by Will Dunne
Think about the setting for your scene in relation to the given circumstances. As the scene begins, what is an important enduring truth about this place at this time—something that has not changed—and how might this influence the action?
2. Character 1. Palomo still loves his wife, is possessive of her in the factory, and feels jealous of her new sex life. However, he enters the scene with the same lack of sexual interest in her that has kept them emotionally distant for some time. The secret truth is that Palomo is sexually attracted to his wife’s lover. This desire will fuel the intensity with which Palomo will interrogate Conchita about her sex life, and it will be the real reason that he becomes so excited that he makes love with her.
Think about your Character 1 when your scene begins. What is an enduring truth about him or her that will influence the scene, and how might it do so?
3. Character 2. In spite of her infidelity, Conchita still loves Palomo and wishes they could have a happy marriage. These feelings will lead to her brutal honesty in the scene and her willingness to engage in a role play where she makes love with her husband as if he were her and she were Juan Julian. It is ultimately her enduring love of Palomo that enables the characters to make a sexual connection.
Think about your Character 2 when your scene begins. What is an enduring truth about him or her that will influence the scene, and how might it do so?
4. World of the story. Palomo and Conchita live in a world where family is revered and family ties must not be broken. The cigar factory itself is family owned, with Conchita’s father, mother, and half-uncle running it and her sister and husband working in it alongside her. Once a man and woman marry in this world, they are husband and wife for the rest of their lives. Anything that threatens the family unit, therefore, is a problem that must be solved. This enduring truth will influence Palomo and Conchita to confront the fact that their marriage is in jeopardy and find a way to save it.
Think about the world of your story when your scene begins. What is an enduring truth in this world that might influence the scene, and how might it do so?
5. Event. While certain changes may occur during a scene, certain facts will still be true when it draws to a close. As the scene between Palomo and Conchita ends, they are moving to the back room to have sex. The fact remains, however, that they are still trapped in the same factory where each day the handsome Juan Julian will read to them and provide a lingering distraction for both husband and wife. This enduring truth will lead to continuing problems between Palomo and Conchita and contribute to the rising tensions in the factory.
Think about what happens in your scene. What is an important fact that will not be changed by this event, and how might this enduring truth affect future action?
WRAP-UP
Every dramatic scene has a unique set of given circumstances that reflect what’s currently happening in the world of the story. You can learn a lot by fleshing out these roots of action, with a focus on what has changed and not changed in the lives of your characters at this particular time in the story. Such factors often explain character thoughts, feelings, and needs as a scene begins and thus contribute in important ways to the dramatic event that takes place.
Related tools in The Dramatic Writer’s Companion. To continue exploring the given circumstances for a scene, go to the “Causing a Scene” section and try “The Roots of Action.”
THE PAST BARGES IN
THE QUICK VERSION
Explore how the past affects the present
BEST TIME FOR THIS
During scene planning
THE POWER OF THE PAST
Drama is a storytelling art that focuses on the here and now of the characters. We watch what happens and make inferences about what we have observed. Most characters come to their stories, however, with a lot of baggage from the past: personal experiences that have affected them in lasting ways. Some of these experiences may need to be revealed during the story so we can better understand what’s happening. Sometimes revelations about the past can be major turning points, as in John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable when a teaching nun at a Catholic elementary school informs the principal that one of her eighth-graders had alcohol on his breath when he returned to her classroom after a meeting with the parish priest.
When writers are unable to master the power of the past, they have to find excuses to drag it into the present so that everything else comes to a stop while the audience listens to what happened back then. These explanations often come in the form of memories, dreams, readings of diaries and letters, interviews, news bulletins, and whatever other devices the writer can find to insert information into the story.
A key challenge of the dramatic writer is to figure out how not to drag the weight of the past into the present but rather to force the past to barge in on the present—like an intruder who shows up at the door and demands attention. This is the kind of past that cannot wait and cannot be still. It is a woman who was abused by an adult neighbor when she was twelve years old (Blackbird by David Harrower). It is a married couple whose young son has died after a drowning accident (God’s Ear by Jenny Schwartz). It is a man who had an affair with his best friend’s wife (Betrayal by Harold Pinter).
ABOUT THE EXERCISE
Use this exercise to explore the backstory of two important characters and how it might influence the dramatic action of a scene. “Backstory” refers to what has happened in the lives of the characters prior to the scene. Whether the events of the past were positive or negative, and whether they occurred recently or long ago, they become important if they affect character behavior here and now.
Examples are from Fences by August Wilson. Recipient of the 1987 Tony Award for Best Play and Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the play is set in the 1950s and is one of ten plays by Wilson exploring the African American experience in the twentieth century. Fences was later made into a 2016 film from the screenplay he wrote before his death in 2005. The film earned him a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay.
The exercise focuses on act 1, scene 3, of the play. Character 1—who drives most of the action and makes the scene happen—is Troy Maxson, a fifty-three-year-old married black ex-con who now works as a garbage collector in a big city. Character 2 is Cory Maxon, age seventeen, a high school student who is being actively recruited for a college football scholarship. Their relationship: father and son. The main event of the scene: Troy tries to convince his son to give up football so he can meet his responsibilities at home, at school, and at work.
To prepare for the exercise, choose a scene you wish to develop, identify the two most important characters—Characters 1 and 2—and define their relationship. Then sum up the main event of the scene as you see it now: what happens overall.
■ SCENIC CONTEXT
Define the context for the dramatic action.
1. Setting. Wilson’s scene takes place in the small dirt yard of “an ancient two-story brick house set back off a small alley in a big-city neighborhood.” Define the setting for your scene.
2. Time. The action occurs on a Saturday afternoon in 1957 after Cory returns home from football practice. Much to his father’s consternation, Cory ran out early that morning without doing his household chores. Define when your scene occurs.
■ HOW THE PAST AFFECTS CHARACTER 1
Fences is a story in which the past keeps barging in on the present. The fences that Troy builds between himself and the rest of the world grow out of a hard life that included an abusive father, fifteen years in prison for robbery and murder, and the loss of his dreams. A key experience from this past is Troy’s former baseball career. Though an accomplished player with a stellar batting average, he was rejected from the major leagues because of his race. This experience is important dramatically because it changed Troy’s life, and it is relevant to scene 3 because it fuels his need to discourage his son’s dream of professional football.
Think about your Character 1’s backstory
in relation to the scene you are developing. Look for past experiences that could influence the character’s thoughts, feelings, or behavior in the present. Identify the fact from the past that feels most important and relevant to your scene—even if this fact is not revealed at this time in the story.
1. Positive impact. Troy’s whole life has been scarred by the racism that led to his rejection from professional baseball. However, just as every cloud has a silver lining, even the worst experience can have positive outcomes. For example, the rejection that Troy suffered has made him a stronger and more responsible man, determined to protect himself and his family. Think about your Character 1’s backstory fact. What is an example of its positive impact?
2. Negative impact. Troy’s rejection has also affected him negatively. He has become bitter and resentful because of it. He also tends to live in the past and to disregard any social changes that have taken place since. Think again about your Character 1’s backstory fact. What is an example of its negative impact?
3. Impact on self-perception. Troy’s rejection in the past affects how he perceives himself in the present. Because of his failure to realize his greatest dream, Troy now sees himself as a pragmatist with his feet on the ground and the weight of the world on his back. How might your Character 1’s backstory fact affect his or her self-perception at this time in your story?
4. Perception of other character. Because of his rejection from professional baseball, Troy sees his son as another potential victim of racism who will suffer a broken heart if he tries to follow his dream of playing professional football. How might your Character 1’s backstory fact affect his or her perception of Character 2 during your scene?
5. Impact on feeling. Troy’s rejection long ago influences how he feels here and now. Physically, he’s keyed up for battle as he tries to command his son to do as his says. Emotionally, he feels enraged and anxious. How might your Character 1 be affected physically or emotionally during your scene as a result of what happened in the past?
6. Impact on need. Troy’s rejection directly affects what he wants here and now: to convince Cory to quit the football team so that he can avoid the type of emotional pain that Troy suffered. Whether directly or indirectly, how might your Character 1’s backstory fact influence his or her scenic objective?
7. Impact on behavior. Troy’s rejection also affects what he does here and now. At different times in the scene, he demands Cory’s respect and obedience, scares him into doing what he wants, scolds him for being irresponsible, mocks him for questioning his father’s love and loyalty, justifies his own actions by flaunting his sense of duty to his family, and berates his son for not living up to his personal responsibilities. Identify at least three examples of how your Character 1’s backstory fact might affect his or her actions during your scene. Look for strong verbs, such as demands, scares, scolds, mocks, justifies, and berates.
8. The past barges in. Sometimes a character is influenced more by what happened in the past than by what is happening now. When this occurs, the past has barged in. It has forced its way into the present to affect the character a certain way—for example, to shape the character’s perceptions and feelings, motivate an objective, or trigger certain behavior. Troy’s rejection by the major leagues is a subject that is not dragged in arbitrarily as a topic of discussion while a father and son build a fence. Rather, it is a fact from the past that barges in and demands attention. Troy has to bring up the loss of his own dream in order to convince his son to avoid the same kind of heartbreak. Sum up your exploration of Character 1’s backstory fact by describing how and why it will barge into the present of your scene and demand attention.
■ HOW THE PAST AFFECTS CHARACTER 2
Cory’s past is dominated by the fact that he has been raised by Troy in the way Troy was raised by his father: in an often cold, abusive way. This upbringing has created a brooding feeling in Cory that his father doesn’t like him. It has also driven him to the football team, where he has performed so well that he recently received the offer of a college football scholarship. This opportunity is important dramatically because it has aroused a dream of becoming a professional football player, and it is relevant to scene 3 because it fuels his need to get his father’s signature on the scholarship papers.
Think about your Character 2’s backstory in relation to the scene you are developing. Identify the fact from the past that feels most important and relevant to your scene.
1. Positive impact. The offer of a football scholarship has had a strong positive impact on Cory. It has given him hope for a better future. Think about your Character 2’s backstory fact. What is an example of its positive impact?
2. Negative impact. The offer of a football scholarship also has had a downside. Cory has neglected his responsibilities: his schoolwork, his household chores, and his after-school job. This has put him in a precarious position with his father. Think again about your Character 2’s backstory fact. What is an example of its negative impact?
3. Impact on self-perception. Cory’s big chance affects how he perceives himself during the scene. Receiving positive reinforcement outside of home has boosted his self-esteem: he’s not as bad or as weak as his father has led him to believe. How might your Character 2’s backstory fact affect his or her self-perception during your scene?
4. Perception of other character. As a result of Cory’s scholarship offer, he sees his father as a growing threat to his dreams and his future. This turns out to be a perceptive insight, since his father will later go to the coach and have Cory removed from the team. How might your Character 2’s backstory fact affect his or her perception of Character 1 during your scene?
5. Impact on feeling. The opportunity of a football scholarship has made Cory feel anxious. He has never wanted anything so much, and the possibility of losing it is devastating. How might your Character 2 be affected physically or emotionally during the scene as a result of what happened in the past?
6. Impact on need. Cory’s opportunity directly affects what he wants in the scene: to get his father’s blessing for the football scholarship. This need has become urgent since a recruiter will be here soon from a North Carolina college with paperwork that his father must sign. Whether directly or indirectly, how might your Character 2’s backstory fact influence his or her scenic objective?
7. Impact on behavior. Cory’s opportunity also affects what he does in the scene. At different times, for example, he pleases his father by being obedient, persuades his father to buy a television so he can watch football, challenges his father’s negativity, celebrates how the sports world has changed, prods his father into signing the scholarship papers, and figuratively stabs his father in the heart by making him feel rotten (“why ain’t you never liked me?”). Identify at least three examples of how your Character 2’s backstory fact might affect his or her actions during your scene. Look again for strong verbs, such as pleases, persuades, challenges, celebrates, prods, and stabs.
8. The past barges in. The offer of a football scholarship is a fact from the recent past that is not dragged into scene 3 arbitrarily. It is the reason for scene 3. It barges in on the building of a fence and demands that both son and father deal with it. For Cory, the scholarship is a goal to be won. For Troy, it is a problem to be resisted. Sum up your exploration of Character 2’s backstory fact by describing how and why it will barge into the present of your scene.
WRAP-UP
The secret of a great story is a great backstory that is rarely explained but often implied.
As you develop your script, keep exploring the past experiences of your characters to help you understand who they really are, what they bring to each scene, and why they may feel compelled to act in certain ways under the rising pressure of dramatic events.
Related tools in The Dramatic Writer’s Companion. To dig deeper into a character’s backstory, go to the “Developing Your Character” section and try “Into the Past.” To explore scenic elements that may reflect pas
t experiences, go to the “Causing a Scene” section and try “Basic Scene Starter.”
LEVELS OF DESIRE
THE QUICK VERSION
Explore character objectives at three levels: story, scene, and beat
BEST TIME FOR THIS
During scene planning, writing, or revision
WHY CHARACTERS ACT: THEY WANT SOMETHING
In drama, desire operates on three levels: story, scene, and beat. Knowing character wants at each level can help you understand who characters are and how they will behave at any given time.
At the story level, a character typically has a burning desire that is difficult to fulfill. Whether it is a man’s desire to be a television wrestling star (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz) or a woman’s need to break free of the economic and social ties that bind her (A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen), this superobjective tends to be aroused early in the story and not get achieved, if at all, until the end. Though it may not always be top of mind, the superobjective underlies most of what the character says and does. It’s what makes the story happen.
