SCENE ONE
ONE enters a space, looks around and waits. There is a sound. TWO enters.
ONE: Hello.
TWO: Hello.
ONE continues to look around.
TWO: What are you doing?
ONE: Looking for something.
TWO: Can I help?
ONE: Perhaps.
TWO points to something that has been concealed.
TWO: Is this what you're looking for?
ONE: Where was it?
TWO: Right here.
ONE: Oh.
They sit. They continue to sit. There is a sound. TWO stands up, walks across the space, looks at something. ONE remains seated. TWO sits down.
TWO: You been here long?
ONE replies without speaking.
TWO: I have to leave soon.
ONE: Where are you going?
TWO: I have to get back.
ONE: How is it going?
TWO: Ok.
TO offers something to ONE.
TWO: Do you want this?
ONE replies without speaking.
END...............................................................
'A Neutral Script' is very much open-ended. It’s like a map, or a template, for a possible performance. Story, characters, settings, style and genre are all left up to the director to determine. This script is a starting point from which a small group of actors can make any interpretation they wish. There is no single correct interpretation and no two performances of it will ever be the same.
Each interpretation creates unique challenges for the staging and direction of the performance. Not all lines will immediately fit or make sense. The story might not easily flow in the chosen direction. But there will always be a way to make sense of the script by looking more carefully at the circumstances that can be imagined around each moment and each character.
To interpret this script, the director must consider a few things.
1. WHO?
Who are these two characters? What are their names, ages, gender? What relationship, if any, exists between them?
2. WHAT?
What are the physical objects referred to in the script? Think about what it might be that ONE is looking for in Scene One?
3. WHEN?
When is this performance set? Is it in the modern day? Or is it historical? Or maybe futuristic? What time of the day is it?
4. WHERE?
Where is the scene set? Is it happening indoors or outdoors? When a character enters, where was he/she before they came onto the stage? When a character exits, where do they go when they leave the stage? When characters meet in a scene, were they expecting to meet, or do they meet by chance or accident?
5. HOW?
How is the script to be interpreted stylistically? Will it be naturalistic, abstract, absurd, musical, comic, tragic, melodramatic, epic or something entirely different?
6. WHY?
Why do the characters say what they say and do what they do? What are the circumstances that drive each character through the scene? What are the needs, desires, fears, hopes and motivations beneath the words that each character speaks?
Obviously, there will be a lot of other questions to consider, such as stagecraft, set and costume design, lighting, sound, projection and other elements that will be necessary to incorporate into the interpretation of the Neutral Script.
As you begin to think about how you will bring this scene to life, consider the following...
* Use only the lines that are written.
* Use silences or pauses as often as you like. Silences or pauses can be used to break up the flow of lines as written in the script.
* In some places, characters will be required to make non-verbal responses. In addition to these, characters may use gestures, facial expressions, body language and other non-verbal responses as often as they like.
* When a line ends with a question mark, that line must be spoken as a question. Where a line doesn’t end with a question mark, you may decide to make that line a question if you want to.
* Music can be used throughout the performance if required.
HINTS:
Sometimes the temptation is to try and impose a pre-determined story or set of characters onto the text. This can work, but often backfires. The best bet is to read the script and allow each performer to respond to it…what style seemed to suit it…what story did it suggest…who did these characters seem to be…?
Another approach is to ‘suppose’ some information and read the script in that context. For instance, suppose ONE and TWO are lovers… suppose it’s set in Ancient Rome… suppose it’s set in the outback… suppose it’s set on a boat…suppose it’s set in a space ship… suppose none of these characters are human…suppose there are two separate stories going on… and so the list could go on.
Whatever the strategy for interpreting the script, be wary of settling for the first idea. Explore different responses…merge ideas…let the script speak to you and listen to what it has to say.
Task to be completed in your Drama workbook:
Based on the transcript you read earlier for 'A Neutral Script', make detailed notes in response to the six questions above.
