THE-2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: David Auburn, The Clean House, Dramatic Structure
Playwriting
What story is being told?
Content- what are the basics of the story, characters, plot, etc.
How is the story being told?
Form- style, chronology, kinds of characters, genre, POV
The blank Canvas, Source of inspiration
Autobiography (The glass Menagerie)
Author goes into their own life
Social or political issues (Waiting for lefty, the Laramie project, the crucible)
Anything going on around the author
Often allegorical to attack an issue indirectly
Overheard conversation (The clean house)
Images (Sam Shepard)
Character, Story, or Line
Adaptations (Wicked, Beauty and the Beast)
Miscellaneous, Imagination, combinations
Tools of the playwright
World of the play
What the play operates within, shapes the play
Complete
Construction of the playwright
Involves setting and possibilities, as well as impossibilities
Consistency is key
Theatrical conventions must be maintained
Characters
Drive the pieces
Carefully constructed
Revealed through what they say, what they do
How other characters react to this character, what they say about them
Character choice: Psychologically realistic or archetype
Psychologically real- very in depth, real person stepped onto stage
Archetype usually shallower, easily guessed, exemplifies type, requires little background
information, but also must conform to expectation or cleverly play with them
Conflict
Some say is life blood of theatre
Dramatic structure based on conflict
Mostly important in Western Theatre
Person v. Person
Person v. Self
Person v. Nature
Person v. Society
Play can have multiple types and levels of conflict
Dramatic Structure and plot
Way playwright reveals info
3 most popular are:
Aristotelian or Climactic (Oedipus Rex = Ideal tragedy) – Most popular of all, based around
conflict. Events relationship to conflict determines place. Inciting incident is vital. Rising action is
revealing of the plot. Climax- conflict is resolved. Falling action is everything post solve, deals with
repercussions of conflict resolution. Denouement – return to normalcy or some sort of balance.
Relatively short.
Document Summary
Content- what are the basics of the story, characters, plot, etc. Form- style, chronology, kinds of characters, genre, pov. Social or political issues (waiting for lefty, the laramie project, the crucible) What the play operates within, shapes the play. Involves setting and possibilities, as well as impossibilities. Revealed through what they say, what they do. How other characters react to this character, what they say about them. Psychologically real- very in depth, real person stepped onto stage. Archetype usually shallower, easily guessed, exemplifies type, requires little background information, but also must conform to expectation or cleverly play with them. Play can have multiple types and levels of conflict. Aristotelian or climactic (oedipus rex = ideal tragedy) most popular of all, based around conflict. Falling action is everything post solve, deals with repercussions of conflict resolution. Denouement return to normalcy or some sort of balance. Episodic female orgasm (ha)- things are much more fluid, scenes or moments that intensify greatly.
