Playwriting Week 4 & 5 Assignments/Asessments

It's like finals week in TH ARTS! You get to get the hard work part out of the way early in the semester!!!

(week 4) What we'll cover from chapter "Writing a Winning Sketch"
Dialogue, Show Don’t Tell, Suspense, Surprise, Reversals

5 sketch evaluations due
2 x play idea worksheets
2 character analysis

Students will read one of their play ideas.
Can they say what their play is about in 3-4 sentences which includes these elements:
Inciting action
Rising action
Climax
Falling off action.
And THEME?

Exercise: Hot seating a few of their characters to ask them questions about the story.


Assessment on the Draft of short play/sketch (10%)
Due: week 5
1. Premise is clear
2. Is there evident structure? (exposition, inciting action, rising action, climax, denouement).
3. Is there a clear protagonist with a strong evident conflict?
4. Has the student created believability/suspension of disbelief?


Assessment on the Final draft of short play/sketch (15%)
Due: week 10
1. Is there evidence of rewriting between drafts?
2. Will there be strong audience Identification?
3. Is the piece humorous or moving?
4. Does it move forward with action with a variety of Pace? (Showing more than telling)?
5. Are there examples suspense & surprise?
6. Is there an economy of words?
7. Is there suspense & surprise?
8. Are the characters believable/realistic characters with realistic dialogue (utilizing unfinished/partial sentences, short lines, talking over one another, subject changes, characters having to repeat themselves or clarify, etc).

NOTE: The original short plays will be assessed based on subjects found in DRAMA MINISTRY, Steve Pederson (chapter 6), this is also the foundational information needed for your final exam.