Teaching Playwriting in Schools - Center Stage
Teaching Playwriting in Schools - Center Stage
Teaching Playwriting in Schools - Center Stage
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Exercises for sharpen<strong>in</strong>g dialogue skills:<br />
“The Other End”<br />
Ask the students if they have ever heard someone talk<strong>in</strong>g on the telephone and tried to<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>e what the other half of the conversation was like? Have them observe a phone conversation<br />
tak<strong>in</strong>g place and then try writ<strong>in</strong>g down both sides of the conversation—the side they over-hear and<br />
the side they imag<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
“TV Writer”<br />
Have the students turn on a television program, especially one unfamiliar to them, and watch<br />
for 5–10 m<strong>in</strong>utes with the sound muted. While they are watch<strong>in</strong>g, they should write down what they<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k the characters are say<strong>in</strong>g to each other. Encourage them to practice first without writ<strong>in</strong>g. While<br />
they are mak<strong>in</strong>g up the dialogue, questions they should th<strong>in</strong>k about are:<br />
• Who are these people?<br />
• What do they want from each other (if anyth<strong>in</strong>g)?<br />
• What are their relationships to one another?<br />
• Do they have a conflict?<br />
• What <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g th<strong>in</strong>gs will happen to them?<br />
• How will it all end?<br />
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