Sunday 18 November 2012

General Skills For Writing Comedy Play Scripts

By Dianne Crane


In as much as one may talk about metaphysical comedy play scripts, the most obvious preference is for those that are realistic hence easy to relate with. Yet some of them tend to be so abstract that the readers or watchers are left hanging. The following is a short and brief outline on how to write a script that is truly humorous.

Writing a script is not as easy as many seem many people tend to believe. As compared to the novel or proses, the script is a unique and different concept. The whole script is a master piece that can be compared to the architectural plan of a builder. The writer has to be very inspired in crafting the piece whether for reading or for production. It is considered as a stand alone plan that has an end satisfaction by itself.

Several rules and conventions have to be adhered to. Some are simplistic ones while others are outright very annoying. You need to know all the set standards if you do not wish to find your script on the dust bin. Try and follow as many rules set as possible because editors and commissioning agents use these rules as reason to cut down on the number of works they read.

Do not show your ignorance even if you are new in the industry. Go through the many formats set by different genres and ensure that your script fully adheres to the standards. After you have all the requirements on your finger tips, then go ahead and twist them to fit your inspirations.

Know your story from the beginning to the end. Create amusing plots that move the story line to next level without delving too much on one area. Be as diverse as you can get and vary all the setting so that you may capture the interest of the reader. Basically the story must have a beginning, the climax and the ending. This may sound easy but it is not always the case when you begin to write.

Go ahead and build a conflict. Surround the main problem with sub conflicts and plots that will motivate the actors to act. Create suspense and new discoveries. These will keep the audience glued from the beginning to the end. Do not lose the reader by scripting complex situations. Always keep your audiences guessing what is to happen next. Some story lines give a way too much right from the title that the story finishes the moment it starts.

Weave into your story and create twists and turns to avoid predictable story lines. Keep in mind that discoveries later in the play should be of higher magnitude that the earlier ones. Comedy is achieved by delivering information in an amusing way. The whole script must appeal to you first before the reader concludes that it is funny. Create a joke in the earlier scenes and carry on in the subsequent plots and finally pay off somewhere towards the end.

Comedy play scripts devise several methods in achieving humour. An example can be using misunderstanding concepts where one character deliberately or otherwise misunderstands something said or done. Make use of cross purpose dialogue or even include running gags. Irony is yet another powerful concept in achieving comedy.




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