Read through the "contentless scene" on the next page, then, USING THE EXACT SAME LINES, IN THE SAME ORDER, re-develop the scene as though you were a playwright attempting to give the scene some specific "context". You'll do that by proceeding through the following steps and typing up the "new" scene on another sheet of paper :
- Decide on a relationship. Who are these characters? (give them names and sexes, instead of just A and B) Who are they to one another?
- Where are they? (give the scene a specific location, and describe that location with your first sentence by writing something like "The lights come up on a dorm room in a small, Midwestern college"..or "The curtain rises on a park bench in Central Park..." , wherever you imagine the scene to be. But remember that you're writing for THE STAGE, not TV or FILM...try to describe an environment that could be DESIGNED for the stage...exteriors (setting the scene in outdoor environments) are O.K., but they would have to be "theatrically" possible. What era? (present or past) What time of day?
- Write a brief description of what happened between these characters prior to this scene taking place. In other words, "what is their history together"?
- Then proceed to write out the scene with the newly assigned character names and this new "context" you have given them.... You may also write brief stage directions in between the lines to help propel the action. ("He hides his face in his hands". "She goes to the sink and gets a glass of water". "He runs to the window"...whatever..)Notice that most of these stage directions are about ACTION, not necessarily about EMOTION. i/e... You don't have to write out how each line should be delivered...(angrily, sadly, excitedly, etc.). Allow some room for actors to figure that out.