Day 20

30th July 2019

Activities:

1. Today was the last day of the Idea Lab’s second term. We spent our last session discussing character development, beginning with a discussion on characters from different plays that we enjoyed. Each one of us name a character we’ve liked and offered a short explanation as to what about that character made them memorable.
2. Then, we took a little time to write a short character sketch and biography for any one of the characters from our own projects. We thought about what big life events may have occurred in these characters’ lives, and what big decisions they might have made, and how this informed the kind of person they were in our play.
3. We read Martin Crimp’s ‘Attempts On Her Life’ and looked at the way the form of the play interacts with character development. We noted that, through the device of recorded messages, Crimp is able to build a complex, fascinating character without ever physically representing her.
4. Then, we were asked to write a scene where the character must confront a dilemma, must give the audience a sense of what the character needs or wants, and must help raise a question in the audience’s mind.
5. After writing, we took turns to discuss these scenes with the group and whether they met the three requirements imposed on us, and how this exercise might help in the general drafting of a play, such that each scene represents the furthering of, or an obstacle to the furthering of a desire, or a character’s journey.

Questions considered:

1. What are the characteristics of characters we have liked the most? How does a character have a distinct voice of their own? How do we write complex characters How does a character’s voice and speech tell the audience about the kind of person they are?
2. How can form further character development? Can form indicate the kind of world the play inhabits?
3. Does each scene contain a dilemma for characters? Are characters able to communicate their needs and wants? Do the characters’ choices raise questions in the minds of the audience?