1.4 The routine of composition Continued
H.A. Jones writes: “When you have a character or several characters you haven’t a play. You may keep these in your mind and nurse them till they combine in a piece of action; but you haven’t got your play till you have theme, characters, and action all fused. The process with me is as purely automatic and spontaneous as dreaming; in fact it is really dreaming while you are awake.” The apparent spontaneity of a character’s proceedings is a pure illusion. It means no more than that the imagination, once set in motion along a given line, moves along that line with an ease and freedom which seems to its possessor preternatural and almost uncanny. Authors who are very gifted for character-creation probably experience this illusion, though they are sane enough and modest enough to realize that an illusion it is. Here flexibility is vital.
The playwright’s scheme should not until the latest possible moment become so hard and fast as to allow his characters no elbow room for spontaneity, and afterthoughts about changes which may arise as the play develops. Re-adjustments may constantly have to be made if a play is shaping itself by a process of vital growth. That is why the playwright may be wise to keep his material fluid as long as he can. It is advisable to treat a dramatic theme like clay to be modeled and remodeled, rather than as wood or marble to be carved unalterably and once for all. There may be authors who can write vital plays, as Shakespeare is said to have done, without erasing a line, but the great playwright is more likely to be he who doesn’t mind to cut or change an act or two.
The dramatist should aim at being logical without seeming so, so that the play have passion, not only precision, and command out enthusiasm, not only our respect. Very early in the scheming of his play, the playwright should assure himself that his theme is capable of a satisfactory ending – not implying a “happy ending,” but one which satisfies the author as being artistic, effective, inevitable or “right.” An obviously makeshift ending can never be desirable Many excellent plays have been wrecked this way, because the “last act is weak”. It is obvious when the author has clearly been at a loss for an ending, and has simply huddled his play up in a conventional and perfunctory fashion. Some apparently promising themes are “blind-alley themes”, since they are inherently incapable of a satisfactory ending. Early on the dramatist should clearly see the end for which he is aiming, and be sure that it is an end that he actively desires, not merely one which satisfies convention, or which “will have to do.”
Some dramatists, after having mapped out the play, don’t
to start at the beginning and write it as a coherent whole, but make a
dash first at the more salient and critical scenes, or those which
specially attract their imagination. This can be good, since it certainly enhances plasticity.
Should the playwright be able to visualize the detailed scene of each act in his mind’s eye? Today props are much more important than many years ago. Most modern dramatists pay great attention to the “topography” of their scenes, and the shifting “positions” of their
characters. Again it is wise to wait till for a comparatively late stage to map out the stage-management. Even where a great deal turns on some individual object, the detailed arrangements of the scene may in most cases be taken for granted until a late stage in its working out.
Make sure that the object fits well within the physical possibilities of the stage, and that the arrangement is optically possible and effective. Few things, indeed, are impossible to the modern stage, but there are many things that are wiser not to attempt, since it may distract the audience’s attention such that they may miss the dialogue and the play may fail for them as result.
Sometimes “less is more”. Before relying on any special effects, make sure that it is, not only possible, but convenient from the practical point of view.
It is a good general rule to avoid expressions which show that the author has a stage scene, and not an episode of real life, in his mind’s eye. People of the theatre are the last to be impressed by theatrical jargon. Using lots of abbreviations for stage management directions is just confusing. Stage layouts have changed much, and some older terms no longer apply. The common-sense rule as to stage directions is keep it short, clear and to the point, impersonal and professional. Visualize and describe the room, the garden, the sea-shore, or whatever the place of action may be, not as a stage-scene, but as a room, garden, or sea-shore in the real world. Cultivating this habit may bear excellent results and is a safeguard against theatricality.