Senior High School

Creative Writing
Quarter 4 – Information and Activity Sheet 3
Conceptualization of a Play

Quarter 4, Week No. 3

School-based SLM
Information Sheet
 Baybay City Senior High School
Baybay City, Leyte

Subject : Creative Writing

Grade Level : 11
Subject Type : Specialized
Prepared by : Rowena Amor T. Fernandez
Learning Competency : Conceptualize a character/setting/plot for a one-act play
Objective : The learner…
1. Understands the basic concepts of a play
2. Conceptualizes characters, setting, and plot for
a ten-minute play or flash drama

KEY CONCEPTS

By now, you should already have known that you are going to write another
genre of creative writing – the drama or play. The drama is the final genre that you
are going to produce for our subject and is a Performance Task (60% of your
grade). This drama or play must be written in Bisaya.
Let’s Review
Before delving into the lesson for this week, let us first review the concepts
you have been introduced so far:
a. The elements of drama
In this case, since you are about to write your own play or drama, let us
focus on the literary elements: plot, characters, setting, point of view
(through the main or point of view character), dialogue, and theme.

Take note that all these elements must be present in the play that you are
going to write.

b. Intertextuality
Intertextuality is when a text implicitly or explicitly refers to another text, by
using distinctive, common or recognizable elements of the referenced text.

The play that you are going to write can be intertextual or can refer to or
based from another play, a short story, a novel, a song, a film, etc.
Types of Plays
According to structure, plays can be classified into:
a. Flash Drama / Ten-minute Plays - a type of theatrical play that does not
exceed ten minutes in duration, hence the name. A good ten-minute play
is not a sketch or an extended gag, but rather a complete, compact play,
with a beginning, middle and end. It typically takes place in one scene and
runs no more than ten pages.

2
 Baybay City Senior High School
Baybay City, Leyte

b. One-act Plays - consists of many scenes in just one act. It tackles only one
situation and contains only one theme. One-acts can run anywhere from
fifteen minutes to an hour or more. Arguably the most popular length for
one-acts is around a half-hour. A good one-act focuses on one main action
or problem; there's not time to get into complicated layers of plot.

c. Full-length Plays - contains many acts and within each act are several
scenes, which make it longer than a one-act play. Full-length plays are
also called evening-length plays, because they're long enough to be their
own evening. How long is that? Anywhere from around seventy or eighty
minutes and up.

d. Musicals - Musicals can run the gamut in length from ten minutes (though
these are rare, because it's not very cost effective to assemble a band to
play for only ten minutes) to three hours. Again, the middle ground -
somewhere between ninety minutes and two hours, is probably the one to
shoot for.

The play that you are going to write for this subject is a ten-minute play or a
flash drama.
But the play or drama can be expressed in different types of genres. The type
of chosen genre varies depending on the intent of the author. There are six types of
drama according to genre, these are the following:
a. Comedy – this genre is dramatic and amusing at the same time. In most
comedies, the ending results in a happy and successful conclusion.
b. Tragedy – this is a type of drama that depicts sadness, human suffering,
and misfortune. In literature, the most common resolution for a tragedy is
when the protagonist dies.
c. Melodrama – this genre takes advantage of exaggeration and
sensationalism. It utilizes music to draw emotion and appeal to the feelings
of the audience.
d. Musical drama – this type of drama takes advantage of the music. Instead
of pure dialogue and acting, musical drama makes use of dancing and
singing to tell a story.
e. Historical drama – this is a type of drama that attempts to relive famous
historical events that made a mark in the world. It can also be based on
stories of famous people in history.
f. Fantasy – this is a type of drama that showcases magic, pseudo –
science, horror, and other themes that only exist in the human mind. This
particular type is famous among children and individuals who are young at
heart. In most cases, it utilizes a lot of special effects.
As such, you also have to decide what genre your play will be shaped into.
You may write a flash comedy or a flash tragedy or a flash fantasy, or a flash
musical, and so on. The decision is yours to make.

3
 Baybay City Senior High School
Baybay City, Leyte

What to write?
The following is the basic structure of a drama. In considering what your story
will you tell through your drama or play, think of that story in terms of the following:
1. Be prepared to tell your audience in as quick and as dramatically satisfying
a manner as possible:
a. who the characters are
b. these characters’ relationships with each other
c. the gist of the problem
d. what is at stake
2. Define the conflict of the play.
3. Protagonist needs to decide.
4. Protagonist makes a choice and does something about it.
5. The aftermath. How does the protagonist’s decision affect the rest of the
play?
With this structure in mind, let us go back to the different elements of drama and
consider each in conceptualizing your play:
• PLOT: Where in your overall story should you begin writing the play?
(importance of the beginning and the ending, use of bookends to signify
closure) It is a good idea to envision first the ending that you like for your story
and then back track a little bit and begin your play a few scenes that lead to
that ending. (For example, you want a play that ends with the main character
leaving his girlfriend despite being truly in love with her. Start your play with
the different instances that lead to that breakup.)
• CHARACTER: a.) What does the lead character (protagonist) want to
accomplish? Who stops the lead character from accomplishing his/her
objective (antagonist)? Note that characters are central to the drama and like
human beings, the characters in your play must have motivations and
aspirations. b.) How well do the protagonist and antagonist match up against
each other?
• CONFLICT: Is the conflict clearly stated? Are the protagonist’s choices even?
Conflict is the most important part of the plot as it propels the story forward
and is rooted from the aspirations and motivations of the protagonist. The
choices of the protagonist must be even to create conflict. If choice A is
positive, while choice B is negative, there is no conflict because clearly the
choice should be A. If choice A is positive and choice B is also positive, still
there is no conflict because whatever the character chooses, it is surely
beneficial. Conflict occurs when both choice A and choice B are negative. The
character then needs to choose which is the lesser evil choice. This creates
conflict because whatever choice he makes, sacrifice and suffering are

4
 Baybay City Senior High School
Baybay City, Leyte

entailed. (For example, for a husband whose wife is dying in the delivery
room, the choice whether to save his wife or his child is really a conflict and
surely heartache and guilt will come with whatever choice he makes.)
• SETTING: Can the characters explore the problem/s of the play based in
his/her chosen setting? As such, the setting you create for your play must be
congruent or appropriate to the conflict and the characters of your play.
• THEME/INSIGHT: What do you want your audience to realize from your play?
Do the scenes in the play support this? The insight is not necessarily a lesson
that should be learned. This is a perspective of life that you share to your
audience through your play’s plot, characters, and setting. This is your
audience’s takeaway which should come out in the different scenes of your
play.
As much as possible, steer clear from melodrama. You make informed decisions
while writing the play.
Putting It All Together
Assuming that you already have a story in mind for your drama, the next thing
to do is start structuring it.
The first thing a writer must do when he has decided to write a story for drama
is find out which of the many kinds of drama it will be suited to. In your case,
remember that you are going to write a flash drama or ten-minute play and decide
what genre this play will be. Knowing the structure and the genre will help you in
breaking down the story.
For example, you have an idea for a story about a boy and a girl who meet at
a fast food restaurant and immediately fall in love. Depending on what kind of drama
you intend to write, the way your story will unfold will change. You would need, for
example to stretch your story for a full-length play. If you are doing a flash drama,
then you have to tell your drama in a few scenes. Your drama will also unfold and
end differently depending on the genre you will choose – a comedy unfolds and ends
differently than a tragedy.
To break down a story means to identify the arc of the plot. In traditional
drama, as in fiction, the plot follows the structure of Freytag’s pyramid. Breaking
down the story allows you to see not only the direction your story will take, it will also
help you in thinking about your story on scenes and acts.

Reading and Writing

Writing in Scenes and Acts: Scenes
In drama, a scene is a unit of action. There is a common misconception that
scenes are tied to setting – that scenes only change when the setting changes. But

5
 Baybay City Senior High School
Baybay City, Leyte

this is not the case; a dramatic scene is predicated on what happens, not where it
happens.
For example, a husband and a wife are having a conversation in a bedroom.
This conversation leads to a revelation that the husband has been lying to his wife
about where he works. The wife leaves the room in tears. Immediately, as the wife
leaves, the couple’s son enters the bedroom to confront his father about the lie.
In terms of setting, the events above happen in just one place. But even so,
there are two dramatic scenes there. The first one is the revelation of the husband’s
lies and the second scene is the confrontation between father and son. It is the same
setting, but there are two different actions, so there are two different scenes.
Why is it helpful to think of your story in terms of scenes? Because in the
process of breaking down your story, you need to look at it based on the actions your
characters will do, not where they are. This kind of thinking helps clarify how things
will unfold in your play. And the unfolding of events in drama is important because
the story needs to be told in a limited amount of time. This is very important to note,
especially in flash drama where the actions should take place in one setting and
should not run for more than ten minutes.
Acts
After scenes, the next big unit of drama is the act. The act basically is a
sequence of scenes. A play can have between one and five acts, depending on
how the writer structures the story. Each act in turn, while they can have a limitless
number of scenes, runs to about 30 – 90 minutes depending on the story.
Acts are a helpful way for writers to structure their story. The classic structure
of drama has a five-act structure that moves from exposition through climax to
resolution. Modern playwrights have simplified this five-act structure to just three
acts.
The so-called Three–Act Structure divides the story into the following acts:
1. Set-Up (Act 1) – In this act, you are introduced to the world of the drama,
including the characters and their motivations. You also see the inciting
incident that propels the drama to its second act.
2. Conflict (Act 2) – You see the escalation of events coming out the inciting
incident in the first act. The character’s wants and desires come into
conflict with each other, creating tension, which pushes the drama into its
final act.
3. Resolution (Act 3) – The conflicts that were building up in the second act
now come to a head. This is where the final confrontation happens
between the opposing forces of drama. In the final scene of this act, you
see the final outcome of the conflict and how it has changed the
characters in the drama.
But play has one, three, or five acts or whether it runs for only ten minutes,
the idea is that each is a complete series of actions that lead to some kind of
conclusion.

6
 Baybay City Senior High School
Baybay City, Leyte

Quarter 4, Week No.3

Activity Sheet
Name ________________________________ Score __________
Grade & Section _______________________ Date ___________

Subject : Creative Writing

Grade Level : 11
Subject Type : Specialized
Prepared by : Rowena Amor T. Fernandez
Learning Competency : Conceptualize a character/setting/plot for a one-act play
Objective : The learner…
1. Understands the basic concepts of a play
2. Conceptualizes characters, setting, and plot for
a ten-minute play or flash drama

Instructions: The primary aim for this lesson is for you to conceptualize the story for your
flash drama or ten-minute play. As such, you are going to accomplish this activity by
applying what you have learned in the information sheets.
A. Identify the genre of your play by encircling one of the following choices:
a. Flash tragedy
b. Flash comedy
c. Flash fantasy

B. Brainstorm your narrative by going through the following steps:

1. Aside from identifying the genre of your play, think about what story (significant human
experience) you want to explore. Will it be about (encircle one)
a. love b. adventure c. revenge d. success

2. In the set-up or exposition, you provide the readers/viewers a background of the people,
place, era, etc. It answers the basic questions of who, what, where and when. The
exposition also should already establish the mood and the central conflict of the story.
Outline the exposition of your story by answering the following:
a. Who are the characters of your play?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
b. What are these characters’ relationships with each other?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
c. Where does the story take place?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

7
 Baybay City Senior High School
Baybay City, Leyte

d. State the gist of the problem

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
e. What is at stake?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3. In the conflict or rising action, the story begins to unfold the challenges that the
characters will have to face. It raises the tension of the audience and culminates in the
highest peak also known as the climax.
a. Define the conflict of the play.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
b. What moves the protagonist to decide?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
c. What does the protagonist choose?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
d. What does the protagonist do in relation to his choice or decision?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

4. When you present the resolution, it releases the tension from the climax. You have the
freedom to choose how to end your story. It could be a happy or tragic ending
depending on your story and your genre.
The aftermath. How does the protagonist’s decision affect the rest of the play?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Note: The ideas you reflected in this activity will be the basis of your script which you
will write next week. Make sure to leave a copy of this activity with you for your
reference.