Okay playwrights, are you ready to write a full-on confrontation scene? No little squabble here. We’re going to let our characters get physical, let them say things they will certainly regret later, let them go all at it.
Day 10 – Write a Confrontation Scene: Using any two characters from your stock company, write a 10-minute all-out, no-holds-barred confrontation scene. Extra Credit: Re-write the scene for three characters. Make the third character an unwilling spectator/participant. Adapted from The Playwright’s Handbook, by Frank Pike and Thomas G. Dunn (Revised Edition, 1996).
Confrontations are entertaining for readers and audiences. They’re the heart of drama. But they can be intimidating to write. What if it sounds fake or overdone? To keep it believable, think of major confrontations in your own life. Try to include some of the same sensory details you can remember. Don’t be timid. Start with high tension and go even higher! And make full use of your setting. Is there a door that can be slammed? A glass to throw? A balcony someone can get thrown off of?
If you choose to write the scene with a third character, make him or her an unwilling participant who gets dragged into the fight. Do the other two characters try to use the third as a witness or an ally?