Post Day 7 Assignment Here

[Dave Halligan]

Dave’s 4 Act (Comedy Short) Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is:

My story is opening up and revealing things to me.

Create a first draft of my 4 Act Structure.

1.

Concept: A housewife works the switchboard of a small town telephone company during a blizzard on New Year’s Eve in 1950. All the scenes are set in the office, and the housewife/Audrey is the only character on screen though we will hear several others.

Main Conflict: She’s had a tiff with her husband who’s lost in the storm. He’s the town vet but we don’t suspect that until the midpoint.

2.

Act 1

— Opening: Audrey fills in for her sister on the switchboard.

— Inciting Incident: Audrey’s kids are home alone.

— Turning Point: The vet is wanted for an emergency at a distant farm.

Act 2

— New Plan: A sub-story develops concerning the town’s mayor and the governor’s office.

— Plan in Action: Audrey learns how to operate the new-used equipment.

— Midpoint: The vet has yet to arrive at the farm. Audrey’s sister’s story of her date gone wrong has a midpoint here as well.

Act 3

— Rethink Everything: The missing vet is Audrey’s husband.

— New Plan: Audrey goes from being angry at her husband to worrying about him.

— Turning Point: The farmer’s cow is struggling but the vet is still not there.

Act 4

— Final Plan: Audrey makes a bold suggestion.

— Climax: The cow and calf are in trouble. The vet is still not there.

— Resolution: Audrey helps the farmer save his calf. Her husband, the vet, arrives safely at the farm, and calls her. They make up.

3.

Improvements/Additional Big Picture Points for Antagonist:

— I still see this as a comedy short screenplay but I’ll try to pack it with action, humor, and subtext.

— I like the subplot about Audrey’s sister, a bootlegger, and a truckload of moonshine that I created in the last lesson. I’m sure I can use it.

— Every call (antagonists) must present a problem of sorts for Audrey. By the end, she must solve them all and in someway be transformed.