Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: How to come up with a plot
• Part 2 of 3: How to Write Drafts
• Part 3 of 3: What the structure of a piece looks like
• Tips

The text of the play is the replicas of the characters and the author's remarks. The author is required to think over the characters and work with the language. If you want to join the ranks of playwrights like Shakespeare, Ibsen and Arthur Miller, then you need to come up with a bold plot with memorable characters that will be worthy of a theater production. A good idea, author's style and a bit of luck will help you experience indescribable emotions when watching a performance based on your own play. It's always interesting, even if you write just for fun and your own pleasure.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: How to come up with a plot

1. 1 Start with the characters. Plays consist of dialogues and monologues of the characters. When there is a lot of conversation, it is important to create as realistic and convincing characters as possible. In great works, the internal tension between the characters always leads to external manifestations. In other words, the actors are dealing with problems that influence their behavior.
   • What is the character striving for? What prevents him from getting what he wants? What are the barriers?
   • Think about interesting professions to create colorful characters. Which of all the known professions do you consider to be the most difficult? Which specialist's job has always piqued your curiosity? What kind of people become podiatrists? What makes them choose this path?
   • No need to worry about the name and appearance of the characters. The reader cannot imagine a convincing character named Raphael if he reads that he is tall and has a perfect abs, and also almost always wears T-shirts. Choose one remarkable or significant feature. Perhaps the character has a scar over his eyebrow, as he was once attacked by an angry dog. or the main character never wears skirts. This information will add depth to the characters.
2. 2 Determine the location. Choose where and when the events will take place. It is important to place the characters in a tense environment or place to create a dramatic situation. The setting and the characters must fit well and guide the development of events in the play.If you are interested in the life of an orthopedist, try writing about an orthopedist from Tambov. What kind of person wants to become an orthopedist in Tambov? How did he come to this decision?
   • It is important for the scene to include small details and details. The phrase "Our days" is not as interesting as a string like "Dr. Popova's private orthopedic clinic, near the shopping arcade in the southern part of the city, Good Friday, three o'clock in the afternoon." The more details, the more opportunities for plot development.
   • Who else of the actors can you imagine in such a situation? Who is the receptionist? If this is a family business, then let it be the daughter of an orthopedist. Who's making an appointment on Friday? Who's waiting for their turn? What brings them here?
   • The situation must be plausible. If the play takes place in the future, the features of the future world should be considered.
   • If the events take place in the forest, then make sure you have enough time and opportunity to present such a scene in an interesting way.
   • Explain why the events are happening here. For example, after a hurricane, the forest was completely destroyed.
3. 3 Think over the inner plot. An "internal" plot should be understood as a psychological conflict within the characters. It is mostly hidden, but it is important to feel what exactly moves the characters. The internal plot pushes the characters towards certain decisions. The stronger the inner story, the easier it is to write characters. They must make their own decisions.
   • Perhaps the orthopedist wanted to become a neurosurgeon, but he didn't have the courage to make that decision. Perhaps the orthopedic program allowed for maximum indulgence and allowed your character to hang out and walk during his student years without consequences for academic performance. Perhaps he is deeply unhappy and dissatisfied with the fact that he never left the borders of Tambov.
4. 4 Agree on the inner and outer plot. Bad stories look to the past, and good stories look to the future. Hardly anyone will be interested in a play in which an orthopedist endlessly complains about his profession and commits suicide. Better to put your characters in a dramatic situation, which will prove to be a real test and will help the characters to change.
   • If it happens on Good Friday, then it is possible that her retired parents (also former orthopedists) will come to visit Dr. Popova. Is your character religious? Goes to church? Is she hurrying home to clean the apartment before Easter weekend? Will her father AGAIN ask her to examine that toe growth? Will this be the last straw? What happens next?
5. 5 Consider stage restrictions. Remember, a play is not a movie script. This is just a chain of dialogues between people. It is important to focus on the tension between your characters, the language and the persuasiveness of the characters. The stage is not a place for car chases and gunfights.
   • You can deviate from the canons and write a play that cannot be put on stage. For example, experiment with shape. If you are not interested in staging, then take the play as an unusual poem. Berthold Brecht, Samuel Beckett and Antonin Artaud were innovators and brought experimental avant-garde pieces to the world that included audience participation and other absurdist and surreal elements.
6. 6 Read famous playwrights and watch productions. It's hard to write a novel if you've never read other novels. The future author will not hurt to get acquainted with the world of modern theater. Read plays and watch productions. Contemporary playwrights include David Mamet, Tony Kushner and Polly Stanam.
   • Try to watch contemporary productions in order to write a contemporary play. Even if you love and are well versed in the work of Shakespeare, still get acquainted with the state of affairs in the world of theater. You did not live in Shakespeare's era, so it makes no sense to write as if you know the problems that tormented people of those times.

Part 2 of 3: How to Write Drafts

1. 1 Write a trial draft. Even if your idea for Easter in a Family of Orthopedists seems worthy of the Golden Mask Award, you can still come up with unexpected solutions. You can come up with the best idea, but you still have to pore over the text and leave room for new and unpredictable plot twists.
   • In a trial draft, you do not need to worry about the correct design of the play and the observance of all the "norms". Just write what you want to say. The main thing is to write the beginning, middle and ending of the play.
   • Perhaps a new hero will appear in the play, who will ruin all your plans. This is fine.
2. 2 Keep track of the volume of the piece. The play is literally a moment in life, not a detailed biography. Even if you want to move ten years into the future and show a character who quit his job as an orthopedist and became a successful actor, you should remember that a theatrical play is not the best place for such metamorphosis.
   • The play can end with a simple decision or a new challenge. If in the end your character commits murder or suicide, then it is better to reconsider the ending.
3. 3 Always move the story forward. In the first drafts, there will probably be many scenes in which nothing important happens. Everything is good. Sometimes a character just needs to go through a very awkward and long conversation over dinner with his brother-in-law in order to look at his life and problems differently. Excellent! You’re doing everything right, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole dinner conversation is important to the play.
   • Do not write scenes in which the character is alone. Nothing important happens to the character as long as he looks in the bathroom mirror.
   • Reduce the introductory part as much as possible. If the parents of the orthopedist are supposed to come according to the plot, then there is no need to postpone their arrival for twenty whole pages. The event has to happen as soon as possible for you to have something to work with. Make it easy for yourself.
4. 4 Come up with the specifics of each character's speech. Characters express themselves through language. The way of expressing thoughts is sometimes more important than the thoughts themselves.
   • If the daughter of an orthopedist asks: "What happened?", Then the nature of the answer will tell the audience how to interpret the conflict. Perhaps your heroine will roll her eyes too dramatically and sob: “Everything is very bad!”, And then throw up a pile of papers to make her daughter laugh. At the same time, it will be clear that she does not take the problem seriously. We'll start treating the character differently if she says, "Nothing. Keep working."
   • Don't let the characters voice their inner feelings. The hero will never say: "I am just a shadow of the old man since my wife left me!" - or other words with which he will directly express his inner conflict. Everyone has their own secrets and skeletons in the closet. The character's actions should speak for themselves so that he doesn't have to go into explanations.
5. 5 Correct the text. What is the writer's motto? "Get rid of everything that is dear to you." It is important to be a stern critic of your first drafts so that the raw and messy lyrics turn into accurate and realistic pieces. Cut out meaningless scenes and useless characters for the most fast-paced and focused storyline.
   • Take a pencil and outline all the points in the drafts that slow down the plot, and then emphasize the dialogues that move the events forward. Remove all outlined parts. If you have to cut 90% of the text, then so be it. Replace them with dynamic scenes.
6. 6 Rewrite the drafts as many times as needed. There is no correct number of drafts. Rewrite until the play looks complete, until you are completely satisfied with your work.
   • Save all drafts so that you are not afraid to take risks and always be able to revert to an earlier version. Text files take up little space. Don't rush to delete them.

Part 3 of 3: What the structure of a piece looks like

1. 1 Divide the plot into actions and scenes. An action is an internal mini-piece that consists of scenes (episodes). Typically, a play includes three to five acts. Typically, each scene has a specific cast of characters. If a new character is introduced or the character is transferred to another place, then a new scene begins.
   • Actions are not easy to separate. So, in the history of an orthopedist, the first action may end at the moment of the arrival of the parents and the introduction of the main conflict. The second action can cover the development of the conflict and include episodes in which the parents quarrel with their daughter, working in the kitchen and going to church. In the third act, the daughter can make peace with her father and examine his sore foot. End.
   • The more experience, the easier it will be for you to isolate actions and episodes even at the stage of working on the first draft. Until then, don't worry about it. The design is not as important as the correct approach to the dramatic work.
2. 2 Use stage directions. All scenes should begin with stage directions that briefly describe the setting. Depending on your storyline, the stage directions can be very detailed or relatively simple. This is an opportunity for the author to influence the future production. If in the first action a gun should be hanging on the wall, then do not forget to write about it.
   • Also include remarks for characters during dialogues. Actors allow themselves small liberties in dialogues in order to embody the director's ideas on stage, but indicate especially important (in your opinion) gestures and facial expressions of the characters. For example, a kiss should be described, but it is important not to overdo it with the details. It is not necessary to describe every breath of the characters, as the actors will not follow such directions.
3. 3 Label the lines for each character. In the play, the lines of each character are usually denoted by the name of the character in capital letters and indented. Some playwrights center the lines on the page, but the choice is yours. There is no need to use quotes and other distinctive characters, just include the name of the character for each of his lines.
4. 4 Indicate the list of characters. The first page may include a prologue to the events of the play and a list of characters with brief information on each character, notes regarding the location of the scenery on the stage or other author's remarks, as well as a short description of the play or plot if you are going to submit a competitive application for the subsequent production of the play in the theater. ...

Tips

• Don't create characters before you start working on the text. When creating a play, you will understand when and what characters to introduce.
• Allow time between scenes to change scenery and costumes.
• Don't worry about names. They can always be changed at any time.
• Do not use jokes if the play is not comedic. Such moments can offend readers or viewers. Comedies give the author more freedom, but it's still important to keep the limits of decency in mind. No racist jokes, sexism or cursing from the mouth of children - leave these moves for films. Sometimes gentle jokes about religion are acceptable, but you may be taken seriously. Do not forget that in Russia criminal liability is provided for insulting the religious feelings of believers.
• You can think of moments in which the characters enter the house (the house is the audience). Most often, such developments are used in musicals, so in the play it is important not to overdo it with them.
• Try to think creatively
• Consider the actors and actresses available when planning your production, so as not to look for people for specific roles.
• It is advisable that more than one person participated in the auditions for the role, otherwise you will not be able to see different approaches to the role. If the person is not suitable for the role, invite him to try playing a different role or introduce a minor character.
• Complement and develop the plot as you work on the text and do not limit yourself.