Character Through Diction/Subtext

Download the short scene from the Assignment Printout which is purposefully written without much character in the dialogue. Rewrite the scene, giving the dialogue more specificity, with clues telling us what kind of people are talking (use the Character Sketches below as the basis for your two characters).

Your objective here is to infuse the dialogue with character, using language specific to the character. This will help the lyricist create a song with the characters’ language patterns, and even using some of the actual specific language of the dialogue if appropriate. It will also help the composer create music that is pertinent to these particular people.

Please think about the following questions before you write each line of dialogue:

1. Who is speaking (refer to the thumbnail character sketch on this page)?

2. What does the character who is speaking want?

3. How does what the character want affect what the character can or will say?

4. What are the characters who speak willing to reveal to the other person in the scene?

5. How will their background (small town, middle-America, somewhat reduced finances and education, etc.) affect their language?

CHARACTER SKETCHES

HE is a young machinist in Paducah. He is good at his job, using computers to design and create small parts for a manufacturer of custom aircraft interiors. He has ambitions to be a full-fledged mechanical engineer someday, but he had to interrupt his education after two years at a local community college in order to go to work and help out the family when his father died. He likes jazz and action-adventure movies. And he really likes HER.

SHE is a native of Paducah also. She and he grew up in the same neighborhood. They’ve known each other since they were infants. She is still in school, planning to open a day care center and take care of the children of working parents. She enjoys working with children and hopes to have several of her own one day. She likes him, but is afraid that his sense of responsibility to his family will put off any possibility of a serious relationship for a long time…and she’s ready now.

Let the characters’ language accomplish basically the same scene as the one that follows on the next page, but with much more information about who they are and what they want from each other. Remember, the key to dialogue is subtext. Let us learn what the characters really think and feel through what they say, but don’t let them articulate exactly what they really think and feel. But REMEMBER: You don’t have to get ALL the information about these people into this one scene. Use the information to give a flavor to the characters and to their diction.

Note: Make sure you use ANMT’s standard formatting for this scene. Get used to it!

Nice work, Veronica - please have a listen to my audio feedback.