A few weeks ago I was having lunch with a good friend and she was discussing the difficulty she was having trying to figure out the Chapter 3 of her life and it reminded me of the Neil Simon play and movie "chapter two"... I enjoyed both but I was always puzzled about the title and format considering his background in theatre (I suppose he thought utilizing the property as a book in progress would have wider appeal); If you are unfamiliar with the story it was a somewhat autobiographical detail about the death of his first wife and his relationship with his new wife Marsha Mason. I reread the play recently and noticed he dedicated it to Miss Mason.
The crux of the story is dealing with the past and moving on...
For my purposes this week these parallels will be made in terms of theatrical or film references... I'm currently working on writing a play and I'm using the three act play structure... I have a great first act and a good second act and a fiasco of a third act so I decided to take a break from it for a few weeks and try to look at it from the different angles I think are necessary to tie it all together.
If you don't have a theatrical background I'll explain a little about how different scripts are written...
Television scripts stop the show with commercials that create a two act structure for half hour sitcoms... and four acts for a one hour drama. Typically for a 2 hour made for television movie you have a seven act script guiding the action and dialogue. In a three act play the structure of the script consists of the set up of the story in Act I and the curtain goes down and then Act II is the development of the story and the curtain goes down again and finally in Act III the story builds to the climax and resolution.
In feature films and plays we usually have about 10 to 15 pages of of script to set up the story and about 20 pages of development of the first act.. each act has a different focus and the segway or movement from one act to the next is accomplished by a turning point. Act II could have about 45-60 pages of dialogue and action until you reach your second turning point leading to (hopefully) a fast paced third act with about 20-30 pages until you reach the climax (about five pages from the end) and ultimately the resolution one to five pages from the end... For me much of a good script is how well it reads and flows and the overall image, flavor, mood and texture that are the elements of the basic theme.
From the conversation with my friend and her issues with writing her Chapter 3 I have been thinking about how life sometimes mimics a script...or vice versa.
I started to consider how the first 10-15 pages of script can compare to the first 10-15 years of our life and our experiences combined with the other cast of characters involved and viewpoints that set up the story to follow with a few pages of script (or years) and the experiences we have up until the age of 20 that take us from young adulthood into the story of our life.
Leading to ...
For the purposes of this exercise and the action of my life this is where I took my first brief intermission and went to explore Europe and myself for a summer and thought about how I wanted to write Act II and where I wanted to go with my life... A great deal of comedy and drama juxtaposed with joy and sorrow mixed with laughter and tears developed my story in the next 45- 60 pages of the script (or years if you will)... What makes a script or your life interesting are the subplots and turning points in the action.
I took a longer intermission in the middle of Act II as a result of a major turning point... a little bit of my soul was dying every day because I hated was I was doing with my life and worked with people who made me feel like I had hot barbed wire and acid in my stomach... (I moved to the Caribbean and tended bar, taught scuba diving and bought clothing for an upscale island boutique while I plotted the course for the remainder of Act II. This small turning point and the resulting subplots got my life back on course...
What is a subplot? A good one pushes the story line and sometimes changes the direction just like in life... it's all in the career choices we make and the people we have love affairs with and the others we have battles and duels with and all of the other twists and turns as we make our way in life and take all of the different journeys... The turning points in a script and in our lives are what help change the direction of the story and our life; ideally the story gains momentum but retains it's focus.
So here I am anticipating Act III with 20-30 pages of exciting script (and hopefully years) to fill building toward an exciting climax and resolution... no real intermission here I'm just waiting a bit before bringing up the curtain with a tentative but meaningful pause because I'm stuck in somewhat the same manner as I am in finishing writing my actual dramatic script... but I don't have the luxury of putting my life aside and getting back to it but I can look at it from different perspectives to better understand where I want it to go... This part of my life and the script I want for it are far more important than I ever anticipated because I don't want to just rehash and continue with the action and dialogue from Act II, and it would be narcissistic and foolish to reminisce and try to replay Act I again; in a perfect script and life it's a continuation from the growth about revelations and knowledge we have gained from Act I and Act II... but is should be a whole new journey filled with new experiences and references and a few more interesting characters to play off of... So for now I'm just going to concentrate on the last turning point and work on the subplots that will give me a chance to see more of the world and my place in it even if it's taking the time to stop and smell the flowers in the garden... or learning new skills and meeting new and interesting people or developing a deeper and more interesting relationship with the characters from Act II. A good subplot not only pushes the story but it intersects the story line and the characters making both more interesting and enjoyable. I want to write something wonderful and exciting... but I know that that life and a script move much more quickly when it's beautiful but I'm happy to take that risk over having a slow, stagnant and sad ending... I'm at a crossroads with all of this but I'll figure something out; I always have in the past... these turning points are sometimes difficult to understand and navigate. I will never stop working at turning dreams into realities and write happy scene endings filled with witty and snappy repartee and of course phenomenal costumes, lighting and choreography ... but most importantly I will continue to be the hero in my story and not let people or circumstances cast me as the victim. We each of us have to write our own story no matter where we are on life's timeline but with careful thought and consideration and at other times just diving head first into the deep end we can find the right words and music! One of the most important lessons to learn in life and on the stage is always remember to anticipate and appreciate the appropriate pauses for laughter and applause... and relish every standing ovation.
At least for now!... but until next week think about what motivates kindness and learn from it.
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