ONE ACT PLAY: WRITING/GRADE GUIDE

This form will serve as your guide for writing the one act play as well as outline the criteria by which your play will be graded. You must have satisfied all the steps in order for your play to be graded and performed. REMEMBER: THIS IS A ONE-ACT PLAY. ONE ACT PLAYS USUALLY RUN 10-30 MINUTES. THEY PRESENT SMALL SITUATIONS THAT QUICKLY DEVELOP TO A CLIMAX OR CONCLUSION. 1. Most one-act plays start with a question. This question is called the major dramatic question. This question starts the conflict. Does your play start with a question? 2. Drama is conflict. There is no movement without conflict. What is the conflict in your play? Is it clearly presented or does the audience have to search for it? 3. You dont have a play without characters. Are your main characters clearly drawn or does the audience have to figure out who they are and why theyre in the play? 4. Does your play follow the usual formula of INTRODUCTION, RISING ACTION, CLIMAX OR CRISIS, FALLING ACTION AND RESOLUTION? This formula helps write the play. 5. Is the dialogue truthful? That is, have you forced a phony way of speaking or does the dialogue reflect real people? 6. Is the setting of the play a manageable space? That is, can the play be performed on a small set without a major set or complicated lighting? 7. Does your play have too many locales? A one-act play is usually set in one place and relies upon a focused conflict for its effect. 8. Is the source of your play a truthful source? That is, is the material drawn from a known background or is it material that comes from an unknown world? Would your characters be recognizable to other people or are they simply too unreal? 9. Do the characters fit the plot? That is, are they characters who would actually be in the situation youve placed them, or are they characters who seem ti be unrealistically placed where they are? 10. Finally, after completing you play, is it a satisfactory presentation of the idea you started with, or does it fail because the idea was too large or too small for what your finished product is? Why would an audience enjoy your play? What do you want the audience to know after they see your play? Would you pay to see your play? Why?