OUT OF TWO OPPOSED, A THIRD WILL RISE

THE FIRST PRINCIPLE

"Conflict is the beginning of consciousness" - M. Esther Harding

Before anything else, we need to understand who and what we are - ‘we’ being the drama. A way to understand yourself is to look at what separates you from the others – what separates drama from the other major genres – prose, poetry and music? Each major genre has a fundamental nature – the core strength – what it’s all about. I believe drama is about conflict, the moment – the stuff that makes us ask, “what will happen next?” This is the core value of film and theatre – the drama. Conflicts. Who will win the conflict? How? And what will then happen? This is obvious in mainstream films and theater, but it also goes for art house films and off-off Broadway productions – only maybe in a more subtle way.

The other major genres also make use of conflict, yes, that’s correct, but let’s take prose as an example. This is the most obvious mirror for drama as this genre also deals mainly with stories. What really makes a novel great is the reflection – it’s ability to take a step back and reflect upon the moment instead of being immersed in it. To go inside people’s heads and let us listen in on their thoughts. The ability – by reflection - to connect events in time and space that are not otherwise connected. And to give meaning to events, places and persons only by description (which is reflection) is the strength of prose. We can also use reflection in drama, but if we rely on it as a major quality, the audience seems to loose interest. This has something to do – I think – with the fact that the film or the play is taking place in front of our eyes right here and now. It is unfolding in time second by second – and we watch it almost as we would watch real life. We have no time or patience for too much reflection. It takes us out of the moment.

This blog is not about the other genres, and so the analysis of their basic nature is not that well developed – but let’s say poetry is about feeling and music is about emotion - the difference being that the feeling of poetry is about a state, where the emotion of music is about a flow. So if you want to give a word for the nature of drama in the same manner, it could be ‘will’. Drama is about the will, because a character’s will to achieve an objective eventually lead to conflict with other characters or the environment.

This is the first principle of drama. The will of the character leads to conflict. This is what creates drama. This is where it all begins. Don’t ever forget that. It will save you every time you are stuck with a problem. Every time. Don’t underestimate this. It is always about the will of the character and the conflict. This is the fundamental principle of drama, so this is the thing you should check every time you are stuck. Again: Every time. Yes, I repeat this because I have seen in workshops, as a consultant and in my own work, how easy it is to forget this very simple thing. To become entangled with more complex ideas, the models, the theory, the psychology or whatever else we may use as tools when we are stuck with a problem. Because the very nature of drama is about the will of the character and the derived conflicts, then more often than not, this is were the problem and solution is found.
By stating the first principle in this way, I also take side in the old question: What is most important, the plot or the characters? The logic answer to this question must be: The characters.

The plot, and the plotting you do when creating a script, is of course immensely important. But the moment you say that the plot is more important than the characters, you will end up – to some degree – making the characters behave like marionettes to suit the needs of the plot – and thereby bereaving them their true will – their autonomy. But if you go the other way, saying characters are the most important, then you are not necessarily endangering the plot – because the plot can spring from the will of the characters, in the actions and conflicts revolving around them. Now remember we are talking principles here. In my experience, when working, there’s nothing so black and white. At moments the plot is most important – when you do the plotting. But the principle matters, because it’s your touchstone. Even when you have a great plot-idea, you want to pull off; you have to be dead sure, that it can be generated by the will of your characters. But on the other hand if you have great characters, you can let the plot be formed by them. This question of character and plot will be re-visited several times later on, when discussing the principle of character and the principle of uncertainty.