Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation

Recommending: Growing your own vegetables

Structure: scenes

I was in a writing workshop with Tony Craze at the Chelsea Theatre where he suggested only a few basic premises can happen in a successful scene.

X can try and get Y to accept or give up some thing/idea/object.

X can try and seduce/join/partner or separate/break up with Y

X can try and persuade Y to stay or leave a place

X can try and persuade B to take some action or stop (pursuing) some action

The idea is that all good scenes contain these basic wants and if you can’t tell what it is, then maybe it’s a duff scene. Can anyone think of a good scene that doesn’t fit this?

July 11, 2005 | Filed Under  

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  • About me

    I'm a playwright and investment analyst. I have a broad range of interests: food, gardening, innovation & intellectual property, sustainability, architecture & design, writing and the arts. I sit on the board of Talawa Theatre Company and advise a CIS investment trust on socially responsible investments.

  • Recent Work

    Recent plays include, for theatre: Nakamitsu, Yellow Gentlemen, Lost in Peru, Lemon Love. For radio: Places in Between (R4), Patent Breaking Life Saving (WS).

  • Nakamitsu

  • Yellow Gentlemen