Writing a Script

 Parts of a play ◦ Story ◦ Plot ‘The king died and then the queen died ’ is a story. ‘ The king died and then the queen died of grief ‘ is a plot.

‘The king died and then the queen died ’ is a story. ‘ The king died and then the queen died of grief ‘ is a plot. The time-sequence is preserved, but their sense of casuality overshadows it. E.M. Forster

 Plot: action and emotions ◦ Episodic ◦ Rising Action ◦ Quest ◦ Transformation ◦ Revenge or Justice

 Exposition ◦ writer “exposes” the background to audience ◦ introduces setting and characters  Dialogue ◦ character’s conversations

 Conflict ◦ a battle between characters: struggle between good and evil  Complications ◦ conflict becomes more interesting  Climax ◦ conflict is resolved: most exciting part mini-climax setback bigger climax

1938 first edition cover from the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections

 Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives. Using metatheatrical devices, Wilder sets the play in a 1930s theater. He uses the actions of the Stage Manager to create the town of Grover's Corners (New Hampshire) for the audience. Scenes from its history between the years of 1901 and 1913 play out. from Wikipedia

 Plot: Three Acts ◦ Act I: Daily Life ◦ Act II: Love and Marriage ◦ Act III: Death and Eternity

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