Option B: Playwriting (continued)

Lessons Seven to Fifteen: Playwriting

• transform their reflections into
strategies for action (CEL: IL)

• choose to respond in alternative ways (CEL: CCT)

For the remaining lessons, students will write a short radio drama (8 - 12 pages, approximately ).

They may want to continue to develop a drama from the writing they did in the previous exercise or they may begin a new drama. Students may be given the option of handing in their radio plays in script form or on an audio cassette that they have produced from their scripts with the help of their friends or family members. Students may develop alternative ways of responding.

• explore, develop and convey their ideas through drama

Some students may want to use the following as inspiration for their writing:

• a work of visual art
• a piece of popular music
• stories or anecdotes that they have heard someone tell
• characters or situations from stories or films
• a current event
• a past experience.

• demonstrate purposeful use of
language when expressing ideas within the dramatic context

Regarding their own playwrighting, remind students about the following:

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• Remember what they have learned about stasis, intrusions, wants and obstacles. These will give their play conflict.

• Remember that they are now writing a short play and not just a scene. Their play might be all one scene, or it might have several short scenes. Their play should have some sense of beginning and end. It will probably have a plot, which is created by cause and effect actions -- something happens, which causes something else to happen, which causes something else to happen, and so on.

• Remember the elements of theatre form -- focus, tension, contrast and symbol. (See "Dramatic Elements" in the Planning Guide for more information.)

• Remember that dramas are about people. People's actions are what determine their character in the play. Think about what the characters do, and why.

  For example, in Venus Sucked In, why did Liz create this particular painting? What does her action of creating a painting with a woman being sucked screaming into the oyster shell tell us about her character? Why would she hide it? Why does she put off working on her painting so much? What actions were put into the drama to show Liz's, Bev's and Betty's characters?

• Advise the students to imagine themselves as the characters in their plays. Imagine their points of view. (If the students are having trouble understanding their characters, they might begin by writing a diary entry for the character, or a letter to the editor written by the character.)

• Suggest that the students limit the number of characters in the play.

• increase awareness of various structures, presentational styles and staging possibilities

  Suggest that some students might want to think about making themselves the narrator in the play, which allows them the opportunity of explaining things or actions without having to rely only on the dialogue of the characters. Think about the transitions between episodes. These are called "bridges". What will they do to indicate to the listeners that they are moving from one scene to another? For example, will they use narration, a short piece of music or a sound effect?

  • examine the relationship between their own ideas and those of other artists

  In summary, talk briefly about Liz's apparent procrastination about working on her painting. What are some of the causes of Liz's avoidance? If arts expressions are a metaphor for all types of experiences and ideas, then some arts expressions must be painful for artists to think about or construct. If art works sometimes cause artists discomfort when they confront painful memories or thoughts, why would they want to continue? Did any of the students procrastinate when they were working on their radio dramas? Discuss the need for self-discipline and motivation if one is to become a playwright or other artist. Reassure students that self-discipline is a learned skill that comes through practice and experience.