A Raisin in the Sun, Day 4; Play Brainstrorming; Short Play Project

Today we will continue reading Act 1 and Act 2 of A Raisin in the Sun.

Last class, I asked you to write a description of a setting in your journal. Take that out for a moment and let's add to it.

All plays/films need characters in a setting involved in a conflict of some sort. The formula might look like this:

Character + Setting + Conflict = Situation

A playwright's job is to complicate a situation. This is the root of all plays/films.

A. List potential characters in your journal.
B. List potential settings in your journal (you started this last class! Add to your list)
C. List potential conflicts that humans often face.
D. Write a premise. A 1-sentence summary of your situation. This play will be about:

• An African American family (characters) living in the Southside of Chicago in 1959 in a small run-down tenement (setting) having to decide how to spend their insurance money (conflict).

After you have a situation, think of ways you can COMPLICATE the problem/situation.

Begin writing a short play in which your protagonist remembers a difficult event in his/her early life growing up. 

1. Start off by trying to recall a dramatic moment that you experienced (or that someone you know experienced--a family member, a neighbor, a friend, etc.)--recall who was involved and maybe what was said and by whom. What was the outcome? Jot down a list of details or make a mind-map of the details you can recall in your journal.
2. Fictionalize the details. Change the names or genders or ages of the real people involved and create a fictional cast list of at least 3 characters. You can combine people you know. If you have 2 sisters, combine them into one personality. If you have 3 old wives, combine them into one grandmother. If you have 200 friends, combine them into 2 friends. You get the picture.
3. Try to limit your cast to five characters or fewer. You will need at LEAST two.
4. Create a cast list with a brief description of each character (see cast list in your Raisin in the Sun play scripts).
5. Describe a vivid setting for your play. Keep your play in one setting: a kitchen, a living room, a house like A Raisin in the Sun, a porch, etc. Base your setting on a place that you know well--although you can fictionalize this setting. Add details that are made up! See the set description at the beginning of the play A Raisin in the Sun for a model. You may use the setting you described in your journal if you'd like--or create a new one.
6. Begin writing your scene once you have completed all 6 steps before this one. 
7. Your play should be written as a script. For now, you can use the form used in A Raisin in the Sun. We will not use this form for long, as it is not the proper format for writers, but for now, it'll get us started.
8. Your play should be between 5 - 10 pages in length (excluding your cast list and set description--see #4 & #5.) Include a title and number your pages in a header or footer. 
9. Do NOT double space your play scripts. It is okay to skip a single line (one hard return) between lines. Names should be typed in upper case. Stage/acting directions should be written in parenthesis. You do not have to italicize stage directions unless you really want to.