Lesson 16

[Tita Beal Anntares]

16. Tita’s Character Intros/Exits

What I learned:

Excellent guidance for introductions and exits. And that my stage play has interesting intros and exits that fit the guidelines. They will be very useful for my next stage plays,

Examples: This is for a stage play not filmscript.

INTROS – the Protag and Antag are introduced first as actors who break the 4^th wall as the lights are going down. Next they are introduced as part of the storytelling in a Prologue that starts where the play as a story told by a tavern owner’s widow in 1794 with settlers moving West who will act out parts of the story for other settlers (audience) circled for the night.

PROTAG: Sam Adams, a quiet, unassuming man who listens, guides – and manipulates – people to do his political will by asking questions and showing respect to others – but he is guiding needed political action by giving people the sense that they came up with their own ideas and strategies.

INTRO AS ACTOR

· As actor, no costume, Sam slips onto stage as Dan – also as actor- is showing slides and quoting the praise that today’s militia members give to Shays Rebellion as justifying taking up arms against our elected government

· Sam joins the reciting of the praise but has slipped in a different slide showing the same quote but on the t-shirt that Timothy McVeigh wore the day he bombed innocents in Oklahoma in 1995

· Sam has infuriated Dan. The plays narrator shoos them backstage to start the play

INTRO Act I. Scene 1. 1781 (Type of Intro: Action)

· Sam Adams bolts out of a moving carriage because officers did not let him detour the carriage down to a tavern in order to celebrate victory with soldiers and camp follower who are former Boston mob leaders and farmers who signed up for Captain Daniel Shays’ regiment

· Sam spars with the African American Colonel who has chased him from the carriage and does wants him to get back in the carriage so he can return home from war of independence looking like a future leader not like the mastermind of the gangs of Boston that terrified people before the war

· Sam uses polite questions to respect whatever the officer and others want… but joyfully tricks the officer, getting him to return to the carriage so that Sam is free to join the foot soldiers and their camp followers who won their liberty from King and Parliament

EXIT Act II. Scene 7. 1793

· Sam comes out from his Inauguration party as Governor of the state of Massachusetts to deal with angry shouts about him and to stop a guard from arresting several of his former friends including Captain Daniel Shays who has been released from debtors prison

· Sam tries to reach out to his friends have turned against him, when he tries to reach out, they spurn him, almost knock him over – but, although the friendship is over, when Sam stops the arrest by asking for their promise that next time they disagree with the government they will choose voting over violence.

· As his wife Betsy tries to comfort him – despite agreeing with the friends – Sam is overcome with grief at losing the love of his beloved People but acknowledges he did not listen, let his anger and need to control what people do take over.

ANTAG: Captain Daniel Shays, a leader of high integrity who wants a peaceful life but also wants problems solved quickly and fairly… or else..

INTRO AS ACTOR:

· Daniel, as actor, rushes onto the stage to stop the house lights from lowering and warns the audience that the play is biased against today’s private armed militias who he says are patriots. He asks audience if their rights were in danger, wouldn’t they take up arms to protect our democracy? He shows slides and quotes Thomas Jefferson’s praise of Shays’ Rebellion.

· He becomes furious when his fellow actor Sam slips in and starts reciting the same quote – and has replaced his slide with one showing the same quote on the t-shirt that Timothy McVeigh’s wore the day he bombed innocents in Oklahoma in 1995

· He tries to explain to the audience that McVeigh was just one person and they can’t blame all people willing to take up arms to defend what they consider their democratic values rather than organize for the next election.

INTRO AS STORYTELLER. Prologue. 1795 (Type of Intro – Reactions to him)

· The same actor has become a drunk guarding a Native American who is tied by the neck to a covered wagon as settlers prepare for the night outside a ramshackle tavern in Sparta NY, across the border from Massachusetts.

· He tries to ignore the tavern owner’s widow who goads him to release the Native American, saying he is harmless, showed up with his wife and little one a few years ago during the “commotions” when Massachusetts men were shooting each other in the mid 1780s. Shays frees the Indian. Settlers run after their escaping captive, afraid he will warn his tribe and kill them before they reach a better life on the Ohio River.

· The tavern owner’s widow recognizes the drunk as Captain Daniel Shays, the leader of the Massachusetts rebellion now called “Shays Rebellion” that terrified the 13 nation states into proposing they unite under one Constitution in 1787. When the widow reminds Shays that she saw him meeting up with Sam Adams to celebrate victory – a memory that makes Shays double over, wretching.

INTRO: Act I. Scene 2.1781

· Outside the same tavern, Shays is gathered with his troop as soldiers and campfollowers squabble over who will be rich – but no one has money to buy a celebration drink of rum. Sam Adams, escaping through the woods from his carriage full of officers, arrives through the bushes, surprising all, to celebrate with soldiers. One soldier, a former leader of Boston’s South End mob, discovers a bag of spoils collected in night runs by another soldier, former leader of Boston’s North End mob.

· Shays tries to break up a fight over the spoils and who will be rich someday and able to Lord it over the others – and grab all Tory/Loyalist property because they supported King and Parliament when the British empire was depriving colonists of their rights as British citizens to govern and tax themselves through their elected representatives. Sam intervenes with a vision of a society of equals, each person getting respect, the right to vote, self-government, liberty. The troop laughs at him and escalates their dreams of being at the top of a rich, powerful hierarchy. Sam surprises them with his anger at wanting to become the new few that wants to dominate the many.

· Shays intervenes, reassures Sam they are actually afraid of returning home without pay for their years in service, just paper certificates of pay that may take years before they can be redeemed for money – Shays offer Sam all the spoils to help repay the debt so people can redeem their pay certificates as soon as possible – and the tavern owner’s widow offers them a keg of rum because she has seen too much war and killing, wants them to be able to celebrate

EXIT: Act II. Epilogue. 1795

· Outside the tavern, picking up exactly where the Prologue left off: The tavern owner’s widow is cleaning up the vomit off Shays who is in despair, mourning, and drunk as he sees settlers drag back the body of the Native American that he set free.

· The settlers, arguing over who killed him and who will bury him, explain to Shays they had to kill him so his tribe would not attack them when they move West.

· Shays hates the reasons, cannot again kill for a better life. Must be better way. He leaves the wagon train to stay with widow. Or her rum.

[Rhonda Burnaugh]

Character Intros and Exits.

In short, I thought my original intro was boring. So, I wrote a whole new one that I hope works a lot better. I still think the exit is spot on! I’d share it here, but I think the lines are much improved.

[ZhiMin Hu]

I re-arranges the sequences of the first 10 scenes and puts the most powerful scene in the beginning for the two main characters. the end result is stunning, it enhances the message.

I modified the exit for one character and make it much more funny instead of cheesy.

[Julie Dod]

Subject: Julie Dod’s Intro / Exit Characters Powerfully

What I learned doing this assignment is that once I had core structure of the script written with the changes made along the way, going back to their intros and exits was easier than I thought it would be because this time I knew the characters better.

My red lettering showing the changes doesn’t copy and paste here, so I used a different format to show improvements.

Main Character – Protagonist – Molly – Intro Beats

· Giving food to homeless woman

· Helps drunk woman from bar to bathroom –

·       When Dan comes looking for her in the restroom and takes over taking care of Maria so Molly can join “the Show,” Molly says, “God I love you” before leaving the restroom

· The crowd cheers when Molly runs up to the bar and two regulars help her up. Molly starts “The Show” with the other servers, the crowd going crazy now that she has joined

· Catches Antagonist’s eye; Molly shakes off the eye contact she made with Jake, but she somehow keeps finding his eyes

· Chandelier falls

Main Character – Dan – Antagonist – Intro Beats

· Enters Ladies Restroom – polite and says hi to all the ladies– looking for Molly

· Goes into bathroom stall, tells Molly they’re all waiting for her

· Stays with Maria, holds her hair, rubs her back – and tells Molly he’ll take care of Maria

· Dan kisses Molly before she leaves the stall – tells her he loves her – go get ‘em, Babe.

· Molly says she loves him too as she runs out of the stall

· He and Maria walk out to Bar to see the Show – watching Molly admiringly

· Dan watching Molly like he’s the luckiest bastard in town that she’s with him and no one else

·       Notices Jake watching Molly
·       Notices Molly catching and holding Jake’s eyes
·       Countenance quickly deflating

· Chandelier falls

Main Character – Jake – Antagonist – Intro Beats

· Enters the bar among the excitement of the show having started, looking around intrigued and excited by it, the women notice him immediately and cant’ take their eyes off him

· Sees Molly

· Asks about her to his friend, Brian

·       When Brian points to Dan, Brian sizes up Dan like he’s sizing up the new kid in school whom he decides poses no threat

· He keeps his eyes on Molly

· Jake starts moving closer to the bar, not caring he’s practically standing next to Dan

· He and Molly lock looks

· He has followed her every move, standing confidently with that James Dean aura, that Molly can’t help but looking back at him

· He and Molly lock eyes again

· Chandelier falls

Main Character – Protagonist – Molly and Dan – Ending Beats

· She and Dan walking toward Seany’s

· Surprised when she sees the transformation Seany’s has made

· Happily surprised Dan has quit being a lawyer to lead chef and manage the new Seany’s

· She says she likes the new Dan

· When Dan tells her “God I hope I’ve changed,” and tells her he misses her and wants her back, she moves closer to him.

· When Dan tells her she deserved better – that he knows he was an asshole – and will never be that guy again, she says, “I believe you, Dan – we both lost our way.”

·       When Dan says he misses her and wants her to come home, she gives him a loving look in his eyes, as they are now standing kissing distance from each other, and says, “if you’ll promise me just one thing.”  Dan says, “anything, Molly, I’ll never give up on us again.”  Molly says, “promise me I’ll never have to eat your langostinkos.”
·       They both laugh, and hug.

· They walk out of Seany’s with Dan’s arm around Molly, music is playing, Seany watching with tears in eyes and a big Irish smile, and the two of them stop underneath the chandelier for kiss that will last a lifetime.

Main Character – Jake – Antagonist – Exit Beats

· Molly comes to Jake’s door, pounds on it, soaking wet.

· The girl that’s in his apartment looks through the peephole, announcing it’s a woman

·       Jake looks through the hole and sees it’s Molly – throws his head down with gloom, and the girls answers the door.

· When Jake says Molly’s name, the girl is upset, and tells her to come in, as she leaves the room.

· Jake asks Molly if she’s okay. Molly slowly looks around the room, and lands her eyes back on Jake.

· Jake tries to explain – Molly, I’m not rea-

· Molly holds up her hand and stops him and looks at his shoes.

·       Jake says, “Molly, please – I “ she stops him again.
·       Molly says, struggling, “I actually loved you.”
·       Jake looks at her hard in the eyes and with an honesty he never knew he had says, “I know.”

· Before walking out of the apartment Molly says, “those are some shoes you have Jake.”

[J.R Riddle]

What I learned? This was another fabulous lesson that inspired me into understanding more ways to elevate my script and any future scripts. My whole script dramatically improved with these changes, because of knowing what the agent, manager and actors are wanting.

I changed and elevated all 2 of my protag. and my antagonist, coming and going. They have more depth and more interesting scenes as a result. I’m excited about the possibilities. I also realize that I’ll go back again and elevate what I’ve missed and now found.