Six-Line Scenes
This is an exercise we've used in the NOMTI seminar to practice creating a scene with a "turn."
Write a six-line scene with the following characteristics:
After hearing the scene, the audience should understand:
EXAMPLE:
(Middle-aged couple in pizza parlor. Woman picks up pizza from the counter and brings it to the table. Man opens the box)
MAN
Aw, jeezus, they gave you the wrong one
(MAN starts to close up the box, but WOMAN stops him so she can check the toppings)
WOMAN
No, that’s right.
MAN
It’s got anchovies!
WOMAN
Anchovies sounded good.
MAN
You know I can’t stand anchovies.
(WOMAN takes a bite with relish)
WOMAN
Umm! I haven’t had an anchovy in twenty years!
(MAN grumpily takes a piece of pizza and starts picking off the anchovies)
Write a six-line scene with the following characteristics:
- Two characters who know each other already
- They are doing something specific in a specific place (laundry in a laundromat, voting in a polling place, etc.)
- One character uses the activity they are engaged in OR an object they are dealing with to let the other one know that something about their relationship is about to change.
- Each of the six lines is one character’s “speech.” A line can include more than one sentence, but the shorter the better. Add stage directions as needed to show physical actions.
After hearing the scene, the audience should understand:
- The characters’ probable relationship (husband/wife, parent/child, teacher/student, boyfriend/girlfriend), but without it being explicitly named
- What they are doing (activity) but without relying on a realistic set (it's OK to use a prop like the pizza box in the example below)
- What changed, but without having a character spell it out. Don’t have one character tell the other one: “I’m leaving you, Charlie.” Make the audience figure it out.
EXAMPLE:
(Middle-aged couple in pizza parlor. Woman picks up pizza from the counter and brings it to the table. Man opens the box)
MAN
Aw, jeezus, they gave you the wrong one
(MAN starts to close up the box, but WOMAN stops him so she can check the toppings)
WOMAN
No, that’s right.
MAN
It’s got anchovies!
WOMAN
Anchovies sounded good.
MAN
You know I can’t stand anchovies.
(WOMAN takes a bite with relish)
WOMAN
Umm! I haven’t had an anchovy in twenty years!
(MAN grumpily takes a piece of pizza and starts picking off the anchovies)