Basic Long Form Elements

A basic structured long-form is all open scenes in three acts: 

Act One Scenes A, B, C, 

Act Two, Scenes A, B, & C repeat,  

then thread them together in Act Three. 

Set the stage, take your places, and signal for the lights to come up.

Act 1: Platform - Potential is established. End on a cliff-hanger? 

Act 2: Fulfilling Potential of relationship - Time shift possible. Tilt? Surprise your partner? Take it to the next level!

Act 3: Climax/Conclusion - A resolution, which pulls only the threads required together. Some characters don’t make it to the third act and that’s OK. Who are the heroes of the show?

Note: An unstructured format, like a Montage such as the Improvazilla Show’s “What’s On Your Mind?” format, has no predetermined structure.


Conventional Harold-like Edits:

Tag-out - Gently tap someone on the shoulder to get them to exit the scene, and the remaining person stays same character and interacts with new character. Or gently tag out both characters and start new scene.

Tag Run - this is multiple tags- like if someone says, “I’ve had lots of bad dates.” 3 different people could tag in to show the dates, and then the scene continues (with the original actor tagging in). It doesn’t have to end a scene.

“Cut To _____!” / “Cut Back!” (Said offstage to initiate a quick view of a referenced past scene. Eg: “Cut to the party!” or “Cut to the conversation!”)

Last line repeat- To end a scene, repeat your last line for emphasis, then onstage actors leave stage.

Split screen- to initiate, just go on and make the “you stay put” gesture *while smiling*, then start your own scene to the side. Throw the focus back and forth. (Note that casts with a lot of experience together might not need to signal each other.)

Time Edits- just say “Two hours later” to audience loudly and confidently.

Scene Painting- Tell the audience what they should see. “She’s glowing a fierce red and sparks fly from her hair. She’s levitating a foot above the ground” or “There is a grand piano in the corner of the room, and the french doors look out onto a vast garden.”

Waving the lights down- Someone onstage or offstage waves their hand down to get the lights to fade, thus ending the scene.

Wipe- Walk confidently in front of the scene to end it, done downstage. (In our shows we’re starting to use waving the lights down more and more, as it’s more elegant than a wipe.)


Theatrical Elements to Use:

Soliloquy- You can use this one anytime, but especially in open scenes. Step downstage and face the audience. Your scene partner will go into no-motion and must not acknowledge what is said, but must listen carefully to use the information given.

Interesting stage pictures/blocking- Use every part of the stage and set, including extreme downstage/upstage/stage-right/stage-left portions. 

Set the stage for others- Work as a team to put up random chairs and tables for others to use, especially in Act 1.

Unscripted Plays:

Note that in improvised plays, internal edits are never used, as they destroy the illusion that a play is being watched, and scene changes are indicated by bringing the lights down or actors walking off stage.