A theatrical performance requires pure drama and action. Unlike in cinema, in this case you can only work on the characters and the language. If you want to reach the levels of Shakespeare, Ibsen and Arthur Miller, you have to develop an intense story, characterized by interesting characters and specially designed for a theatrical performance. With a bit of luck, you will experience the thrill of seeing your work directed and interpreted.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Developing the Story
Step 1. Start with the characters
The plays are primarily based on the characters. Since such a performance involves a lot of dialogue, the characters need to be believable. For a quality work, the internal conflicts between the characters must be worked out externally. In other words, they must have problems to prove through their behavior.
- What does your character want? What prevents him from getting it? What is getting in the way?
- To develop the characters, consider some interesting uses - it can be useful. What do you think is the most grueling job in the world? Which profession has always intrigued you? What characteristics must an individual have to become a podiatrist? Why does someone end up filling such a professional role?
- Don't worry about the character's name or physical appearance. For now, you don't need to know that one of the protagonists is called Raphael, he is 190 cm tall, has sculpted abs and often wears a t-shirt. If necessary for the purpose of the story, stick to a noticeable physical trait, perhaps with a story behind it. Maybe the protagonist has a scar on her eyebrow because she was bitten by a dog, or she never wears skirts because she has aesthetic complexes. This description reveals something about him and creates depth.
Step 2. Consider the setting, ie the place and time in which the story unfolds
To create a plot, it is important to place the main character in a tense situation or place. Combining the protagonist and the setting is also a good way to develop the personality and understand the kind of story that could arise from his role in that environment. If the profession of podiatrist seems interesting to you, you could set the work in a provincial town. For example, why would anyone decide to become a podiatrist in a small town? How does one end up in a certain place?
- When developing the setting, be as specific as possible. "Today" is not as interesting as "Podiatrist Marco Rossi's study, southern part of the city, near the shopping center, Good Friday, 3.15pm". The more accurate you are, the more information you will have to work on.
- Consider other characters that the setting might present. Who works at the reception of the podiatrist's office? If it's family run, maybe the daughter. Who has a date on a Friday? Who is in the waiting room? Why have they booked?
Step 3. Establish the internal story, which refers to the internal conflicts that characterize the characters
The internal story is largely hidden in the course of the work, but it is important for you to get an idea as you write it. It guides the characters to make decisions in the plot. The more concrete it is, the easier it will be to define the characters and their actions, because in practice these choices will come naturally to them.
Perhaps the podiatrist wanted to become a neurosurgeon, but he didn't have the courage. Perhaps the podiatry course was less tiring than others, so when he was a student he had the opportunity to always stay in the small hours, passing exams without too many problems. Perhaps the podiatrist is deeply unhappy and dissatisfied because he has never left the provincial town
Step 4. Make the internal story coincide with the external one
Poor textures look to the past, good ones look to the future. A work in which the podiatrist talks incessantly about his professional dissatisfaction and then commits suicide by ingesting shoe polish would not be interesting. Instead, place the characters in a dramatic situation that will test their courage and change them, one way or another.
If the story is set on Good Friday, perhaps the podiatrist's retired parents (who had the same profession) will go to his house for dinner because they won't be able to see each other on Easter. Is the podiatrist religious? Do you go to church? Do you have to go home and help your wife clean up before the weekend starts? Will his father ask him again to check his bunion? Will this be the drop that will break the camel's back? What's going to happen?
Step 5. Understand the limitations of the stage
Remember: you are not writing a movie. A play basically consists of a continuous series of dialogues between people. Concentration must be placed on the tension between the characters, the language and the evolution of the protagonists into credible people. It is certainly not the most suitable means for shootings and car chases.
Alternatively, distance yourself from traditional theater and write an opera that has scenes that are impossible to reproduce on stage: they will allow you to explore the writing itself, analyze the metatheatre. If you have no intention of actually staging the opera, consider it a different form of poetry. Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett and Antonin Artaud have all been innovators in the avant-garde experimental theater. They engaged the audience in the performance and incorporated other absurd or surreal elements into their works
Step 6. Read plays and watch plays
Just as you wouldn't try to write a novel without ever opening one, it's best to become familiar with the world of contemporary theater. Watch works you have read and liked to discover their transformation on stage. David Mamet, Tony Kushner and Polly Stenham are all popular and acclaimed playwrights.
If you will be writing original works, it is important to attend plays. While knowing Shakespeare's works in detail and loving his work, you should delve into the world of today's theater. You don't live in the Bardo era, so it wouldn't make sense to write works as if you were born in 1500
Part 2 of 3: Writing Drafts
Step 1. Write an exploratory draft
Of course, you think that the ideas for a work called "Easter with podiatrists" are innovative and will allow you to win a prize. However, you have to write: this procedure will hold you many surprises. You may have come up with the greatest idea in the world, but you still have to actually put it in writing and welcome the unexpected changes once the story takes hold.
- In the exploratory draft, don't worry about the expected formatting for a play and grammar rules. Simply let all your ideas emerge. Write until you have a beginning, a middle and an end, in short, a complete work.
- Maybe a new character will appear in the story who will change everything. Let him in.
Step 2. Make the work as short as possible
A play is literally a glimpse of life, not a biography. Sooner or later you will feel tempted to take a 10 year leap into the future or let the protagonist quit the hated job of podiatrist and become a successful actor in New York. But you must remember that a theatrical performance is not the right means to make too shocking changes in the lives of the characters.
The work could end with a simple decision, or the protagonist takes on something he has never been confronted with before. If it ends in suicide or murder, think back to the conclusion
Step 3. Always go forward in time
In the first drafts, you will probably write many scenes that wander without actually reaching the end of the line. No problem. Sometimes it is necessary for the protagonist to have a long uncomfortable dialogue with the brother-in-law to discover something new, and this epiphany will give you a new perspective on the work. Great! This means that you are writing profitably, but it does not necessarily imply that the entire conversation with the brother-in-law is important to the work. Initially, writing aimlessly gives you insights, but then you have to make the right cuts.
- Avoid writing scenes where a character is alone. If he's in the bathroom and he's looking at himself in the mirror, nothing will happen on stage.
- Avoid making too many preambles. If the podiatrist's parents are about to arrive, don't delay this moment by 20 pages. Make it happen as soon as possible, to have more aspects to work with. Simplify your writing.
Step 4. Find out the voices of the characters:
they will reveal their true nature with language. The way they decide to express themselves is perhaps even more important than the words in and of themselves.
- When the podiatrist's daughter asks "What's wrong?", The answer will explain to the audience how to interpret the conflict. Maybe he can dramatically roll his eyes and sigh, saying: "Everything!". Then, she throws up a bunch of papers to make her daughter laugh. The public, however, knows that, despite the apparent lightness, there is really something wrong. He will look at this character with different eyes, while the effect would not be the same if he said, "Nothing. Go back to work."
- Don't let the characters scream their inner torment from the rooftops. A character would never shout, "Since my wife left me, I am a shadow of myself." He would never explicitly disclose his own inner conflicts. It must keep its own secrets. It's the actions that should speak for them, so don't force them to give explanations to the public.
Step 5. Correct
One of the mantras of the writers? "Kill your loved ones". You have to harshly criticize the first drafts so that what you initially wrote (which is usually a real chaos) turns into that effective and realistic play that you so aspire to. Cut the scenes for their own sake, the useless characters, make sure the work is as tight and fast as possible.
Review the sketches with a pencil and circle the moments that pause the work. Instead, emphasize those who advance it. Cut everything you've circled. If you end up deleting 90% of what you wrote, don't get too much trouble. Fill the removed parts with elements that will keep the story going
Step 6. Write all necessary drafts
There is no unique number. Keep writing until you are sure you have a good result. You will have to find it satisfying for your parameters and for the expectations of the story.
Save each version of the drafts, so you can feel free to take risks and possibly return to a previous idea if you want to. Text documents weigh little. It is worth it
Part 3 of 3: Format the Work
Step 1. Break the plot into scenes and acts
An act is a mini-opera in its own right, consisting of several scenes. On average, an opera features three to five acts. Generally, a scene has a number of characters. If a new one is introduced or a present character moves elsewhere, this indicates switching to another scene.
- An act is difficult to distinguish. For example, the first act of the podiatrist's story might end with the arrival of the parents and the presentation of the main conflict. The second act could contain the development of this conflict, including scenes in which the podiatrist argues with the parents as they prepare dinner. In the third act, the podiatrist reconciles with his parents, and takes a look at his father's bunion. End.
- The more experience you gain in writing plays, the better you will become at thinking in terms of acts and scenes as you make your first draft. However, don't worry about it at first. Formatting is much less important than the consistency and originality of the work.
Step 2. Include stage directions
Each scene should begin with directions, which consist of a brief description of the physical components of the stage. Depending on your story, they can be very elaborate or quite simple. They allow you to establish the final aesthetic of the work. If in the first act it is important to insert a gun hanging on the wall, indicate it.
Also, include directions for the characters in the dialogue. The actors will take the liberty to interpret them as they see fit and will move according to their ideas and the director's decisions. However, including the description of particularly important physical movements (in your opinion) in the dialogue can be helpful. For example, a kiss should probably be indicated, but don't dwell on it. You don't have to describe every single physical movement of each character, because the actors will ignore these directions anyway
Step 3. Label each character's lines
In a play, the lines of each character are indicated by their name in capital letters, with a tabulation of at least 10 cm. Some playwrights center the dialogues, the choice is up to you. You don't have to use quotes or other distinctive symbols, just divide the lines by indicating the characters to which they belong.
Step 4. Include an introductory part
It presents the prologue you would like to include in the work, a list of the characters with a short description attached, any notes on the organization of the stage or other guidelines for the direction, a short summary or lineup of the work (if you are thinking to send it to a theater competition).
Advice
- Don't define the characters before writing the play. As you write it, you will know how and when to put them into the story and understand what they should do.
- Between scenes, allow for time to change the scenery and allow the actors to enter the scene.
- Don't worry about the names. You can always change them later.
- If the work is not comic, eliminate the funny parts, otherwise you risk confusing or offending the audience. If it's a comedy, you have a lot more choice when it comes to dialogue. However, don't overdo it (for example, avoid racist, sexist jokes, swear words spoken as children; at best, they can work in the cinema. Sometimes you can use religious jokes, but someone can take them seriously).
- You can add scenes where the characters walk through the audience for some reason. This device is mostly used for musicals. If you have to include it, don't overdo it.
- Be creative.
