Talk the Talk

by Penny Penniston

4. In the scene, what caused the characters to switch to new status roles?

  5. What was the effect of having the characters switch status roles? What new information did it give you about the characters, their situation, and their relationship?

  6. How did the switching of the status roles affect the tone of the dialogue? Did big status shifts have a different effect on tone than small status shifts?

  LESSON 7: SOLO EXERCISE

  You will write a three- to five-page scene between two characters: Character A and Character B.

  1. Before you begin, write numbers one through ten out on slips of paper and put them in a hat. These numbers represent levels on a spectrum of status. Number one is very, very, very, very low status. Number ten is very, very, very, very high status. Number five is halfway between.

  2. Draw three numbers from the hat. Character A must start the scene with the status level of the first number. At some point in the scene, he must flip his status to the second number. By the end of the scene, he must change his status to the third number.

  3. Write the scene.

  4. Repeat this exercise regularly as an ongoing writer's workout.

  NOTE: For an Advanced Solo Exercise, draw three numbers for both Character A and Character B. Write the scene so that both characters go through all three of their status levels by the end of the scene.

  EMPEROR BRUTUS JONES: Ain't a man's talkin’ big what makes him big - long as he makes folks believe it?

  —Eugene O'Neill (Emperor Jones)

  LESSON EIGHT:

  Strengths and Weaknesses

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  anaging status relationships is a complicated dance. It is an ever-evolving two-part calculation. It involves: 1) knowing when to raise or lower your status; and 2) knowing how to do it.

  Knowing When to Raise and Lower your Status

  Imagine that you are the CEO of a company. What status role should you take on?

  1. Should you be a relentlessly high status CEO? This CEO is domineering, micromanaging, and never defers to his employees on anything.

  2. Should you be a relentlessly low status CEO? This CEO is submissive, passive, and never questions or challenges his employees on anything.

  3. Should you be a CEO who is able to adjust his status? This CEO is able to be decisive and assert his authority when necessary. However, he also solicits input from his employees and relies on them for their advice and expertise.

  We live in a culture that places value on high status, but as you can see, high status is not always the best status. The most effective people are able to raise or lower their status to match the needs of the moment. Two fundamentals that will define your character are how flexible he is in taking on different status roles in different circumstances, and how clever he is in making those choices.

  Knowing How to Raise or Lower your Status

  Knowing when to raise or lower your status is only half the battle. You must also successfully accomplish this shift. Ultimately, you might play high status, but you're only in a high status position if other people treat you as high status.

  Have you ever watched a child try to order an adult around, only to have the adult laugh at that child for being cute? Do you remember the nerdy, insecure kid in high school who tried to act cool? Do you remember any teachers, camp counselors, or bosses who tried to exert their authority, but no one listened to them? These are examples of people who are trying to play high status, but who are not effective at it. Despite their best efforts, they were not able to take the high status ground.

  On the other hand, you have probably seen the opposite: people who attempt to lower their status, but fail. Have you ever had someone try to compliment you, only to have it feel like an insult? Have you ever seen an adult try to talk baby talk to a child, only to have the child cower and cry?

  Human society demands status deftness, but individuals are not always up to the task. Every person has status strengths and weaknesses. In a perfect world, we would all expertly raise or lower our status to perfectly suit the needs of the moment. But this is not a perfect world, and drama is never about a perfect world. Characters inevitably stumble in the status dance. They play high status when they ought to play low. They try to take low status, but end up lifted high. These mistakes are the stuff of great drama, great comedy, and great dialogue.

  Writing texts often tell you to “get to know your character” by writing extensive biographies. This is only part of the battle. In script writing, we need to know not only who our characters are, but also how our characters relate to other people — how they interact. This is where status comes into play. When you combine a portrait of a character with an understanding of that character's preferred status role from community to community and her effectiveness in taking on each role, you can begin to predict how that character will act in almost any situation.

  LESSON 8: SCRIPT ANALYSIS EXERCISE

  NOTE: Beginning and intermediate writers should do this exercise with an established play or screenplay. See the Appendix for a list of suggestions. Advanced writers have the option of bringing in their own scripts for review.

  Have the group watch the same play or attend the same film. Get copies of the script to review.

  For Discussion:

  1. Identify each of the central characters. What was each character's overall status preference?

  2. How flexible was each character with his status role?

  3. Under what circumstances, in what situations, or with what people did each character try to play high status? How effective was he in taking on that high status role?

  4. Under what circumstances, in what situations, or with what people did each character play low status? How effective was he in taking on that low status role?

  5. Did any character start the story with one status and end it with a different one? If so, where exactly was the change? What caused the change?

  LESSON 8: BEGINNER EXERCISE

  In this drill, you will generate two different original characters. You may use any of the following exercises as a starting point:

  1. Write a three- to five-page biography of your character. Include an overview of family history; relationship history; significant life experiences; political leanings; religious beliefs; work experience; and financial standing.

  2. Imagine that you are able to sneak into your character's home. Explore the home. Write a three- to five-page description of the home and what you find inside it.

  3. Use the Solo Exercise at the end of Lesson Three to create a monologue for an original character.

  4. Imagine that you are a private investigator. You must follow your character for a week and record his activity. Write a three- to five-page report of what you observe during that week. Where does the character go? Who does she talk to? Is any of her activity surprising or suspicious?

  5. Make a collage of images that capture your character's personality.

  After you have generated two new characters, write the answers to the following questions:

  • Under what circumstances, in what environments, and with what people does each character try to play high status?

  • Under what circumstances, in what environments, and with what people does each character try to play low status?

  • In each of these situations, how effective is each character at taking on his preferred status position?

  For Discussion:

  Share your characters with the group.

  1. What new insights or revelations did you get about each character as a result of this exercise? What was surprising or interesting?

  2. In terms of the two characters’ status preferences: In what places or under what circumstances would the two characters complement each other? In what places or under what circumstances would the two characters have a tacit agreement about their status roles?

  3. In terms of the two characters’ status preferences: In what places or under what circumstances would the two characters have friction with ea
ch other? In what places or under what circumstances would the two characters have tension about their status roles?

  4. If you wanted to write an interesting scene between these two characters, where would you set the scene? What would be the circumstances of the scene? Why would you make those choices?

  LESSON 8: INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED EXERCISE

  Do the Beginner Exercise above. After you have completed it, write a three- to five-page dialogue between the two characters that you have created.

  For Discussion:

  Read the scenes out loud to the group.

  1. Under what circumstances did each character try to play high status? How effective was he in taking on that high status role? How flexible was he?

  2. Under what circumstances did each character play low status? How effective was he in taking on that low status role? How flexible was he?

  3. What did the status interactions tell you about each character's personality?

  4. What did the status interactions tell you about the characters’ relationship to each other?

  5. What were the most engaging or enjoyable aspects of the dialogue? What role did status play in those aspects?

  LESSON 8: SOLO EXERCISE

  1. Take a dialogue scene from an existing play or screenplay. Do a status profile of each character in the scene.

  2. Under what circumstances, in what situations, or with what people did each character try to play high status? How effective was he in taking on that high status role? How flexible was he?

  3. Under what circumstances, in what situations, or with what people did each character play low status? How effective was he in taking on that low status role? How flexible was he?

  4. Look over the status profiles of each character. Pick at least one aspect of each and change it to something completely different.

  5. Now, rewrite the scene to match the new status profile. How did the change in the status profile affect the scene? As an ongoing workout, experiment with different changes and new rewrites.

  CAROL: When you first came in for breakfast, when I first saw you, I thought you were handsome… Then, of course, you spoke.

  —As Good As It Gets (1997)

  LESSON NINE:

  Friends and Foes

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  n his book, Impro, Keith Johnstone makes the very important observation that status interactions are not always adversarial. Consider the two lines of dialogue mentioned in an earlier lesson:

  PERSON A: I baked some chocolate chip cookies.

  PERSON B: Finally, you baked something that you didn't burn!

  Person A is playing high status to Person B. But is Person B being insulting and rude? Or is he engaging in friendly banter? You could read the line with either interpretation.

  As we discussed in the previous chapters, characters jockey for status position on a constantly shifting playing feld. From community to community, from moment to moment, the world attempts to impose different status roles. From community to community, from moment to moment, we attempt to take on different status roles. In this environment, where everyone maneuvers for status all the time, what is the difference between friends and foes?

  Johnstone argues that friends treat status interactions as a game to be enjoyed rather than a confrontation to be fought out. In friendly interactions, we have a tacit agreement about what status roles we will play and under what circumstances we will play them.

  Consider your best friend. When does he support you and lift you up? When does he tease you and knock you down a peg? On what topics does he defer to your expertise? On what topics do you defer to his? When do you enjoy competing with him for high status? When do you enjoy competing with him for low status?

  Friendship is not a relationship devoid of status interactions. You have as many status interactions with friends as you have with foes. The difference is that you enjoy the status interactions with your friends. These interactions entertain you and fulfll your status needs from moment to moment.

  In contrast, think about someone you dislike. What status roles does he attempt to take for himself? What status roles does he attempt to give you? To what things does he assign high status? To what things does he assign low status? Is there a difference between how he treats you and how you prefer to be treated? Is there a difference between the things he values and the things you value? I'm betting that there is.

  When the status that someone else tries to impose doesn't match our own status needs, we get frustrated. Our conversation turns tense. The degree of tension depends on how entrenched we are in our preferred status positions and how tightly we hold on to them.

  LESSON 9: SCRIPT ANALYSIS EXERCISE

  Have each member of the group bring in a two- to three-page dialogue scene from an existing play or screenplay. (You can use the Appendix for suggestions or you can fnd material on your own.) Half of the group should bring in examples of friendly dialogue while the other half should bring in examples of tense or adversarial dialogue.

  For Discussion:

  Review each scene with the group.

  1. Overall, would you describe the characters in this scene as friendly toward each other? Or would you describe them as tense or adversarial toward each other?

  2. To what things does each character assign high status? To what things does each character assign low status?

  3. Are the characters in agreement on this?

  4. Focus on one character in the scene. What status role does he try to take? What status role does the other character(s) appearing in the scene try to give him?

  5. Are the characters in agreement on this?

  6. Look at all the scenes from the group. Arrange them on a line from most friendly to most adversarial. Compare and contrast the friendly scenes to each other. What was the difference between a very friendly scene and a moderately friendly scene? Compare and contrast the adversarial scenes to each other. What was the difference between a very adversarial scene and a moderately adversarial scene?

  LESSON 9: BEGINNER EXERCISE

  1. Go through the newspaper and pick out a story from any section. Create two characters who are interested in that story. Randomly assign each character a status preference (very low status, low status, high status, or very high status).

  2. Write a three- to five-page dialogue in which two characters discuss the subject of the news article. In the dialogue, keep the characters in their preferred status roles, but make the status interactions between the characters adversarial.

  3. Rewrite the same dialogue making the status interactions between the characters friendly. (Make sure to keep the characters in their preferred status roles even as they are being friendly to each other.)

  For Discussion:

  Read both versions of each author's scene aloud to the group.

  1. Which version is friendly? Which version is adversarial?

  2. What in the dialogue made you understand that?

  3. What specifc changes did the author make in the rewrite to change the tone of the dialogue?

  4. How did conflict or agreement about status roles contribute to the friendliness or tension of the dialogue?

  LESSON 9:INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED EXERCISE

  1. Go to any store. It might be a grocery store, a drugstore, a department store, or an online store. Pick out one item that is for sale.

  2. You will write five different versions of a two-to four-page dialogue in which two or more characters discuss this item. Before you begin, randomly assign each character a status preference (very low status, low status, high status, or very high status).

  3. In the first version of the dialogue, make the relationships between the characters as tension filled or as adversarial as possible. With each of the following five rewrites, make the relationships slightly friendlier. Even as the dialogue gets friendlier with each rewrite, each character must still maintain his preferred status role.

  For Discussion:

  Read all five versions of each autho
r's scene aloud to the group.

  1. Have the group rank the scenes from most adversarial/tension filled to friendliest.

  2. What in the dialogue helped you make your ranking choices?