
Plays take place on the day something happens—Do not waste time with exposition if you can help it.
Start your story right before or directly following your inciting incident.
“Write in the Fire”
If there was a house on fire (conflict), who are your characters?
Person who is in the house on fire.*
Person who sees house on fire and calls for help.*
Person who comes to help the people in the house on fire.*
Person who reports in the paper about the house on fire.
Person who reads the article about the house on fire.

14. Tips for Getting Started
Playwriting
Tips for Getting Started

15. Tips to Encourage Students
Good playwriting may come from very humble beginnings.
Student scenes, even in their first draft, are an achievement.
The best thing you can do for student writers is give them the opportunity to write without censure; to write “anything” s/he would like a character to say or do. Eventually, some guidelines will be drawn, but in the beginning try to influence or edit as little as possible.
Revision is important and necessary. It takes time; make sure to plan ahead.

16. Character Tips Continued
Reactions—How does he/she respond to other’s? How do others respond to him/her?
Thoughts—What does your character like to think about? Day dreams? What does he/she dwell on? (This may be easier to explore depending on how your story is narrated)
Background Information —Where has your character been? What have they done? Where does he/she think he is going in life?

17. Atmosphere Mood or tone of the story. Humor? Tragic?
How do your main character’s feel about their situations?
A contrast in setting, character, and/or events can make for interesting atmosphere.

18. One page of dialogue=one minute
Listen to how you and your friends actually speak.
It is atypical to say a person’s name when you are speaking to him/her
“Sure, Mary.”
Less is more in dialogue. Monologues need to be earned.
Stage directions should be used sparingly.
One page of dialogue=one minute

19. Playwriting

20. After they start writing…
Students should keep in mind important elements of playwriting:
- Plot Scenes
- Characters Conflict
- Setting Dialogue
- Stage Directions
But it doesn’t stop there…

21. DO NOW DO NOW
Please take out your FINAL SCRIPTS on your Chromebook.
Today, we will be Reading and Performing pieces of our scripts.
AND ANALYZING A PARTNER’S Script

22. Revising Common Problems With Dialogue
Narration –Narrators that speak to the audience should be avoided. The story is best told by revealing information through dialogue and action.
Too little/Too much information – The audience doesn’t get the whole story or details that aren’t important to the story are presented.
Recycled lines – dialogue consists of recycled lines from movies, etc.
Too little dialogue – Try having students create a scene with no action; where we must learn about a character only through what he or the other characters say.

23. Revising Common Problems With Characters
Characters are not unique – They do not have an individual way of speaking–every character sounds the same, uses the same slang, dialect, etc. Normally the characters’ voices are identical to the playwright’s manner of speaking.
Believability – The characters do or say unbelievable things, behaving contrary to their nature without causation.
Too many characters – There are characters present who are unnecessary to the story being told, which can confuse or muddle the story and burden the playwright as well.
Characters not fully developed – Characters are incomplete or not “whole,” which prevents people from connecting with them and caring what happens to them.

24. Revising Common Problems With Conflicts
No Conflict – There are no obstacles to characters’ wants or existing obstacles are easily overcome. The problems are minor and the resulting conflict lacks consequence.
Conflict resolved too quickly – The change the characters present is not believable because it occurs too soon or too easily. The conflict does not sufficiently challenge the characters.
Unfocused conflict – It is unclear what the conflict is about and/or why the characters are involved in it. Perhaps there are too many characters or not enough dialogue.
Conflict does not progress – The central conflict or dramatic action does not effect change in the scene. Change occurs independent of the main conflict of the play.

25. Revising Common Problems With Plots/Scenes
More scenes needed – More scenes are needed to understand how the conflict/plot developed to this point, what happens in the scene, or what happens next.
Unnecessary information – Information provided in the scene does not help us learn about the characters in a meaningful way.
Settings change too fast – Excessive mini-scenes may be more effective if combined into a few larger scenes.
Setting is not specific enough – More details are needed to let the audience know the location
Special effects – The scenes are more feasible for film or television (i.e. they contain car chases, jumping from one elaborate location to another, large scale explosions).

26. Questions to Ask When Scripting
Do I know what my characters want? Will the audience know? Are their goals clear?
Is the play focused on the main characters and conflict? How can I focus it?
Does the audience get to know the characters well enough to care about them?
Have I avoided resolving the conflict too soon?
Have I expressed as much as possible through the dialogue, avoiding narration?
Are my characters different from each other? Do they speak in characteristic ways?
Do the characters change? How can I put the characters through a believable change?
Is the central conflict or struggle of my play an interesting one?
Is the audience always curious to know what happens next?

27. DO NOW DO NOW SCRIPT ANALYSIS GUIDE
Today we will continue working in our Cooperative Script Groups (3-4).
TASK: Complete your….
SCRIPT ANALYSIS GUIDE
We will read, analyze and perform some of our scripts within our groups.

28. Playwrights benefit greatly from hearing their work read aloud.
Theater is a “live” experience. I encourage you to bring your plays to life, whether it is just a reading or if it is fully staged.

29. Remind the students that, in the end, it’s their play.
Stress the importance of giving, receiving, and processing constructive criticism.
Theater is a collaboration.
If they do not want to make suggested changes, it is their choice.

30. Page a Day! Well, aren’t you going to congratulate me?
What do you mean “I have to give the ring back?”
This is most definitely the result of a curse.
I can fix this, I am determined to fix this.
Why are you hiding in the bathroom?
I would do anything for a peanut butter dipped chocolate bar right now.
First day of school, first day of hell.
Page a Day!
Choose one of the “Script Starters” from the list.
The sentence you choose will be the first line in your script that your first character says.
The scene should be one page long.
The scene should only have two characters who are in one room, in one location.