by Will Dunne
Identify the style of your play. Is it realistic, nonrealistic, or a mix of both?
IF THE STYLE IS REALISTIC . . .
• Ideally, your characters appear to be real-life people with whom an audience can empathize. For each principal character, what are his or her most empathetic traits?
• The most lifelike set is three-dimensional and fully rendered. If your story takes place in multiple locations, it may not be feasible to build a full set for each one. Do you need to eliminate or combine any locations so that the sets can be more realistic?
• Would the addition of any particular props or costumes enhance the realism of the story?
• Are there lighting or sound directions that can be added to, or removed from, the script to make it feel more realistic?
• Uninterrupted action most closely resembles how everyday life happens. Can any scenes be combined or eliminated to reduce the number of scene breaks?
• Realistic dialogue has the form and feel of everyday speech. How realistic is your dialogue now?
• Are there any events in the script that work against realism because of how or when they occur?
• Do you need to do further research to flesh out an unusual or complicated event that the audience may find hard to believe or understand?
IF THE STYLE IS NONREALISTIC . . .
• Are your characters ordinary people in an extraordinary world, extraordinary people in an ordinary world, or extraordinary people in an extraordinary world?
• If the characters are extraordinary: review their nonrealistic traits. How and when are these traits established in the script? Why are they important to the story?
• If the world is extraordinary: review the nonrealistic properties of the setting. Does anything need to be changed, added, or removed to make this world more unique?
• For any nonrealistic events in your story, have you established clear rules for how and why how such events occur? Do you need to impose any limitations on what is possible?
• Have you found the right props and costumes for the world you are creating? Do you see opportunities to enhance the nonrealism of this world by adding any unusual objects or attire?
• Do any lighting or sound directions need to be added to the script to enhance its nonrealism?
• Distortion, symbolism, and repetition are among many techniques you can use to create artificial reality. Have you missed any opportunities to use such tools?
• In a nonrealistic play, scenes need not occur in chronological order or have rational connections. Look at how your story divides into scenes. Would it work better if the scenes were organized differently? If scenes were added, removed, or combined?
• The dialogue in a nonrealistic play may be stylized—structured around language rhythms, rhyming schemes, music, ersatz vocabulary, or other artificial modes of expression. How does your dialogue fit the level of nonrealism you are after?
IF THE STYLE IS A MIX . . .
• Review the preceding two sets of questions. What elements of your story are realistic? What elements are nonrealistic?
• Which style dominates, and is this the best balance for the story you want to tell?
• How would the story be different if it were more realistic? Less realistic?
DRAMATIC FOCUS
The dramatic focus of a play determines two basic but critical elements: whose story it is and how this story will be revealed to the audience.
Character focus. In most plays throughout the ages, the protagonist, or main character, has been one individual, such as Hamlet, who drives the story and makes it happen. Everything revolves around this character’s dramatic journey. However, the role of protagonist may also be played by more than one character, as in Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, where the protagonist is not an individual but a group, the Ranevskaya family, representing the Russian upper class.
Point of view. Whether the role of protagonist is filled by one character or many, the story reflects a point of view that dictates what we in the audience may see and not see as the dramatic action unfolds. Our vantage point is usually objective: it allows us to observe the characters in the external world they inhabit. The view of this world may be broad or narrow. Its limitations determine whom we may meet onstage, which characters must be present for a scene to occur, where we can observe them, and when we are able to do so.
Because it provides a “fly on the wall” perspective, an objective point of view enables us to observe the facts of certain situations and draw our own conclusions about what we have seen. These conclusions may not always be accurate, however, since the characters can intentionally or unintentionally mislead us.
In some cases, the point of view in a play is subjective. This enables us to experience the inner world of one or more characters. We literally enter someone’s mind, hearing and sometimes seeing his or her thoughts, perceptions, and memories. Such events may take the form of inner-life monologues, flashbacks, hallucinations, or other internal visualizations.
Since the subjective point of view creates a deeper contact with characters, it gives us more information about who they really are, how they perceive the world, and why they act the way they do. However, this inner world may distract us from what is real and true in the external world. In some cases, such as Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, the story is told from one character’s perspective. As a result, the events we witness are filtered through a narrator’s memory and not necessarily reliable.
■ DOUBT: A PARABLE
Character focus: Single protagonist
Point of view: Objective
Doubt is centered on a single protagonist: Sister Aloysius. We enter the world of St. Nicholas church and school to follow her dramatic journey, and we experience the story primarily through her. Our access to this world is objective but restricted to four areas: the pulpit in the church, the principal’s office, the garden between the convent and rectory, and the school gym.
Within each of these areas, our view of the dramatic action is unlimited: we can see any combination of characters there. For example, we watch Aloysius conduct school business in her office in scenes 2, 5, and 8 and tend to other matters in the garden in scenes 4 and 9. However, we also are privy to some events that occur when Aloysius is not present, such as Father Flynn in the garden trying to reassure Sister James of his innocence in scene 7. While Aloysius is the main character of the play, therefore, we sometimes observe the story from a vantage point beyond her knowledge and direct experience.
Sometimes the most important part of a story is what is not shown to the audience. In Shanley’s play, for example, we never gain access to the rectory where Flynn’s private meetings with students occur. This restriction in point of view is vital to the play’s exploration of doubt and the unanswered questions about Flynn’s actions. Neither Aloysius nor we in the audience have tangible proof of his innocence or guilt.
It is also significant that we never meet Donald Muller, the alleged victim of Flynn’s abuse. This limitation prevents us from observing the boy firsthand so that we can interpret his mood and behavior in light of the abuse allegations. We must rely instead on the hearsay of people around him. All of this contributes to the doubts we experience as we watch the play.
On a more practical level, we are excluded from many areas where students and staff members interact—such as classrooms, school hallways, and the playground. We can only imagine the other inhabitants and activities of this busy school. Even in scene 3, when Flynn addresses the school basketball team, we see only Flynn and not the boys he is with.
Doubt is a realistic story that presents its characters objectively. We observe them in action and interpret their thoughts and feelings, but we cannot literally enter anyone’s mind, so we cannot hear or see what anyone is thinking. There are no inner-life monologues, flashbacks, or other internal visualizations.
■ TOPDOG/UNDERDOG
Character focus: Dual protagonist
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Point of view: Objective and subjective
In Topdog/Underdog, Booth and Lincoln share the role of main character, which allows us to observe their power struggle from both sides. Our access to their lives is both objective and subjective, but limited to the rooming-house room they share. We never see the other areas of their world, such as the place where Booth’s ex-girlfriend Grace lives or the shooting arcade where Lincoln works. By limiting our dramatic view to their single room, the play creates a claustrophobic atmosphere that accentuates the brothers’ feeling of entrapment and emphasizes their reliance on each other. In effect, they have little outside of this room and no one else to comfort them. All of this heightens the tragedy of the play’s ending, when Booth ends up alone.
Our objective view of the room is, however, unlimited. We see not only what the brothers do here together, but also what they do here alone, whether it’s Booth hiding his girlie magazines under the bed in scene 5 or Lincoln counting his money in scene 6.
We also at times gain access to their hearts and minds and can listen to them “thinking aloud” in monologues. This subjective point of view enables us in scene 4 to hear Lincoln wrestling with his personal demons and in scene 6 to experience the torment that floods Booth’s mind after he kills his brother.
■ THE CLEAN HOUSE
Character focus: Group protagonist
Point of view: Objective and subjective
The role of protagonist in The Clean House is shared by three characters—Lane, Matilde, and Virginia—each of whom has an individual quest in addition to their collective one. Each character in this group represents a different type of woman: the upper-class professional who rules the world around her (Lane), the working-class housekeeper who dreams of a better life but has limited social and economic opportunities (Matilde), and the middle-class housewife who is bored by her marriage and the person she has become (Virginia). It is through this group of disparate women that we enter the world of the story and observe most of the events of the dramatic journey.
As the story unfolds, each protagonist must deal in some way with loss: the end of a marriage (Lane), the death of parents (Matilde), the erosion of a meaningful life (Virginia). Each finds herself isolated from those she loves and faced with the task of redefining herself and making new connections. It is the collective quest for new connections that drives most of the dramatic action and makes the play happen.
In act one, the characters of Charles and Ana appear briefly in an imagining in Lane’s mind, but they do not enter the play as flesh-and-blood characters until act two. For the first half of the play, therefore, the focus is almost exclusively on Lane, Matilde, and Virginia and how they relate across class lines. In act two, life becomes more complicated with the appearance of Charles and Ana and the impact of their love on Lane’s marriage, Matilde’s future, and Virginia’s relationship with her sister.
We access the world of the story through all five characters objectively and subjectively. Our objective view is confined mostly to the white living room of Lane’s house and to a lesser degree the balcony of Ana’s seaside home. Though Lane is a successful doctor who works at an important hospital, we never see her in that context. This restriction emphasizes the thematic importance of the house and all it represents to Lane: achievement, social status, and a happy marriage.
Our access to the two main playing areas is unlimited: we can witness any combination of characters there. In the living room, for example, we may see Virginia and Matilde making a secret pact (act one, scene 7) or Ana and Matilde negotiating Ana’s death by laughter (act two, scene 12). As a result, we know more than some characters do at certain points in the story. The objective view also includes glimpses of other places, such as the hospital where Charles falls in love with his patient Ana and the Alaskan wilderness he later traverses in search of a yew tree.
A key limitation imposed by the objective view is our inability to hear the perfect joke that Matilde uses to kill Ana. As Matilde whispers the deadly joke into her ear, we hear only sublime music and see a subtitle that reads “The funniest joke in the world.” We then witness the joke’s impact: Ana laughing intensely and dying. By preventing us from hearing the joke, Ruhl frees us from evaluating its humor—we may or may not have found the joke funny—and enables us simply to accept it as a powerful force in the world of the story. Many in an American audience are likewise excluded from understanding Matilde’s other jokes, which are told in Portuguese. As a result, our focus is not on the jokes’ quality but on the fact that something funny is happening.
Our subjective view of the characters enables us at certain times to hear their true thoughts and feelings without the other characters listening. This private vantage point gives us a greater opportunity to learn who each of them really is. In the case of Matilde and Lane, we also have opportunities to watch their minds at work, as in act one, scene 6, when we see what Matilde imagines: her parents dancing and kissing in the Brazilian village where she grew up.
Literal access to characters’ minds is, however, selective and limited. We never hear or observe Matilde’s imagination when she is trying to think up jokes. Nor are we privy to Lane’s inner world when she is thinking about anything other than Charles and Ana making love. At no time do we literally enter the imaginations of Virginia, Ana, or Charles.
ANALYZING YOUR STORY
Define the dramatic focus of your story.
CHARACTER FOCUS
• Your story may center on the dramatic journey of one main character or more. Whose story is it? Identify your protagonist(s).
• After the protagonist, who is the most important character in the story?
• Onstage or off, what is the most important relationship between characters? How do you reveal that importance to the audience?
POINT OF VIEW
• Think about the vantage point from which the audience will observe story events. Is this point of view objective (external), subjective (internal), or a combination of the two?
• Whether objective or subjective, an unlimited point of view allows the audience to see any combination of characters onstage. A limited point of view requires that a certain character or characters be present for a scene to occur. How broad or narrow is the point of view now? If limited, who gives the audience access to story events? Why is that character the best choice for the job?
• In what locations will the audience be able to observe dramatic action? During what time periods?
• Does the point of view provide enough access to story events for the audience to understand and participate in what is happening? If not, how can you expand the point of view, and how would that affect the story?
• What important parts of the dramatic journey will the audience not be able to see? Identify any limitations that influence the audience’s experience of the story.
• Are the limitations in point of view sufficient to generate suspense? If not, what other limitations might be imposed? How would they affect the story?
• Do any scenes in the script violate the point of view that you have established? If so, how might you either redefine the point of view or change a scene that doesn’t fit it?
• If we are able to see or hear inside of a character’s mind, whose inner world will we enter? Why that character? How will his or her inner world be presented dramatically?
RULES OF THE GAME
For any dramatic story, the writer needs to understand the nature of the world the characters inhabit and to define the basic operating rules that determine how things usually work here, what is possible under unusual circumstances, and what is never possible under any circumstances. These are the “rules of the game” that cannot be broken by anyone—not even the most rebellious of characters—once the writer has established them.
In a realistic story, the rules of the game simply mirror the laws of nature in the real world. If a cat has been accidentally killed, for example, it cannot be brought back to life (The Lie
utenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh). When dramatic events are rare or technically complicated, the writer may need to do research to ensure that the story’s operating rules have been correctly defined. If a woman has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, for example, the writer may need to understand how the disease affects the body as it progresses (Wit by Margaret Edson).
In a nonrealistic story, special operating rules can be established in addition to, or instead of, the usual laws of nature. These alternative facts of life may make it possible for a man to grow the ears of a jackass (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare), for a woman to stir the souls of her dead ancestors by playing the piano (The Piano Lesson by August Wilson), or for a GI Joe doll to come to life (God’s Ear by Jenny Schwartz). When a world has nonrealistic elements, it is especially important for the writer to know how this world is unique and how its unusual features can affect characters in both positive and negative ways.
■ DOUBT: A PARABLE
Since Doubt is a realistic play, the world of the story operates according to the same laws of nature that govern life in the real world.
■ TOPDOG/UNDERDOG
Though certain story elements are unusual, Topdog/Underdog is grounded in realism. Its world operates according to the same laws of nature that govern life in the real world.
■ THE CLEAN HOUSE
The world of The Clean House differs in many ways from the world outside the theatre. Most of these differences stem from the play’s magic realism, which combines the fantastic and the ordinary. The following are special operating rules integral to the storytelling approach:
• Any character can speak directly to the audience. Example: Matilde tells us a long joke in Portuguese (act one, scene 1).
