subject: Ten Steps for Beginners on Writing One Act Play [print this page] Ten Steps for Beginners on Writing One Act Play
Hasan A. Yahya, a writer from Palestine
Plays are the small siblings of movies, a one act play is the infant of the family. One act plays are complete short stories, They are plays that take place in only one scene and are generally less than an hour long. An interview between two persons or more, a problem may be set the conversations to talk about. In order to write a successful one act play you have to follow the following steps. Those steps depend on the selection of subject, dialogue, characters, setting, as well as avoiding moments of boredom.
Step One: You have to choose a subject to cover in a brief one scene act play. A short story works best. Remember to give the one act play the necessary plot, action and characters to make it a complete story. Research other one act plays to get ideas and inspiration for yours.
Step Two: You ought to develop the action first, then compose the dialog before you decide anything else. Keep the plot simple for a one act play and it should move consistently throughout the play.
Step three: Then you have to develop the characters. Write out a character sketch beforehand to help you flesh out your characters and bring them to life. Give your characters a motive in life (or lack thereof) and up the stakes by making them face a problem. This is central to any story.
Step four: Generate the setting. The setting for a one act play will be one scene, but you have to still develop the scene so the audience sees everything about the story line. Include as many of the five sense as you can. Lighting helps the setting. Make sure you write in notes about how the lighting should look.
Step five: You have to add in the stage directions after you write the action. Write notes about how each character should respond and what props you'll need. For example, if the characters should be facing another direction and talking to another character, note it in the script.
Step six: You have to determine what type of audience you write to, an educated audience, or people of the or public
Step seven: You have to find performers that fit each part. Hold auditions to find the right actors and actresses. Be upfront with them about whether this gig is a paying gig or a volunteer gig.
Step eight: In order to make it easy for actors, you have to make copies of the play for each cast member. You have also, to save the document in case you need extra copies and give copies of the one act play to each member of the stage and prop handling too.
Step nine: You have to vision practicing the play and ask for feedback from all the people involved in the play. And to hire or ask an expert to help with the production too. Hold one final practice before opening the show. This should be a dress rehearsal. Treat this final as the real thing and tie up any loose ends.
Finally step ten: You have to avoid adding anything to the play that doesn't move the plot forward to the final conclusion. Good Luck.(554 words) www.askdryahya.com
