Character, Scene, and Story
Page 15
To prepare for the exercise, choose a scene you wish to develop that consists of two or more French scenes. Identify the characters who populate the scene and define their relationships. Then sum up the main event of the scene: what happens overall.
■ SCENIC CONTEXT
Define the context for the dramatic action.
1. Setting. Ruhl’s scene takes place in Connecticut in the all-white living room of a house owned by married doctors Lane and Charles. Define the setting for your scene.
2. Time. The action begins in the middle of the afternoon on a day when Lane would normally be at the hospital. Define when your scene takes place.
3. Given circumstances. Lane’s maid, Matilde, stopped cleaning the house because it made her sad. She would rather think up jokes and be a comedian. Lane’s sister, Virginia, came to Matilde’s rescue two weeks ago and has been cleaning the house for her without Lane’s knowledge. Think about what’s happening in the world of your story when your scene begins. Identify any physical, psychological, social, economic, political, or spiritual circumstances that could affect the dramatic action.
■ FRENCH SCENE 1
The first French scene begins with certain characters doing something, routine or unusual, that is in some way important to the story.
1. Who’s doing what. Virginia is ironing the clothing of her sister, Lane, and her brother-in-law, Charles. Matilde is watching her while thinking up a joke. Identify who is present when your scene begins, and describe what each is doing.
2. Why here now. Virginia is here now because her sister is at work and thus won’t see her doing Matilde’s job. Matilde is here now because this is where she lives and because she enjoys Virginia’s company. Why is each character here now?
3. Mood. As Matilde watches Virginia iron, the mood is friendly. What is the emotional atmosphere when your scene begins?
4. What happens. The event of this first French scene is a discovery: Virginia and Matilde find red women’s underwear in the laundry and conclude that it belongs to someone other than Lane. Large or small, what event occurs in your French scene 1?
5. What’s revealed. As the two women react to the strange underwear, we see that Virginia is worried about her sister’s marriage and that Matilde relishes a good scandal. What does your French scene reveal about each character?
6. Dramatic function. This French scene foreshadows the news of Charles’s infidelity and shows that the conspiratorial pact between Matilde and Virginia has deepened. What is the dramatic function of your French scene 1?
■ FRENCH SCENE 2
The second French scene begins when someone new arrives or when someone who was here leaves. A different combination of characters is now present.
1. Who’s doing what. A new French scene begins when Lane unexpectedly arrives home. As she enters, Virginia hides the red underwear and rushes to the couch as if she had not been ironing. Matilide rushes to the ironing board as if she had. Identify who is present when your French scene 2 begins, and describe what each is doing now.
2. Why the entrance or exit. Lane is here now because this is where she lives and because she was too upset to stay at work. She did not appear in the first French scene because she was still en route from the hospital. If someone new just entered your scene, explain why the character is here now and why the character did not appear in the previous French scene. Or if someone just left, explain why.
3. Mood. As the three women suddenly find themselves in the same room, the mood grows tense. What is the emotional atmosphere when your French scene 2 begins?
4. What happens. The event of this French scene is a revelation: Lane announces that she is going to shoot herself. Large or small, what event occurs in your French scene?
5. What’s revealed. Lane’s announcement shows that she is extremely upset and that neither Virginia nor Matilde know how to respond. These dynamics also reveal how dysfunctional Lane’s relationships have become with everyone around her. What does your French scene reveal about each character?
6. Dramatic function. This French scene foreshadows that Lane has bad news, raises concerns about her mental health, and escalates the tension between her and the rest of the world. What is the dramatic function of your French scene 2?
■ FRENCH SCENE 3
If your scene includes a third French scene, it begins with another character entrance or exit so that the combination of characters changes again.
1. Who’s doing what. The third French scene begins after Lane exits to the kitchen. Matilde begins to iron underwear, as if she had been doing this all along. Virginia compulsively stands and sits, stands and sits. Identify who is present when your French scene 3 begins, and describe what each is doing now.
2. Why the entrance or exit. Lane left the living room because she was too upset to remain in the presence of others. If someone new just entered your scene, explain why the character is here now and why the character did not appear in the previous French scene. Or if someone just left, explain why.
3. Mood. Though Matilde and Virginia are alone again, the mood has grown even more tense. What is the emotional atmosphere when your French scene 3 begins?
4. What happens. The event of this French scene is a physical action: Virginia compulsively rearranges the objects on Lane’s coffee table. Large or small, what event occurs in your French scene?
5. What’s revealed. Virginia’s rearrangement of objects shows how she uses obsessive-compulsive housecleaning to deny problems. Matilde’s rush to the ironing board shows that even though she hates housework, she doesn’t want to lose her job. What does your French scene reveal about each character?
6. Dramatic function. This French scene reinforces Virginia’s neurotic personality and sets the stage for Lane’s discovery in the next French scene of who has really been cleaning her house. What is the dramatic function of your French scene 3?
■ ANY ADDITIONAL FRENCH SCENE(S)
If your scene has a fourth French scene, it begins with another character entrance or exit. This is true for any additional French scenes that may follow. If your scene has more than four French scenes, repeat the following set of questions as needed.
1. Who’s doing what. The fourth French scene begins when Lane returns from the kitchen with a bloody towel over her wrist. Matilde and Virginia stare at her in horror. Who is present when your new French scene begins? What is each one doing now?
2. Why the entrance or exit. Lane has returned to the living room because she was afraid of what she might do if she remained alone. She did not appear in the previous French scene because she was in the kitchen cutting her wrist. If someone new just entered your scene, explain why the character is here now and why the character did not appear in the previous French scene. Or if someone just left, explain why.
3. Mood. The sight of Lane’s blood has now raised tension in the room to the level of crisis. What is the emotional atmosphere when your new French scene begins?
4. What happens. This French scene centers on Lane’s nervous breakdown, which includes evidence of a botched suicide attempt, her revelation about her husband’s infidelity, her realization that Virginia has been secretly cleaning her house, and her decision to fire Matilde. Large or small, what event occurs in your new French scene?
5. What’s revealed. Lane’s bloodied wrist and news of her failed marriage reveal how messy her life has become after years of striving for impossible perfection. Virginia’s reaction to the crisis shows how much she cares for her sister but also how much Lane resists her help. Matilde’s silent relegation to the ironing board shows that in Lane’s eyes she is still only a maid. This is reinforced when Lane fires her for not doing her job. What does your new French scene reveal about each character?
6. Dramatic function. This new French scene introduces a major turning point for all three women, reveals the depth of Lane’s distress and denial, escalates the conflict between her and the other women, and opens the door to the new territory of act
2. What is the dramatic function of your new French scene?
■ MAIN EVENT
The main event of Ruhl’s scene is Lane’s breakdown, which consists of slitting her wrist, screaming at her sister, and firing her maid. This outcome is triggered by her discovery of her husband’s infidelity earlier but is fueled by the odd behavior of the other women now. Their behavior is due, in turn, to the strange underwear in the laundry (French scene 1) and Lane’s unexpected arrival home (French scene 2). Lane’s breakdown is further fueled by Virginia’s compulsive rearrangement of the coffee table (French scene 3), which leads Lane to realize that her sister and maid have also betrayed her (French scene 4). How do your French scenes work together to produce the main event of your scene?
WRAP-UP
French scenes offer the opportunity to present different combinations of characters in the same setting and to show how their individual presence or absence can affect the dynamics of the whole scene. For best results, try to motivate each character entrance or exit with an emotional need rather than a utilitarian one, such as leaving to get another cup of coffee from the kitchen. French scenes can add a lot of power to dramatic storytelling when the comings and goings of the characters are not arbitrary.
Related tools in The Dramatic Writer’s Companion. French scenes break down into smaller units of action known as beats. To do a beat analysis of a scene, go to the “Causing a Scene” section and try “Thinking in Beats.”
THE COLOR OF DRAMA
THE QUICK VERSION
Use color associations to flesh out a scene instinctively
BEST TIME FOR THIS
During scene planning, writing, or revision
COLOR AS A TOOL FOR SCENE DEVELOPMENT
Dramatic writers face the challenge of how to externalize the inner worlds and past experiences of their characters. The physical life of the story offers opportunities to translate character information into concrete terms that the audience can observe and interpret. Physical life here refers to the setting for a scene and what’s in it.
Color is a key component of this domain. It not only contributes to how the world of the story looks but also has the power to evoke emotions and ideas—in the writer, in the characters, and ultimately in the audience. Color can thus be a powerful means of creating, experiencing, and understanding a story at a gut level.
ABOUT THE EXERCISE
This exercise focuses on color as a tool to flesh out the physical life of a scene and explore new possibilities for dramatic action. As you proceed, try to work instinctively and remember that important discoveries may lie where you least expect them.
Examples are from the opening scene of my play Love and Drowning, which explores near-death experience and its impact on people’s lives. Character 1—who drives most of the action—is Ella Harding, in her forties, a middle-class housewife who lives in a suburban ranch house and teaches piano lessons in her living room. Character 2 is Hank Harding, also in his forties, an insurance salesman. Their relationship: married for thirteen years. The main event of the scene: Ella fails to engage her husband in lovemaking.
To prepare for the exercise, choose a scene you wish to develop, identify the two most important characters—Characters 1 and 2—and define their relationship. Then sum up the main event of the scene as you see it now: what happens overall.
■ SCENIC CONTEXT
Define the context for the dramatic action.
1. Setting. The opening scene of Love and Drowning takes place in Ella and Hank’s private room at Jonah Harbor, a remote seaside institute that caters to people who have had near-death experiences. Define the setting for your scene.
2. Time. The action begins in late afternoon of a rainy autumn day. It is one week after Ella began to hear Hank talking intimately in his sleep to another woman. Define when your scene takes place.
3. Given circumstances. The Hardings were recently in a catastrophic boating accident that resulted in clinical drowning: neither had vital signs until rescuers resuscitated them. While Ella was down, she saw the classic “tunnel of light” reported through the ages by many others who have experienced near death. Hank, however, saw nothing. Their different responses to near death has put a strain on their already troubled marriage. Think about what’s happening in the world of your story when your scene begins. Identify any physical, psychological, social, economic, political, or spiritual circumstances that could affect the dramatic action.
■ COLOR EXPLORATIONS
Use the following questions to tap the power of color and brainstorm new possibilities for your scene. Look for responses that seem important even if you don’t know why.
1. Red. Hank is wearing a red cardigan sweater that Ella gave him for Christmas years ago. He wears it often, especially when he feels anxious. That explains why there are now holes forming in the elbows. If there were something red in your scene or something that had red in it, what would it be? How would you describe it?
2. Blue. Ella and Hank have blue pills that they get from Dr. Schroeder and take when they feel distressed. They don’t know that these pills are placebos and that the person dispensing them is not really a physician. If there were something blue in your scene or something that had blue in it, what would it be?
3. Green. As in many institutions, the walls of Ella and Hank’s room have been painted green to induce feelings of peacefulness and growth. If there were something green in your scene or something that had green in it, what would it be?
4. Yellow. The reading lamp beside Hank’s chair has a yellow lampshade. The inside fabric is ripped and torn. If there were something yellow in your scene or something that had yellow in it, what would it be?
5. Black. The medical journal that Hank is reading has a black cover. He never used to read books like this before the accident. Now he can’t stop reading anything he can get his hands on, even highly scientific and technical manuals. If there were something black in your scene or something that had black in it, what would it be?
6. White. The sheets on Ella and Hank’s bed are white. Unlike the linens at home, they are scratchy old hospital-style sheets that have no decorative pattern and smell musty. It is on these sheets that Ella lies each night listening to her husband making love to someone else in his dreams. If there were something white in your scene or something that had white in it, what would it be?
7. Another color. If I could move around freely in this setting and watch my characters as the scene unfolds, another color that might catch my eye is gray. It’s the blown-out light bulb from the reading lamp. Ever since Ella’s “tunnel of light” experience, her electromagnetic field blows out light bulbs and appliances when she gets upset. Look for one more color in your scene, and describe what you find.
■ COLOR ASSOCIATIONS
We each have associations, positive or negative, with certain colors: emotions, memories, or ideas that influence our perception of a color and the meanings we bring to it under different circumstances. Such associations have come into play as you used color to explore the physical life of your scene. Continue to work instinctively as you address the next set of questions.
1. Color of the scene. Imagine that the scene itself has a color—one color—that somehow encompasses not only the physical life but also the characters and the dramatic action. For me, the scene between Ella and Hank is blue. This is not a literal description. There may be no actual blue pigment in sight during a production. The choice reflects only what I personally associate with blue as I think about my characters in this particular situation. If your scene had a color, what would it be?
2. Emotional response. We each have different emotional associations with color, depending on where we are, what we’re looking at, whom we’re with, and how we feel. A color that seems pleasant at one time may seem unpleasant at another. When I think of my scene as blue, I feel sadness. Though Ella and Hank have been married for thirteen years, they live in separate worlds now. Think about the color of your scene. What
emotion does it stir in you, and why?
3. Physical response. When I think about my scene as blue, the physical sensation that comes to mind is dampness and cold. I imagine that Ella and Hank’s room feels that way now. Maybe that’s why Hank is wearing that sweater. Perhaps Ella has a sweater on, too. The warm days of summer are over, but the furnace in the building is not yet on for the fall. The sea is nearby, so the air is full of moisture, and it’s been raining for days. This is not a comfortable place to be now. Think again about the color of your scene. What physical response does it produce in you, and why?
4. Free associations. Color also can stir up thoughts and memories. When I think about my scene as blue, it makes me think of water, the ocean, a swimming pool, trembling lips, turning blue all over after swimming too long in cold water, death, freezing, bloating, silence, paralysis, the bathtub, imprisonment, an inability to speak, heavy bodies. Feel the color of your scene. With your characters in mind, identify at least a dozen random thoughts or memories that come to mind now.
5. Three most powerful associations. Among my personal associations for blue, the three that feel most powerful are paralysis, turning blue after swimming too long in cold water, and heavy bodies. Review your color associations. Choose the three that feel most powerful for any reason and could somehow be integrated into your scene.
■ COLOR IN ACTION
Imagine that the three choices you made are more important than you realize. They are rooted in the personal experiences of your life and reflect desires, beliefs, and values that have in some way mattered to you. Keep working instinctively as you now use these color associations to learn more about your scene.