TOOT 4

SCENE, NOT HEARD

What is a scene? Well, technically, a scene is defined by the entrance or exit of a character (those are called 'French scenes,' and if anyone knows why I'd love to know), or by a passage of time or change of setting. (A blackout between scenes may or may not be involved, and the scenes may or may not be numbered. Clear as mud.)

But what is a scene really? Well, to me, a scene is a unit of action which advances or deepens the story in some specific way. It might be 10 seconds long or -- who knows? -- it might be two hours long, but by the end of it we will be palpably further along in the narrative, or have learned something important about the story or about the characters that we didn't know before.

That's why, when I start into a scene (writing it, that is) I ask myself, not 'what will be said in this scene?', not even 'what's this scene about?', but rather 'what's the action of this scene -- what happens in it?' Note that action can be emotional as well as plot-oriented; if over the course of a scene (in the form of a monologue, say), a character has a breakdown or convinces himself everything's going to be okay, or if (with the prompting of a close friend, say) she remembers for the first time some traumatic incident out of the past, that too advances the story or deepens our understanding of it and of the character. In other words, something changes over the course of the scene. We are further ahead by the end of it than when we began.

In this way, one creates forward movement -- crucial, it seems to me, in dramatic writing. A novel may be able to wander off on a philosophical tangent for a chapter or two, but I'm not sure a play can -- not, at least, without losing its audience, either figuratively or literally. A test I like to use at some point in the writing of a play (not necessarily an early draft) is to look at a page at random, and then look at another page 5 or so pages along. If I can't see that the story has advanced in some clear way, I may have a problem.

(Having said that, I'd like to recommend you to Greg Nelson's very good discussion of scene writing at the E-script website, at <http://www.singlelane.com/escript/post2.htm#gn> for a somewhat different perspective -- particularly his comments on 'writing into the corners.' Certainly, one may take a more exploratory approach in early drafts and save the tactical approach till later.)

Note that many of the most interesting and effective scenes are interesting and effective because they travel a great distance before the scene concludes -- some important epiphany occurs, or some life-changing event, or a character who thinks she's home-free at the start of the scene runs into some huge dilemma by the end of it. (Not all scenes have to be that capacious, of course [try doing that in ten seconds!] -- but a few of them can help.)

Another good question to sometimes ask going into a scene is: who is the central character in this scene? It may or may not be the play's overall protagonist -- obviously, occasionally, a scene may be driven by someone else (perhaps the antagonist). Sometimes the main force in the scene changes; it may be one character to begin with, then another takes over partway through. (That's often the case in those scenes that travel a great distance. For instance, a man comes into the scene intending to ask his boss for a raise; he makes his pitch, then the boss tells him that, actually, he's fired.) But I do find that knowing who's pursuing what at the start of the scene is often useful in discovering what that scene's overall action will be -- how it will move the story forward.

Exercise 4:

Write a scene between your protagonist and antagonist. Make one or the other the engine of the scene going in (ie., what they want at the start of the scene drives it), though perhaps that will change over its course. Let this bring them into conflict.

Make sure the story has advanced in some clear way, or our understanding of at least one of the characters has deepened significantly, before the scene is over. Add new characters, if necessary, to do this. Or, if you're feeling ambitious, try to write a scene that both advances the plot and deepens our understanding of the characters.

This can be, but doesn't have to be, a scene that will actually occur in your play.

POST-IT NOTE:

'Plays are puzzles to be solved. You create the puzzle and people all over the world, for hundreds of years, speaking all kinds of languages, have to put the very same puzzle together again. If the play is what they call 'actor proof,' the chances are you will get something that looks pretty much the same -- there is only one way to put that puzzle together.'
- Marsha Norman ('night, Mother, Traveller in the Dark)

To Handout 4