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Anatomy Of A Play — Part VII

Oct 29, 2014
by Caroline Miller
narrative versus play dialogue, Playwriting
8 Comments

After the play reading with live actors, I met the director a couple of weeks later.  She had organized her notes from that evening and we began reviewing the play, line by line, scene by scene.  She added comments of her own, indicating places where the language was too stilted making the characters sound “schoolmarmish.”  She wanted the dialogue to flow.  At other points, she wanted more dialogue to include missing details. Then with the bowels of the play reviewed, we focused on the ending.   Over the course of 30 years, I admitted the  play had had several endings.  We discussed some of them and then, together, we came upon another.  I wasn’t asked to change my work, but was left with the suggestion that I rethink the ending once again.  I said  I would.

 Later, once we’d gone our separate ways, I thought about how well the evening had progressed and what an education it had been for  me.  At one point in our discussion, for example, the director suggested I cut a line.  It had survived many years of editing, so I was curious about her suggestion.  The scene is one where a young woman says “I’m going for a glass of water,” as she heads for the kitchen. “A play isn’t like a novel, Caroline,” the director said in reply to my question.  “You don’t have to tell the audience what’s happening.  They see it.”

 The remark was self-evident, yet a light bulb went off in my head.  Until that moment, I’d never understood, at the gut level, the difference between a story and a play.  Others had tried to explain but their remarks were vague.  “Too much ‘talking heads’ here.”  Or, “You write like a novelist not a playwright.”  I knew I had something to fix, but I was never sure what.  Now I did and in hindsight, I blush at the simplicity.   A story uses words to paint the imagination.  A play uses words to foment action.   To write for either genre, language  must know its purpose. 

 That evening, I drove home eager to reopen my drama, despite the many years of work I’d already given it.  This time, I wasn’t struggling through a fog.  This time, my course was clear.  I was the captain of my ship and I knew how to reach safe harbor.

Courtesy of google.com

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8 Comments
  1. Christine Webb October 29, 2014 at 8:30 am Reply
    Caroline, I don't believe you have a reader anywhere in the world who, at this moment, doesn't feel this sense of elation and renewed energy with you. Trusting not one of us will ever reach the point where there is nothing else we can learn.
    • Caroline Miller October 29, 2014 at 9:31 am Reply
      Yes, I know exactly what you mean, Christine. Hope that on the day I die, I will have just signed up for a course in quantum physics. Well... maybe pottery.
  2. Bill Whitlatch October 29, 2014 at 9:32 am Reply
    Sounds like your 30 year old progeny is reaching maturity. Looking forward to seeing it.
    • Caroline Miller October 29, 2014 at 10:41 am Reply
      Indeed, Bill, it's been a very long gestation period.
  3. Pamela October 29, 2014 at 4:18 pm Reply
    I so wish I lived close enough to go see your play when it is open, Caroline!!! This is such a valuable tidbit for writers of all sorts. I've been wanting to finish a play I started years and years ago called Your Table is Ready, and since actions will be important in the piece, I have a good takeaway from your blog post!
    • Caroline Miller October 29, 2014 at 5:57 pm Reply
      Thank you for giving me feedback. I write these "Anatomy of a Play," blogs in the hope of encouraging my fellow writers to keep on keeping on. As I've said before, it has taken me 30 years to get this play on the boards. I want other writers to see the experience through a fellow writer's eyes. I want them to know what to expect when their turn comes. If you haven't dusted off "Your Table Is Ready," I encourage you to do so. Getting a play in a theater is blood, sweat, tears and mountains of rejection. Persistence is your greatest asset. Determination and a willingness to write and rewrite until your fingers bleed is part of the process. I hope for your success.
  4. Christine Webb November 3, 2014 at 2:38 pm Reply
    And I, in return, will be happy if, on the day I die, I can spell quantum physics. :)
    • Caroline Miller November 3, 2014 at 2:43 pm Reply
      I am confident spelling quantum physics is a goal you will be able to manage.

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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