Lessons from Plays

We have been reading plays to gain a deeper understanding of character driven work. Here are a couple big lessons we’ve learned (or re-learned) recently... 

• dramatic irony can drive story
• characters (family members, etc.) have a history together. That history breeds resentment and is always in the background.
• A distant future event can be used to build anticipation and suspense
• Many great plays pick one small issue and explode it. They take it apart, they look at it from every angle, and explore it with every meaningful permutation of characters, all leading to a conclusion that leaves the audience thinking. DINNER WITH FRIENDS is a good example of this. They take a single issue of adultery and look at how it effects every character in the play.