ENGLISH – 2nd trimester – Day 24
Number a paper 1 – 21 – more comma practice (for Monday’s test)
· Discuss Chain of Order (MEDIEVAL WORLD VIEW also early Renaissance) and re-examined the balcony scene through this lens
o Discussed content of question 23 from Act 2 packet by discussing the macrocosm and microcosm levels of the Renaissance Worldview chart
· Began working on Act 2 packet – due Monday
ENGLISH homework:
Finish Act 2 packet
Study for Monday’s comma test.
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PLAYWRITING – Day 24
“War is bad” is a nugget/situation, but a good play and a bad play can have the same nugget of an idea. It’s not the quality of the idea that matters most, but rather the quality of the ideas as depicted by THE ACTIONS of the play. The Art & Craft of Playwriting (1996)
In groups of 2 or 3, practice writing through the 4 steps of dramatization (using yesterday’s notes) using the situation/nugget, “War is bad.”
SIDESTEP THE OBVIOUS
One of the most common mistakes aspiring writers make with dialogue is creating a simple back-and-forth exchange. Each line responds directly to the previous line, often repeating a word or phrase (an “echo”).
“Hello, Mary.”
“Hi, Sylvia.”
“My, that’s a wonderful outfit you’re wearing.”
“Outfit? You mean this old thing?”
“Old thing! It looks practically new.”
“It’s not new, but thank you for saying so.”
There are no surprises, and the reader drifts along with little interest. While some direct response is fine, your dialogue will be stronger if you sidestep the obvious:
“Hello, Mary.”
“Sylvia. I didn’t see you.”
“My, that’s a wonderful outfit you’re wearing.”
“I need a drink.”
You can also sidestep with a question:
“Hello, Mary.”
“Sylvia. I didn’t see you.”
“My, that’s a wonderful outfit you’re wearing.”
“Where is he, Sylvia?”
PLAYWRITING homework:
Type up two conversations from your recent script that have obvious exchanges. For each conversation, edit it by sidestepping the obvious.
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