The Ten-Minute Play

What makes you think you can write a play? We live in an oral culture. We are constantly watching others People are born “actors” Like Texting, Playwriting is a genre that makes maximum use of few words.

A play is NOT a screenplay A screenplay has many short scenes, often with minimal or no dialogue. In a play scenes tend to be considerably longer, with greater emphasis on dialogue.

A play is NOT a conversation, nor a rant Most conversations meander and never reach a hightened intensity. Dialogue in a ply is always driven by the central conflict. Although it can be entertaining to listen to someone yell, you can only do that for so long before it gets boring.

Lastly, a play is NOT an essay The main purpose of an essay is to make a point. Even though plays often address relevant issues, and even though some characters may be more right than others, good playwrights always try to see the world from the perspective of all of their characters.

The elements of playwriting Structuring the ten-minute play Creating believable characters Writing convincing dialogue Crafting a theme Onstage: the elements of Production

Playscript Format: A Model Pages 1-2: Set up the world we’re in, introduce your central characters and make sure we understand what they need/want in the journey of the story Pages 2-3: Illuminate the central conflict - a dramatic question that will be answered by the play’s end. You should have told enough of the backstory that has lead us to the present situation by this point.

Model continued… Pages 3-8: Complicate the story two or three times. Pages 9-10: Resolve the conflict, even if that creates an unhappy ending. Remember: one page equals one minute of the play.

Avoiding weak middles Allow the onstage interactions between characters to develop at a believable pace. On the other hand, don’t waste time. Every exchange between your characters should tell us something important about who they are, while also moving the story forward.

Weak middles continued… Make sure that there are at least two or three significant complications or reversals that keep the protagonist from getting what he or she wants.