how to write a simple play. and the difference between act one @ scene one.?

Answer 1

I'd recommend taking a look at some published plays and looking at their formats to get an idea of how they are formatted and what kinds of information is included. Most people have access to some Shakespeare, that would be an easy reference.

Generally, an act is a larger segment that is composed of several scenes. So, for instance, your play could be structured like this:

1) Act 1
a) Scene 1
b) Scene 2
c) Scene 3
2) Act 2
a) Scene 1

Continue until your story has been told! Some playwrights don't use scenes, as in Thornton Wilder's "Our Town". Head to the library or bookstore and flip through others to get good examples!

Answer 2

Modern story telling theory proposes that there are a total of three acts per story. Some say five, others say it's limitless depending on the storyline. What ever school of thought you're in, let's go with the traditional three acts.

An Act is considered a collection of scenes that are required to tell the segment of the story that gets the protagonist from someplace to some other place, be it physical, mental, whatever. The character has to arc.

So within the story, the protagonist should arc three times, with an overall arc that goes from the beginning to the end.

For example, Princess Bride: For the protagonists: Act I: Love blooms, love is lost. Act II: Love is found - Love is lost. Act III: Ending with love, happily ever after.

Overall arc occurs with their character, driven by love and how Wesley thought he wasn't good enough to marry Buttercup so he goes away to basically prove himself. Dig it?

Answer 3

It changes by the person.

I would suggest to write out an short story... no dialog needed... just events.

Act can break up a theme, or a variation on a theme... You use this a sort of a way to break up large chunks of actions.

With your short story start going through and looking at how each action takes place and where and when it takes place. In general scene signifies the change in time or place.

Story: A boy gets shot at a supermarket

Act I: Travels to the supermarket
Scene i: Boy wakes up
Scene ii: Mother asks boy to go to supermarket
Scene iii: Boy rides bike to supermarket
Scene iv: While boy stands in line, man holds up supermarket

Intermission

Act II: The stand off
Scene i: 20 min later the standoff continues
Scene ii: The robber sends out three hostages
Scene iii: The boy tries to attack the man
Scene iv: The police open fire on the man, but they hit the hurt boy by accident

Intermission

Act III: Recovery
Scene i: I think you get the idea

Then you go through and add duologue to promote action within the story.

Good luck.

Answer 4

You might look into using French scenes. This is where a play might have separate acts, but each time a character enters or exits is considered a "scene."