What you need in order to write a DT:FC script are the following things:
- A good story or myth as a basis (Shakespeare is a good example of a writer who worked from existing old stories).
- An understanding of the Key Elements.
- To know what message or values you want to convey.
- To know your characters (which is related to how many Players are going on this production).
- To practise simplicity and clarity of language — minimalist language.
- To understand and use the ancient oral tradition/technique of repetition.
When we’re teaching scriptwriting workshops, we use the story of The Golden Goose to illustrate these points.
Message or values
DT:FC does not teach by preaching, or offer plays with morals. The characters have morals and make choices that have consequences, but the lesson is integrated through the experience. Writers are taught: “Don’t tell us the princess is pretty — show us!” She must be pretty in her voice modulation, the way she tilts her head, her posture and poise, her grace. Likewise we don’t tell a child, “Don’t lie,” but show them in the play what lying or not lying leads to.
Children rarely moralise in their imaginative games; their games are timeless and open-ended. A moral implies an end, a crisis, a moment of catharsis, a denouement. A moral is a closed system. We don’t present the solid roadblock or finality of a moral — but we do not ignore the terrible responsibility of teaching what is right and good. The plays are not amoral. The myths are about love, companionship, filial devotion. Rather than tell a moral, we hope to create a model.
Because we know that children will “play” the play, we invite them to explore a positive model over and over in as many directions as their imagination can take it. We intend that they could make the model part of their everyday reality. We hope the child will choose to become strong and brave, wise and considerate.
Minimalist language
When the visual orientation of modern audiences is turned over to their imagination, the auditory orientation of the early oral culture replaces it. We learned, at first almost by accident, that the language needed to be sparse, minimal. There are not many words, and each word is chosen for the information or image it conveys. The Magic Lantern has fifteen minutes of dialogue if read continuously, but the play lasts 40 minutes. The dialogue is interspersed with pantomime.
When there is dialogue, each line is precise and very clear in meaning: “I am going over the mountain.” This sparsity of words allows a tempo of delivery that suggests “something special” — it is not conversational.
The language of these plays is poem-like or haiku-like:
- It is not discursive or narrative in style.
- It is precise.
- Each line is absolutely clear in meaning.
- There are no conversational, referring pronouns (“I am going over there with him”).
- Key plot shifts are repeated.
- Important ideas are repeated.
- Everyone can conceptualise what is happening — from Kindergarten to adult.
Repetition
Repetition is used in scripts to emphasise. When a new character is introduced, the script has the character’s name and qualities repeated by various Players. The main theme of the play or a scene may be repeated several times, often using different words emphasising the concept.
Scriptwriting practice: The Golden Goose
The following excerpt from The Golden Goose is an example of how easily a story can be dramatised. It would be difficult to produce this play with sets, props, costuming, and so on. The principle of sparsity makes this an exciting theatrical production. In the excerpt below, every prop and piece of scenery is imaginary — the ax, the fireplace, the tree, and so on.
The eight stations of the Wayfarer’s Journey
Before you dramatise any scene, mark where your source story hits each station of the Wayfarer’s Journey (Home, Call, Gate In, Road of Trials, Nigredo, Road of Trials II, Gate Out, Return). The Golden Goose hits them all. Find those hinges in your story first; the scenes write themselves around them.
Sample dramatisation
There need to be five Players, but not necessarily of any particular gender. A father and three sons enter the playing area, which is merely an empty space among the children.
Father: We are almost out of wood. There is very little wood left for our fire.
Son #1: Out of wood means out of food, for there will be no way to cook our dinner.
Son #2: We shall have to go to the forest and cut some wood. I went last time.
Son #1: All right. I can take a hint. I’ll go. (He picks up the ax.)
Simpleton: I will go.
Son #1: You? You couldn’t even find the forest.
Son #2: If you found the forest, you wouldn’t find any wood.
Simpleton: That’s not true. The forest is over there, and the wood is in the trees of the forest.
Father: You may not go. Your place is here by the fire. Now, Son, don’t you go out without your lunch.
Son #1: Well, thanks. I will go to the forest now so I can get back early.
Son #1 travels, carrying his lunch and the ax. He finds the forest and finds a tree. He is just about to cut when the Little Man enters.
Little Man: Good-day! How are you?
Son #1: I’m OK — except that I need to cut down this tree for our fire.
Little Man: I see you have a lunch here. Give me a bite of the sandwich and a sip of the milk.
Son #1: If I give you any, I won’t have enough for myself.
Little Man: But I am hungry and thirsty.
Son #1: What do I care? Go home and get your own food.
The Little Man wanders away and Son #1 cuts his arm, obliged to go home. The scene is practically repeated for Son #2, who cuts his leg. Then Simpleton asks to go and is allowed, since no one else can. Simpleton is given a crust of bread and a bottle of water, readily shared with the Little Man.
Little Man: As you have a good heart and are willing to share, I will give you good luck. Cut down that tree, and you will find something at the roots.
Simpleton: Well, I will cut down the tree, for we need it for firewood. If there is something at the bottom of it, that is all for the better.
When the tree is almost ready to fall, Simpleton signs to the children to make a pathway. The tree falls, and at its roots he finds a golden goose. He takes the Goose to the Father, who touches it and becomes stuck. On the way to the Doctor, several children watching also become stuck — they understand at once, because it’s like “Follow the Leader,” and when they understand it, they play the game. Eventually the group reaches the King and makes the princess laugh.
This technique can be applied to almost any children’s story that has come down to us from another age. If a modern story cannot be dramatised in this way, it is doubtful that it will stand the test of time.