by Will Dunne
Dramatic triangles are dynamic. The role of third party can be played by different characters from scene to scene, or even from moment to moment within a scene. As you develop your script, keep in mind that the relationship between any two characters may be bigger than the both of them. There is almost always someone else present-physically or psychologically. Your awareness of this presence can lead to many new character insights and story ideas.
ABOUT THE EXERCISE
You will need a two-character relationship to explore as a dramatic triangle. If it is an important relationship, it will probably change over the course of the story, so, for the sake of the exercise, you will also need to find a specific point in time to analyze these two characters in relationship to each other. For best results, find an important time between them-for example, in the backstory, or near the beginning or end of an act. Your analysis may later lead to a scene, but, for now, think of this as character exploration more than scene development.
Exercise examples are from Alan Bennett's The History Boys. Character i is Hector, a sixty-something maverick teacher of general studies at an allboys English school. Character 2 is Posner, an eighteen-year-old boy who will soon be taking university admission exams. Their relationship: Posner is Hector's student and also one of the few students in the school that Hector does not find physically attractive. Their relationship will be examined at the end of act i, when, alone in the classroom, they suddenly find themselves in an intense moment of connection which leaves Hector in flight, and Posner in confusion.
To begin, identify your Characters i and 2, the nature of their relationship, and the specific point in time when you will focus on it.
CIRCUMSTANCES RELEVANT TO THE CHARACTER RELATIONSHIP
As The History Boys approaches the end of act I, there have been a number of important developments in the individual lives of Hector and Posnerfor example:
• Hector drives a motorcycle and likes to give rides to his favorite students after school. However, the headmaster recently received a report that Hector had been seen "fiddling" with a student on the back of his bike while they were stopped at a street light. The headmaster has since informed Hector that, to avoid scandal, he must submit his resignation at the end of the term. For Hector, who loves teaching more than anything else, this is akin to a death sentence.
• Posner has recently come to the conclusion that he is gay and has a crush on a fellow student named Dakir, who couldn't care less about him. Posner is now suffering the pangs of unrequited love.
Think about the character relationship you are exploring. What's been going on lately in the lives of the characters outside of this relationship? For each character, identify at least one important fact that could affect how he or she interacts with the other character.
HOW THE TWO CHARACTERS FIT TOGETHER NOW
You might describe your characters' relationship as personal or professional, positive or negative, deep or shallow. You may see it as a relationship with no future, or a long-term commitment with far-reaching effects. Regardless of how you define this connection, it is what either holds the characters together or pushes them apart, and it provides a context for what they do in the story. Use the following questions to flesh out your characters' relationship at this time in the story or backstory:
The relationship between Characters i and 2
i. While Hector often has strong personal feelings about his boys, he has never seen Posner as anything more than one of the crowd. Their relationship has been more academic than personal. Building on what you know about your Characters i and 2, how would you describe their relationship?
2. The last significant experience that Hector and Posner shared was a French lesson where Posner played the singing madam of a brothel-in French-while other boys played prostitutes and johns. For Hector, unusual lessons like this are routine, but for Posner, it was a moment in the sun that boosted his confidence and fueled his desire for more attention from his teachers. This desire has motivated Posner to memorize and recite an extra-long poem for Hector. Written by Thomas Hardy, the poem is called "Drummer Hodge" and it's one of Hector's favorites. What is the last significant experience that your two characters shared either onstage or off? What was one important outcome of this experience for either or both of them?
3. The importance of a relationship between any two characters at any given time is often not equal. One values the relationship more than the other. The relationship between Hector and Posner means much more to Posner, the student, than to Hector, the teacher. This fact will contribute to Posner's need to impress Hector by reciting the Hardy poem perfectly. Which of your two characters places the most importance on their relationship? How might this fact motivate his or her behavior in the story?
Character i in the relationship
i. Different relationships nurture different traits and qualities. One relationship can bring out a character's good side while another brings out the bad side. The teacher-student relationship fosters something noble in Hector: a true desire to instill in others the love of knowledge. Think about how your characters' relationship affects your Character i physically, psychologically, or socially. Identify one important trait or quality that this relationship fosters.
2. Hector likes Posner's singing voice and his ability in class to act out melodramatic scenes from famous movies. What does your Character i like most about your Character 2?
3. Hector doesn't dislike Posner, but tends to ignore him because of the boy's small stature and general lack of charisma. What does your Character i like least about your Character 2?
4. Hector feels disappointed when Posner is present. Hector would rather be alone with one of his pet students. How does your Character i feel about your Character 2 at the time you have chosen? Why does Character i feel this way?
5. Posner doesn't know that Hector is being forced to resign at the end of the term. Identify one important fact about your Character i that the other character does not know at this time. Look for a fact that could affect story action and see if you can discover something new.
Character 2 in the relationship
i. For Posner, the teacher-student relationship brings out his need to please and be liked. Think about how your characters' relationship affects your Character 2 physically, psychologically, or socially. Identify one important trait or quality that this relationship fosters.
2. Posner is emotionally stirred by Hector's love of knowledge for its own sake. What does your Character 2 like most about your Character I?
3. Posner dislikes Hector's disregard of him. Posner is one of the few boys who never gets asked to ride on Hector's motorcycle after school. What does your Character 2 like least about your Character i?
4. Though Posner is a bit of a traitor-he has begun to ally himself with one of Hector's faculty rivals-Posner is still in awe of Hector. The teacher is one of the most unusual and inspiring people that Posner has ever met. How does your Character 2 feel about your Character i at the time you have chosen? Why does Character 2 feel this way?
5. Hector doesn't know that Posner has a crush on his fellow student Dakir and is suffering the pangs of unrequited love. Identify one important fact about Character 2 that Character i does not know at this time. Look for a fact that will affect story action and see if you can discover something new.
THE RELATIONSHIP AS A DRAMATIC TRIANGLE
As act i of The History Boys nears an end, the relationship between Hector and Posner is influenced by a third party, who, in this case, is not a real person but a fictional one: the subject of the Thomas Hardy poem that Posner recites and that Hector uses to teach a lesson. In effect, the third party in their dramatic triangle is Drummer Hodge, an unknown drummer boy who dies as a casualty of war and is buried without ceremony in a foreign land. Both Hector and Posner relate to this boy in a way that will deepen their relationship to each other-though only for a moment.
Think about your characters' relationship as a dramatic triang
le. If your Character i is one point of the triangle, and Character 2 is a second point, who is the third point at the time you have chosen? Identify the third party who will influence your characters' relationship from onstage or off. As you do this, see if you can make any new discoveries about your characters and how they connect or don't connect. Who will influence them most now? Will this character's presence be physical or psychological?
EXPLORING THE DRAMATIC TRIANGLE
If you are focused on only two characters, you have created one relationship to help you make the story happen. By adding just one more character to the mix, even if only an offstage character, the number of relationships-and story opportunities-quadruples. In addition to the relationship between Characters i and 2, there now exists a relationship between Characters i and 3, 2 and 3, and the whole group of I, 2, and 3. Here are some questions to help you flesh out the additional relationships that the dramatic triangle has created:
The relationship between Characters i and 3
i. Since Hector is a teacher and Drummer Hodge is a fictional character in a poem that will be taught, the relationship between them is academic. What is the nature of the relationship between your Characters i and 3? Objectively define it.
2. Hector sees the drummer boy as a symbol of the tragedy and waste of war, and as a metaphor for his own feelings now as he faces the loss of his job. Building on what you know about your characters, how would you subjectively describe the relationship between Characters i and 3?
3. When the subject of the poem "Drummer Hodge" comes up, Hector is enlivened. Hardy is one of his favorite writers. How does your Character i feel about your Character 3? Why does Character i feel this way?
4. The drummer boy will become a important tool for Hector to escape his problems and arouse Posner's thirst for knowledge. How will your Character 3 influence Character I?
The relationship between Characters 2 and 3
i. The relationship between Posner and Drummer Hodge is academic. How would you objectively define the relationship between your Characters 2 and 3?
2. Posner sees the poem about the drummer boy as an opportunity to impress his teacher. Building on what you know about your Characters 2 and 3, how would you subjectively describe their relationship?
3. Posner feels sorry for the drummer boy and curious about his fate in the lonely foreign grave. How does your Character 2 feel about your Character 3? Why does Character 2 feel this way?
4. Posner will recite the poem perfectly and the drummer boy in it will move Posner emotionally: he will become more vulnerable to feelings of being separate and alone, and "not in the swim." How will your Character 3 influence your Character 2?
The group relationship between Characters r, 2, and 3
i. Literally or figuratively, Hector, Posner, and Drummer Hodge are all casualties of war. Hector is embroiled in the school scandal that is threatening to end everything he loves. Posner is suffering from unrequited love. The drummer boy has been killed and buried without even a coffin in a foreign land. What is the strongest common denominator between your three characters?
2. One of the most positive aspects of the relationship between Hector, Posner, and Drummer Hodge is the emotional strength that comes from realizing that human misery is not new or uncommon: others through the ages have suffered similar problems. What is the most positive aspect of the relationship between your three characters?
3. One of the most negative aspects of the relationship between Hector, Posner, and Drummer Hodge is its painfully short life. Like a blinding flash, the warmth and comfort of this relationship will come and go. What is the most negative aspect of the relationship between your three characters?
4. In the dramatic triangle of Hector, Posner, and Drummer Hodge, the closest two characters are Hector and the drummer boy. Hector empathizes and identifies with the fictional boy more than he does with the real-life boy. Of your three characters at the time in the story that you have chosen, which two are the closest?
5. In the dramatic triangle of Hector, Posner, and Drummer Hodge, Hector has the most power. He is the teacher in charge of the classroom and has the most knowledge about the poem. In your dramatic triangle at this time in the story, which of your three characters has the most power?
6. Hector and Posner connect through their individual empathy with the lost drummer boy. This will move Hector to reach out literally to Posner for a type of connection that Posner is not ready to understand or accept. During this offer, the power will shift to Posner, for it will be the student-not the teacher-who decides whether a deeper relationship will develop. In your dramatic triangle, what is the biggest change that occurs-or could occur-between your characters at this time in the story? What does this change reveal about each of your characters?
WRAP-UP
Remember the power of three as you explore character relationships and how they are affected by other characters and story events. Keep in mind, too, that a third party who is not physically present in a dramatic triangle can sometimes be a more potent force than one who is.
THE QUICK VERSION
Use the root action or "spine" of a character to find new story material
BEST TIME FOR THIS
After you are well into the story
ROOT ACTION: THE SPINE OF THE CHARACTER
Dramatic characters tend to be active beings. They do things because they want things, and they cause stories to happen. From a technical point of view, their behavior has two functions: to show us who they really areespecially when they say one thing but do another-and to move the dramatic journey forward. In a great story, these functions have been so seamlessly combined that one rarely occurs without the other: character revelation and story movement go hand in hand.
Dramatic action may include physical tasks, such as rescuing a climber from a ledge of Mount Everest or chasing a smuggler through the streets of San Francisco. More often than not, however, it refers to interpersonal behavior in which one character is trying to affect another character in some important way. This action is dramatic if it is blocked by significant obstacles and driven by high stakes so that the characters must try various and increasingly risky strategies to get what they want.
Through the course of a story, a multidimensional character will act many different ways for many different reasons. Even if some of these actions seem contradictory-and they often do in a great character-they all flow from the same source: the root action or "spine" of the character.
If you look deep enough into the soul of any character, you can find one primal need that broadly defines who the character is and fundamentally drives what he or she does, though not always in obvious ways. By identifying this fountainhead of behavior, you can get a clearer big picture not only of your character, but also of the dramatic journey and what could happen in it.
ABOUT THE EXERCISE
To do this exercise, you need a working sense of your story and the character whom you will explore in more depth. You may wish to try this exercise with each of your principle characters, starting with your main character, and see how they compare and contrast. For best results, build on what you already know about each character.
FINDING THE SPINE OF YOUR CHARACTER
I. Identify important actions. What are the doings of your character? In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the main character George does a number of things. Most involve his slow-witted partner Lennie. For example, George takes away the dead mouse Lennie wants to pet, inspires him with tales about the farm they hope to own one day, tries to teach him how to keep out of trouble at their new job, works to stop a fight between Lennie and the boss's son Curley, and, in the end, after Lennie has accidentally murdered Curley's wife, puts a pistol to the back of Lennie's head and kills him at a peaceful riverside before Curley can exact a vicious revenge.
Think about what your character does in your story and list as many specific actions as you can-up to about a dozen-in whatever order they come to you. Ident
ify each action in a present-tense phrase that starts with a verb. Remember that the focus is not on what the character says or explains, but rather on what the character does. Look for what matters most.
2. Prioritize actions. Look at your list of character doings. Which ones speak loudest to you right now and seem most interesting? Pick five and number them in order of their importance from i to 5, with i meaning most important.
3. Find a connection. These five doings-especially the number i actionare key clues to your character's spine. When viewed together in order of importance, they begin to suggest a common denominator: a basic need of some kind that your character wants to satisfy. If two of the most important actions seem contrary or contradictory, one is pointing to that need while the other is masking it by pointing away. You need to figure out which of the two directions leads to the real need which is actually driving both behaviors.
In Of Mice and Men, George stokes up plans and dreams, gives advice, and solves problems-all for his partner Lennie, who has trouble taking care of himself. What connects these actions is a need to keep Lennie out of trouble so that they can earn enough money to defeat poverty and loneliness, and achieve their dream of owning a farm together. One of George's most important doings is the killing of Lennie at the end of the story-an action that seems contradictory to his earlier efforts to protect Lennie from harm. Yet the story has brought George to a crisis where the shooting is an act not of destruction but of protection. It's George's only way to save Lennie from an angry lynch mob.
Think about the five most important doings of your character and find one specific need that relates directly or indirectly to all of them.
4. Extract one action. You can boil the specific need down to a simple infinitive that describes one action. For example, the analysis of George's need-"to keep Lennie out of trouble so that they can earn enough money to defeat poverty and loneliness, and achieve their dream of owning a farm together"-can be boiled down to the infinitive "to protect." This sums up what George is doing most of the time during the story. It also reflects his overall story objective. What infinitive best sums up what your character is doing most of the time during your story?