10 Minute Play Project; Comedy; Vampire Lesbians of Sodom: Day 1

LAB/Library:

After our quiz on The Mystery of Irma Vep & The Ridiculous Theater Company, please use your remaining time in the lab to continue working on your 10-minute play script drafts. Aim to complete these drafts by end of next class's lab time (Oct. 31).

TIPS CONCERNING DIALOGUE:

Dialogue isn't just talking. Dialogue HAPPENS. It happens when your characters' need to speak. It is also how they listen (or not listen), and the connotation, nuance, color and subtext of what they say, how they say it, and why they say it. Good dialogue is the result of well-defined characters in a well-structured plot. They may be compelled to speak (or not), but they should have a REASON for speaking.

Here are some tips to consider:

1. We usually talk because we want to communicate some need. If we want nothing, we say nothing, usually. We also speak when we want to: threaten, teach, explain, tease, joke, murmur, pontificate, defend ourselves, apologize, seduce, evade, pout, challenge, yell, scold, cry, motivate, convince, etc. 

2. Dialogue is action. It is an action taken to satisfy a want or desire. What a character wants or desires moves them to speak and act. This is part of characterization--and the best way to build or develop your character(s). 

3. When we don't get what we want (often immediately), humans tend to become shy, aggressive, or hide our agendas in our words. This is often our subtext (the meaning hidden in a line of dialogue; or saying one thing, but meaning another) and is very important to actors. It is often this subtext that a good actor will uncover in a performance. 

4. Characters have to hear each other. Characters often do not listen the same way. Characters interpret what is being said, ask questions, ignore speech, get confused, miss a meaning and even read special meaning into something that has no meaning. Listening, therefore, will often help build the conflict and drama in your scene. A response reveals something important about the listener. How a character hears, then, is an important point to consider. 

5. When writing dialogue allow your characters to interrupt, talk over each other, digress, or speak in fragments. Keep sentences short. Use imagery and specific details (concrete nouns, active verbs) when writing lines for your actors. 

Use some of these tips in your play draft.

On our way to the classroom, please stop by the library check-out desk and pick up the collection of plays: The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and Other Plays by Charles Busch.

Classroom:

Comedy: a literary genre and type of dramatic work (play) that is meant to entertain, delight, or amuse its audience. It is often satirical or humorous in tone and often ends happily. Characters in comedy triumph over their dramatic or tragic circumstances reminding us that, as humans, we will adapt and survive. Comedies often utilize hyperbole, satire, parody, under/overstatement, irony, wit, puns, and other comedic literary elements. For the stage, conventions such as romance, cross-dressing, mistaken identity, violence, and farce are common. Let's take a look at this example:

• The Play That Goes Wrong (Royal Variety Performance)

Then, let's pick some parts and begin reading Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. 

HOMEWORK: Complete your 10-minute play script. You will have lab time to work on the finishing touches for your play scripts. Bring your books to our next class so we may finish reading Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.