All the World is a Stage

Like fiction, drama features characters caught up in a plot. In fact, some plays have been based on novels, and novels on plays. Yet, whereas the narrator of a novel can spend pages painting a picture of the story’s circumstances for the reader, a play is restricted to the space of the stage and the time frame of a couple of hours. What strategies are available to the playwright to ensure that the play successfully conveys its intended effects and themes?

First off, think about conflict. There is a reason writers put different characters together in a story, and the differences and frictions are the key to understanding the work. To provide the story’s setting, a play requires sets. If you’ve ever been involved with a play, you know that the set can be made up of detailed backdrops, specifically designed props, strategic lighting, and sometimes even background noise. A set, along with the characters’ subtle indications of the scene, can generate a full setting in the audience’s imagination.

In text called Approaching Literature edited by Schakel and Ridl, they argue that “the first questions to ask about a play likely involve the characters” (676). Characters can reveal themselves to readers or reveal information about other characters in very different ways. So this could be by Showing, Saying, Telling (676) and by entering a character’s thoughts by the use of Soliloquy (677), which is like any  Office (the American TV show) character sitting in front of the blinds and talking. If you are an Office person, you get this. It’s an “aside” comment that nobody else can hear and it gives you more info, and smirks.

Another difference between fiction and drama is that usually a play’s plot is primarily forwarded through dialogue and action. Although a novel’s narrator can describe in detail the thoughts and impressions of its characters, a play’s effects depend much more heavily on what the characters say and do. A play is a performance, a spectacle, rather than words on paper. Some plays do include a narrator or a chorus, to introduce the scene or set the tone of the play, but the bulk of the production’s effect is generated through the dialogue and its visual devices, and since the play’s script dictates what the characters will say and often, through stage direction, its production strategies as well, the script is crucial to a successful performance.

As students, think about the advice offered here in terms of reading plays:

• Find the Film: “If at all possible, rent and watch a version of the play you’re reading. Many libraries have collections of recorded stage performances, and it will help you immensely to see the drama performed even if (as is often the case with Shakespeare) it is an abbreviated version. Of course, it goes without saying that if you can see it performed live, by all means do so” (“Reading a Play”)

You can find a good deal on Youtube (clips of various productions), and even full plays on various streaming services. For instance, as of Spring 2021, two plays by August Wilson could be found on Peacock (Fences) and Netflix (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). So it pays to look around. Then, as you read/follow along, keep the remote handy and make notes as you go.

Another point, about directions you’ll generally see italics. THESE ARE A BIG DEAL, as they often provide context for the scene that follows.

• Remember which Characters are on Stage: “It’s easy to skip the stage directions when you read, but resist the temptation. Knowing who is on stage at any given time helps you figure out what characters are aware of at any given time. Also, remember that when only one character is on stage, you’re usually going to get a glimpse of that character’s thoughts and motivations” (“Reading a Play”).

• Beginnings (705): this is usually an in media res circumstance, starting in the middle of a moment in some way. There will be some exposition for sure, but it’s just enough to get you moving into the complication of the play.
• Middles (706): “conflicts, suspense, gaps, foreshadowing.” All the good stuff.
• Endings (706): this is where things get resolved, or not, depending on the play.
• Five Act Plays (706): this plays out in ways not unlike fictional stories. 1) Exposition, where the background is established. 2) Complication, where we get into the conflict of the play. 3) Crisis and climax, where we get to the turning point, and these might happen at two different times, as climax is about the point of greatest emotional response. 4) Reversal is the falling action…change of fortune to main character/protagonist 5) Catastrophe/Resolution/Denouement, where the “final unraveling” is revealed, and which term to use depend on whether the play is a comedy or tragedy.
• Compression (706): this, more or less, has to do with choices the author makes when it comes to time constraints. Think about a long fictional story. Remember how some feel when they go on and on. Playwrights do not have this same luxury,
• Symbols (707): These will “embody an abstract idea” (707). Is the birdcage in Trifles really just a birdcage? You be the judge.
• Contrast (707): Playwrights often draw contrasts between characters as a way to highlight difference. A foil type character will help do this. Think The Office: Michael and Toby, Jim and Dwight, Dwight and Jim. You get the idea.

One-Act Plays

Our friends at wikipedia define one-act plays this way:

 “A one act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. In recent years, the 10-minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writing competitions. The origin of the one-act play may be traced to the very beginning of drama: in ancient Greece, Cyclops, a satyr play by Euripides, is an early example” (“One Act Play”)

So within about 10 to 15 minutes time, there will be characters and they will say things, but the interactions won’t be very deep. You get just enough info to understand broad themes, so keep an eye out for those. In cases like these Stage Directions become even more important.

LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL and REMIXED

• Chapter 6 from Writing and Literature: Composition as Inquiry, Learning, Thinking, and Communication (2018)  by Tanya Long Bennett at https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/english-textbooks/15  License: CC BY: Attribution
• Content from the unpublished Blackboard site of Bryan Hiatt. CC BY: Attribution
• Composition and Literature (2021)-License: CC BY: Attribution