All the World’s a Stage
At one point in my life, I could watch or read a Shakespearean play without “subtitles” so to speak. Why? Maybe because of all those Shakespearean classes I took as an undergrad English major. After reading play after play and watching various iterations, I could translate the Elizabethan structures and turns of phrase into “modern” English without even realizing I was translating. I could rapidly recognize Shakespeare's writing patterns and plot structures. Now? Well, the last time I put on “Henry V” (Kenneth Branagh’s version is one of my favorites), I relied heavily on my memory of the plot. I had lost the ability to translate the minutiae of the dialogue, but I still enjoyed spending time with Falstaff and friends.
What is it about Shakespeare’s work that has us still studying and producing variations of his plays over 400 years later? One aspect of that, for me, has to be the quality of his dialogue. I’m not telling you to try writing in blank verse (although this could be a fun challenge!) but it can be an intriguing exercise to re-work classical stories. Do you want to re-cast “The Tempest”? Perhaps pattern the speeches for one of your characters after Shylock from “The Merchant of Venice”? How would “Romeo and Juliet” speak if they were from your small hometown?
You may not ultimately find yourself writing a play but thinking about how to tell your story through dialogue can be eye-opening. This may be a fantastic way to really “hear” how your characters speak. We often spend much more time on their internal workings versus whether their external voice is the same as their internal machinations.
Considering the unique characteristics of playwriting could also help you focus on other aspects of your current project. Consider these possibilities:
If I had to stage a scene from my childhood, what would the set look like?
If I wanted to know what my washing machine would say to me, what would its first words be? How would it make those words? Verbal? Some other form of communication?
If time is important to your piece, how do you convey that? Do you just say - it is night-time or do you show it through changes in the lighting of your mental “set”?
Still not quite sure what to do with your dialogue or want to take it further?
10 - Do you want to make a list of possible catch phrases for your character?
14 - Have you done a sort of the “junk” drawer lately?
20 - How different is it to write for the movies versus for a play?