Day 5

20th May 2019

Activities:

1. We began the day by comparing our responses to a homework assignment. We had been asked to answer the following question: what distinguishes a story from a situation? Chanakya produced selections, each of which made a claim about what a story is, from our written responses, and we were asked to debate them.
2. Then, we were asked to improvise a scene in groups, and put into practice some of our observed distinctions between stories and situation. The assignment was to produce a scene that was clearly driven by a story, and not a situation.
3. After that, we had a conversation of the different components of a scene. We began with the following question: what makes a scene? We noted the three major aspects of a scene as: thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. We discussed the importance of an argument, and of imbuing characters with a set of beliefs and values.

Questions considered:

1. What is a story? What distinguishes a story from a situation?
2. Who can write for whom? What are the politics of representation in writing for minorities and oppressed classes? How do you represent a character’s beliefs on stage?
3. What makes a good scene? What role does argument/negotiation play in the crafting of a scene? What makes a good argument?