by Will Dunne
3. Third emotion. This exercise asks you to fill in three blanks of a character's emotional storyboard: beginning, middle, and end. If Katurian feels horror in the middle and protectiveness in the end, the remaining blank in his emotional storyboard is the beginning. Katurian's primary emotion here is relief which, for him, might be a form of love.
• Storyboard. Fill in the remaining blank in your character's emotional storyboard by identifying the emotion that your character feels here. If this feeling were a form of fear, anger, or love, which would it be?
• Stimulus. When the scene begins, Katurian and Michal are reunited in a cell while the police go elsewhere. This gives Katurian the chance to confront his worst fear: he asks Michal to swear that he did not kill any children. Michal obliges by swearing that he did not. This response is the cause of Katurian's relief. It will be undone later when Katurian learns the truth. Identify the stimulus for your character's third emotion.
• Behavioral impact. Katurian's relief fosters the hope that he and Michal can still find a way out of this bad situation. This hope, in turn, leads to a plan which begins with Katurian's instruction to Michal to not sign any papers. Briefly identify at least one way that your character's third emotion will affect his or her behavior.
Among the different feelings he experiences in the scene, Katurian moves from relief in the beginning, to horror in the middle, to protectiveness in the end. This sequence suggests an emotional arc which reveals that Katurian is under incredible stress, that in spite of his macabre stories his moral compass is still intact, and that he loves and understands his brother. Think about the emotional arc that you found for your character in your scene. What does this arc reveal to you now about your character?
EMOTIONAL STORYBOARD OF CHARACTER 2
Now focus on the emotional arc of the second most important character in the scene-for example, Michal. If there are more than two characters in your scene, and if it feels appropriate, you can try this exercise with the other characters as well.
I. Primary emotion. In a strong contrast to Katurian's primary emotion of horror, Michal's primary emotion in the scene is amusement, which, for him, might be a form of love. What is the primary emotion that your second character feels in the scene? If this feeling were a form of fear, anger, or love, which would it be?
• Storyboard. Michal's amusement occurs mostly in the beginning of the scene. In which part of your scene-beginning, middle, or enddoes your character most feel the primary emotion?
• Stimulus. What triggers Michal's amusement is the reunion with his brother after being separated, and the sight of Katurian hugging his leg. Michal's amusement also stems from his childlike view of the world. Here he is a murder suspect being imprisoned in a totalitarian state by sadistic police, and his main concern is that they put lettuce on his ham sandwich. What is the stimulus for your character's primary emotion?
• Behavioral impact. One effect of Michal's amusement is the desire to play a trick on his brother. This is why Michal at first denies being the child killer. What is an important behavioral effect of your character's primary emotion?
2. Second Emotion. Michal's second most important emotion is anger, which, for him, might be a form of fear. What is your character's second most important emotion in the scene and might this be a form of fear, anger, or love?
• Storyboard. Michal's anger occurs mostly in the middle of the scene. In which part of your scene-beginning, middle, or end-does your character most feel the second emotion?
• Stimulus. When Katurian learns the truth, he smashes Michal's head against the stone floor of the cell. More than the physical pain, the realization that his brother would turn against him-and possibly leave him-is what triggers Michal's anger. What is one important cause of your character's second emotion?
• Behavioral impact. One effect of Michal's anger is to attack Katurian where it hurts most: Michal says that Katurian is not only mean like their vicious parents, but also a bad writer. What is an important effect of your character's second emotion?
3. Third Emotion. Michal is amused in the beginning of the scene and angry in the middle. The remaining blank in his emotional storyboard is the end. Here Michal feels contentment, which, for him, might be a form of love.
• Storyboard. Fill in the remaining blank in your character's emotional storyboard by identifying the emotion that your character feels here. If this feeling were a form of fear, anger, or love, which would it be?
• Stimulus. The cause of Michal's contentment is the story that his brother is telling him. It's written by Katurian and one of Michal's favorites: "The Little Green Pig." What is the stimulus for your character's third emotion?
• Behavioral impact. One effect of Michal's contentment is that, oblivious to his hopeless situation, he falls asleep like a child listening to a bedtime story. This enables Katurian to save him from the police by smothering him to death with a pillow. What is an important effect of your character's third emotion?
Michal moves from amusement in the beginning of the scene, to anger in the middle, to contentment in the end. This emotional arc reveals him as one who has limited ways of understanding the world, is not fully responsible for his actions, and loves his brother. What does your second character's emotional arc reveal to you now?
COMBINING THE TWO EMOTIONAL STORYBOARDS
If the McDonagh scene were broken down into a simple emotional storyboard with three parts, it might show the following:
i. In the beginning, Katurian is relieved and Michal is amused. After the trials of act i, life for the two brothers now seems to be looking up. As a focusing exercise, this part might be subtitled "A Light at the End of the Tunnel."
2. In the middle, Katurian is wracked with horror and Michal is having a tantrum. In contrast to the first part, things have taken a dramatic turn for the worse. This section might be subtitled "The Horrible Truth."
3. In the end, Katurian feels protective and Michal feels content. Their turmoil has now settled into a final resolution as the brothers return to their traditional roles with each other. This part might be called "Goodnight, Sweet Prince."
In effect, the emotional lives of the characters both create-and evolve from-the scene's throughline. Look at how the emotional arcs of your characters connect and don't connect as they move from the beginning, to the middle, to the end of your scene. Think about the throughline that this suggests. As a focusing exercise, write a telling subtitle for each of the scene's three parts. Then write the scene.
WRAP-UP
Great dramatic works are often filled with provocative ideas-they make us think-yet great dramatic works are not primarily intellectual in nature. They are woven from human emotion and designed to create experience: to make us feel. It is through our emotional responses that we discover the intellectual content of the story. A key to stirring these responses in the audience later is to make character emotion an integral and organic part of scene development now.
THE QUICK VERSION
Do an in-depth sense study of a scene
BEST TIME FOR THIS
During scene planning, writing, or revision
DRAMA AS SENSORY EXPERIENCE
In a play or film, we literally see and hear the story. Our senses of sight and hearing are active. In some cases, other senses are stirred as well-even if only in our minds. Through sense memory and emotional involvement with the characters, we may smell, taste, or feel what's happening in a scene. Whether it is real or vicarious, sense experience is a powerful component of any dramatic scene and, like most other components, can be shaped and composed to heighten the story's impact.
ABOUT THE EXERCISE
Use this exercise to plan a new scene or revise an old one by exploring the setting, characters, and dramatic action viscerally. For best results, you need to decide who is in the scene and have at least a rough idea of what will happen. Even if your decisions later change, they will give you a starting point for an in-depth sense
study.
Exercise examples are based on an interpretation of the opening scene of Sarah Kane's visceral play Blasted, which explores the relationship between a rape in a hotel room and the destruction of a city during war. Character i in this scene is Ian, a middle-aged man from Wales who works as hack reporter for a tabloid newspaper. Ian is a cancer-riddled cynic who has already lost one lung, and is smoking and drinking himself to death. Character 2 is Cate, in her twenties, an innocent lower-middle-class woman from South London who stutters under stress and is subject to epileptic seizures. She is unemployed and lives with her mother. Their relationship: Ian and Cate were once lovers. This is the first time they've been alone since he ditched her without an explanation. What happens in the scene: Ian tries unsuccessfully to seduce Cate.
SKETCHING OUT THE SCENIC CONTEXT
To pave the way for your sense study, think about your scene and briefly identify the following:
I. Given circumstances. In the world of Blasted, a number of given circumstances are at work when the opening scene begins:
• Ian's miserable health and cynicism have left him feeling depressed, lonely, and sexually frustrated. This circumstance contributes to why he has suddenly invited Cate to a hotel and now wants to seduce her.
• Cate agreed to meet Ian because he sounded so happy and because she is by nature a caretaker. However, she no longer loves him. This fact will fuel her resistance to his sexual advances and later put her in danger.
Think about how the past affects the present. Identify a few of the most important given circumstances for your scene. Try to see how each circumstance will be relevant to the scenic action-for example, how it might affect character objectives, problems, motivations, or strategies.
2. Setting. The play Blasted takes place in one setting: a hotel room which will undergo significant changes when, in scene 3, a bomb from the street demolishes the premises. For now, it is simply an expensive hotel room in the city of Leeds. Briefly define the setting for your scene. Ideally, this is a place which-because of what it is and how it is-will help you show, not tell, your story.
3. Time. Scene i of Blasted takes place in the evening. It is springtime just before a civil war. Briefly describe when your scene takes place.
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
We typically receive most of our information about the world through sight. Imagine your scene unfolding as a visual experience. Use what you see in your mind's eye to create the following portraits:
i. Still life. Imagine that, if you could freeze your scene at any time and study any of its visual details, you would find an interesting still-life image that reveals something important about what's going on. It's a "still life" because it focuses on things, not characters. In the opening of Blasted, for example, one might find a still life of roses perfectly arranged in a crystal glass vase on a table. Next to the vase is a bottle of gin from a hotel minibar and a pile of tabloid newspapers with salacious headlines, such as "British Tourist Slaughtered in Sick Murder Ritual." For this scene of sleazy seduction, a still life of roses, gin, and tabloids might be titled "Tools of the Trade." For your scene, find one telling still life from any time in the dramatic action. Describe the image and give it a title that adds meaning.
2. Portrait of Character I. Imagine next that you could freeze your scene at any time to find a portrait image of your Character I. It is a "portrait" because it paints a telling picture of who this character is. A portrait of Ian from the scene might show him with a glass of gin in his hand staring out the window of the hotel room. His face and posture suggest one who has given up on himself. Only his eyes still seem alive. They are burning with hatred and disgust because he despises what he sees outside. This portrait might be titled "I Hate the World." As you continue to explore your scene visually, find a telling portrait of your Character i from any time in the scene. Describe the image and give it a title.
3. Portrait of Character 2. A portrait of Cate from the same scene would be quite different from that of Ian. She is a young woman, full of life, bouncing up and down on a big bed. Her face is lit up with joy as if she has never seen a bed like this before. She is giggling and having a wonderful time. This portrait might be titled "Joy Is an Island." As you continue to explore your scene visually, find a telling portrait of your Character 2 from any time in the scene. Describe the image and give it a title.
4. Double Portrait. A portrait of two characters can reveal something interesting about not only each character but also their relationship. A double portrait of Ian and Cate might show him standing at the bathroom door with only a white towel wrapped around his waist. He is holding a revolver at his side and looking at Cate. She is sitting on the edge of the bed sucking her thumb and looking uncertainly at the gun. This double portrait might be titled "Ian and Cate Suddenly See Each Other." Find a telling portrait of your Characters i and 2 at any time in the scene. Whether they are interacting or each in his or her own world, they are both in the same image. Describe it and give it a title.
WHAT DO YOU HEAR?
Most places are full of sounds. Some come from the place itself and the people who occupy it; some come from the world beyond. In the opening of Blasted, we might hear such sounds as traffic from the street outside, the glug-glug-glug of gin pouring out of a bottle, the gulping down of the gin, the ringing of the telephone, the running of the bathroom shower, terrible coughing and spitting, the pop of a champagne cork, a knock at the door, the thud of Cate's body hitting the carpet in an epileptic faint, the sound of spring rain. Other than the voices of the characters speaking, what might you hear in your scene? Listen for sounds near and far, loud and quiet, and identify them.
To explore the dramatic potential of sound in more detail, try "The Voice of the Setting" later in this guide.
WHAT DO YOU SMELL?
If you could smell the opening of Blasted, two aromas would stand out. One is pleasant: a perfume from the flowers so delightful that it brings a smile to Cate's face as she sniffs the bouquet. The other smell is unpleasant: the odor of Ian's body, which is strong and vile because of the toxins he excretes through his ever-sweating pores-even after he takes a shower. He cannot escape his own stink. In your scene, are there any smells-pleasant or unpleasant-coming from the characters, the setting, or the world beyond? See if you can find at least one or two interesting smells here.
WHAT DO YOU TASTE?
In Blasted, the dominant taste is that of gin. In fact, so much gin is tasted in the scene that Ian has to call room service and order more. Other tastes include the sweetness of champagne, the hearty flavor of ham and cheese sandwiches, the rancid taste of phlegm, the salty taste of skin, the burnt flavor of tobacco, the bitter, stale taste of old cigarettes and gin from Ian's mouth when he tries to kiss Cate. In your scene, are there any tastespleasant or unpleasant-that we might experience through the characters? See if you can find at least one or two interesting tastes here.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL?
Through the sense of touch, we can experience tangible sensations, such as texture and surface temperature, and atmospheric sensations, such as area temperature and moisture. In Blasted, there is much to experience through touch. When Cate first arrives in the classy hotel room and sees its expensive furnishings, she goes around excitedly touching everything in sight. As the scene progresses, touch experiences include the smooth, soft bedspread, the hot water and steam of a shower, the cold steel of a revolver, the dripping of sweat, the warmth of human flesh, the wetness of a tongue, and the dabbing of cold gin on a warm forehead. For your scene, are there any touches-pleasant or unpleasant-that we might experience through the characters? See if you can identify and describe at least one or two interesting things to touch or feel.
THE SENSE EXPERIENCES THAT MATTER MOST
By exploring your scene viscerally, you have found a number of different sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. Some of these sense experiences matter more than others. In Blasted, the three most dramatically inter
esting sense experiences might be (I) the double portrait: Ian in only a white towel holding a revolver and Cate sucking her thumb and looking uncertainly at the gun; (2) the portrait of Cate bouncing on the bed; and, (3) the bitter, stale taste of tobacco and gin in Ian's kiss.
Identify the three sense experiences that you find most interesting of all, but with one limitation. As an exercise, your choices cannot all be from the same sense category. For example, they cannot all be visual images or all be sounds. At least two different sense categories must be represented. With this limitation in mind, trust your instinct and list the three most interesting sense experiences in your scene.
A DEEPER LOOK AT THE MOST INTERESTING SENSE EXPERIENCES
You may find new character and story ideas by building on your most important sense experiences and thinking about how they might affect us in terms of the following:
i. Conclusions. Sense experience and intellect are intrinsically linked. What we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel triggers thought that leads us to certain conclusions-right or wrong-about ourselves and the world around us. For example, the double portrait of Ian and Cate-him in a towel with a revolver and her on the bed sucking her thumb-might lead us to conclude, "These two people should not be alone together in a hotel room." The portrait of Cate bouncing on the bed might lead to the conclusion "She seems young for her age: innocent and childlike." The taste of Ian's repulsive kiss might lead to the conclusion "This guy is really disgusting." Think about each of your three most important sense experiences from an observer's point of view. For each one, identify a conclusion-right or wrong-that this experience might trigger.
2. Questions. Sense experience can lead us intellectually to questions as well as conclusions. The double portrait of Ian with a revolver and Cate sucking her thumb might stir the question "Is he going to do something bad to her?" The portrait of Cate bouncing on the bed might lead us to ask, "Does she really have any idea what she's gotten herself into?" The taste of Ian's repulsive kiss might make us wonder, "How much uglier will this get?" Think about each of your three most important sense experiences from an observer's point of view. For each, identify an important question that this experience might raise.