Characters in Crisis

Will Dunne provided play writing insight at the May 2001 meeting. The following are some excerpts from his talk:

Using a game show analogy, Act I of a play introduces Door Number One and Door Number Two. Act II shows why both doors are options.

Ask yourself, perhaps after the first draft: What is a decision the main character must make near the beginning of the play? What is the crisis decision the main character must make near the climax of the play? Why is the decision difficult? What does the character gain by selecting door number one? What does the character lose by selecting door number one? How about door number two? Answer the questions both in general terms and in specific terms of the story you are telling.

What makes it a crisis for the character is that it is not a choice between good and evil, as the character sees it, but between two irreconcilable goods or the lesser of two evils. The character gains something important and loses something important no matter which way he or she chooses. This makes the decision unpredictable, a crisis decision, if the play has made a strong case for why the character could choose either option.