A 10 minute play | A staged script writing activity

Exercise 1: Imagining the setting

Atmosphere is extremely important in theatre and setting the right atmosphere lets the writer breathe life into his/her work
and world. In this activity, ask Ss to choose one of the following items and spend 2 to 3 minutes closing their eyes and
imagining the space. They should explore the space fully in their mind in three dimensions. Then ask them to write about
50 words describing the setting:
 Abandoned lift
 Attic
 Seashore
 Derelict building
 Psychiatric ward
 Deserted street

Exercise 2: Creating a character profile.

Now, it’s time to populate this world with people. To get Ss to start thinking about robust character development, ask them
to think of a character that might belong in this setting. They should fill the gaps in the following statements to sketch out this
character’s profile:
 I was born _______
 My first memories ______
 I remember my mother ________
 I have been to ________
 Since 7 ‘o clock this morning _______
 I love _______
 What interests me now is _______
 I cannot understand why _______
 I have been reading _______
 I wish _______

Exercise 3: Dialogue with strangers

Ask Ss to work with a partner. They should choose one setting from the two they have between them and create a dialogue
in this setting between their two characters. However, pairs should write a single script in a turn-wise manner. For example,
A writes a line for his character and passes the notebook to B who then writes a line for her character and passes it back to
A. This interchange continues until the dialogue reaches a natural conclusion.

Exercise 4: Building out a dialogue

Ask Ss if they know what the word ‘conflict’ means. Elicit meaning beyond fighting and point out the role of conflict in a
story. Ask Ss to work individually to describe a setting in one line; two characters A & B – who are they? Age? What do they
do? Then write a short dialogue between A & B in this setting that involves conflict.
After you get some Ss to read out their dialogues, elicit how conflict makes stories richer and more interesting to listeners
and readers.

Exercise 5: 10 minute play

Stage 1: Hand out chits of paper and ask Ss to write a full name on it as well as the person’s professions, likes & dislikes
and hobbies. For example Neha Rodrigues, swimming instructor, likes movies & shopping, hates fast food & strong
perfumes, loves solving jigsaw puzzles. They should write three character prompts each.
Collect all the chits into a pile. Now repeat this procedure with these prompts:
 Setting – should be quite specific – not just “room” but what kind of room and where it’s located.
 Prop – this is an inanimate object which is positioned on stage during the play.
 Object – this is an item which is referred to in the dialogue and may not be physically present on stage.
 Dialogue – A single line of dialogue.

Structure for 10 minute play:

 Word count: Around 15oo words
 Jump straight into the action – don’t spend time setting context. Think about who your characters are and what they want.
 Page 1 – 2: Set-up the world of the main character(s)
 Page 2 – 3: Something happens to throw their world out of balance
 Page 4 – 7: Your character struggles to restore order to her world
 Page 8: Just when your character is about to restore order, something happens to complicate matters.
 Page 9-10: Character either succeeds or fails in her attempt to restore order.