UNIT 35 RADIO-DRAMA - 2 Structure '

35.0 Objectives 35.1 Construction 35.2 'PADMINI' : A short play 35.3 Dialogue 35.4 A 'Word-play dialogue' : 'A Lost Shirt' 35.5 A 'Dialogue-dependent' Play in 'Real Time':

SHURPANAKHA IN PAKCHAVATI 35.6 Let us sum up 35.7 Key words . 35.8 Some useful books & broadcasts

Answers

35.0 OBJECTIVES

A careful study of this unit will help you to identify the various 'construction stages' of radio drama; move smoothly from one stage to another in your own attempts at scripting radio drama; give yourself practice'ip using the techniques of composing dramatic dialogue; and attempt reinterpretatibns of stories from literature or life so as to bring out the drama in them.

35.1 CONSTRUCTION In the last unit we tried to equip you with hunting tools for finding ideas for your radio play. When you have found an idea, and are satisfied with, or inspired by it, you start the real work. This is the work for which the writer is given his name, playwright, -the builder or the maker of plays. it is the work of construction; and it is, as such things always are, far 'easier said than done'. You can describe in a few minutes how a building is built, but it takes months to build one. So we shall first do the easier task orsaying', and put off the doing to the next section.

The idea you have found must now find a medium for its expression. It must find a vehicle in which to move forward. An idea is a spirit, which cannot find expression unless it has a body. The body it needs for dramatic expression is a story. Now where do you look for a story?

Stories are found in two spheres, - life, and literature. We must understand the term literature here in its broadest sense. It may be anything between great epics and local folk tales. By 'life7, we mean anything that happens to you or around you, or in your times. If the events in your play are well known, your work may be called 'controversial' in your own days and 'historical' after your times. So it may be wiser for you to look for your story in the private lives of 'unkaown' persons, that is to say, ordinary people. This advice is for.those who prefer to look in life for their stories. If you would rather look for them in literature, take a story fifty years after the death of the story-teller. The original writer has a copyright on his story for that period.

At this point we must get rid of q misconception, - which is that those who find their stories in literature are somehow not so 'original' as those who take them from life. This is a mistaken notion. If it had been true, Shakespeare would have been looked upon as a third-rate playwright, not as the greatest of them to this day as he is in fact honoured. All the stories in Shakespeare's plays come from the books of other writers. But that only gives us the opportunity to find out how great a genius Shgkespeare was when we compare them with him. The difference in 'originality' between a story taken from literature and one found in literature is just this: if a writer finds his story in life, his source may stay unknown to his readers until some researcher does a qreat deal of investigative work on it. A story from literature can on the other hadd be easily traced A - :&- ' n L L - - l : A - - :- -LL--, -- I--- -- A L - m a - - - - - :-- .--l-L. - - -...

MJMC PGDJ-2 Sagar Kanojia

our wise men. We may not often know how closely a writer has copled his a17from.life, in spite of all theinvestigators who may pry into the secret. A story

n from literature for a play is after all from an 'open book', so that we can easily pare it with its source.

re, take whatever story takes your fancy, be it from life or from literature, but your messagein it. The story isonly your raw material. Your 'play's the thing' --as

'in which your're going to catch the conscience of your king', i.e., your

w which shall we find first, our story, or our characters? It could be either. You could rst find the ideas you feel you must and~hen look for a story which has the

racters that can be shaped to hold those ideas like the 'paatras' or 'vessels' as some ian scholars call them. Or you. could be struck by the possibilities or a 'story' from or literature to bring characters to life in a play, and then look for ideas to 'energise'

e story, and the characters.

you have found your ideas, your story and your chfKacters, the rest of the work is ter of sitting down and letting your characters take hold of your pen (or your

The 'simplest way of telling a story' in a play, says McLeish, is to 1) explain the situation, 2) introduce '&nflict', 3) devehp the action, and 4) resolve the 'conflict'.

When you have had enough practice in writing, you may feel you should attempt 'less simple' plays with sub-plots and 'side shows' or what have you. But over the radio, a simple plot is whatworks, and it has a far better appeal with the audience than complicated plays. First of all the audience will not be able to tell the characters one from another if there are two many of them. They have to tell them by their voices, and mostpeople cannot remember too many voices. There should be no more than four .

o try a simple story with boldly sketched characters. Complications in fact suit the taste of the 'middle level'. Both the innocent and the profound prefer simplicity.

Do you remember what we said about, 'Wellbegun is half done'! Nowhere is this saying truer than in drama. Once a play begins well, you have your audience captive. For, as soon as people get interested in a story, they want to know how it ends, and you can be sure they will hear your play out to the end. Your difficulties, therefore, are all in the first scene or two. When these have gone well, the rest will 'look after themselves', so

Scenes can be changed at a moment's notice in radio. All you have to do is to let the 'people in the play' say where they are going next, and then let music strike up, - you are in the next scene! Since change is so easy, you can make your scenes as short as you please. The audience won't complain, as they may at too frequent scene changesin the threatre, because it wastes their time, which they have paid for in waiting. Quickscene changes will give the radio audience a feeling of movement. Then if there is interchange of scenes with two sets of characters, who belong to 'two wings' of the play, will give you scope for variety. This kind of interchange will make it easier to shift the scenes themselves, between indoors and outdoors, between light- hearted and serious moods, emotional and matter-of-fact situations, and so on. If it is a 'tension-building' kind of play, the,scenes grow shorter as tension builds up. If it is a 'relaxed' episode in a light-hearted comedy serial, its scenes change between longer and shorter ones.

There are three aspects of the construction that can change, as McLeish says, these being, pace, mood, and place.

1) Changesin pace may be between fast andslow action, quiet and noisy locations, or long and short scenes.

2 Changes in mood may be between tense and relaxed atmospheres, or angry, happy, tragic, and 'dispassionate' scenes.

3, Changes in place can be from indoor to outdoor, crowded streets or halls to deserted fields or waysides.

All these scene changes are of ron+r.- htn~rnh* --A:--*-. r--

WrlUng for Rsdlo music, sound effects, and words. And so are an'the colours you need to bring in, brought in by sounds, -sounds that can paint. How do sounds painl? They paint by evocation, by 'calling the colours out' from your audience's memory. Words can create all the magic of colours, with music and sound effects to help them.

Now with all these points in mind, read a short play, a radio play, PADMINI. The story is that of the' legendary Padmini of Chittor, Rajasthan. But the play is only about her triumph, which she had before her tragedy. Youcan add more scenes and take the story to its tragic end if you so wish.

We have chosen this play with a story from literature for our sample with a purpose. We should like you to compare this dramatisation with the original story and find out how the dramatic effect has been brought out. The story is itself highly dmmtx. But it can either gain or lose in drama in its telling You should read and decide what has in fact happened in this sample.

The story has a hero and a heroine, and an anti-hero (Naayaka and 'pratinaayaka' as some Indian scholars call them). We first meet the anti-hero because it is his coming that creates the 'situation' that we have to explain. The anti-hero sows the seeds of the 'conflict' in the play; and the conflict is fully 'ihtroduced' when we meet the hero and the heroine, in the next scene. Then we see 'both parties' meet, to 'develop the action'. Finally the heroine 'resolves theconflict!'. So in thissample we seem to have takencare of McLeish's four stages of 'construction'.

What is the 'idea' of the play? Faith, honour, loyalty, 'Dharma', is: under attack. It is attacked by the 'might is right' notion of egoism. Then there is 'brain against brawn', and a big 'Tit-for-tat'. But before starting your play-reading, check your progress through this section.

Check Your Progress 1

Answer these questions in not more than three sentences each. 1) What expresses itself through the story in a play?

2) Where did Shakespeare look for stories for his play?

3) What does this section say about originality?

35.2 ' ~ ~ ~ M I N I ' : A SHORT PLAY

CAST

Padmini Rana Bhimsingh Allauddin Khilji Allauddin's Minister Chittor's Minister Courtiers

SPOT EFFECTS ., -

horse galloping out ical intervals for scene changes

SC NEONE is ~f f l c t : (NOISES OF A FULL COURT HALL)

VOQ: Silence please! Silence! Rise to greet the emperor. Eff ct: (FLOURISH OF TRUMPETS) t Yo e: King of Kings! The defender of the faithful! The right hand of Allah! The em eror of Hindustan! Allauddin Khilji! t (Jb iers: Long Live the Emperor! Allauddin Khilji Zindabad! k

Kinsmen and friends, thetwenty-firstof next month is the first anniversary How shall we celebrate it?

ister: It is the anniversary of the foundation of your dynasty, your majesty .And the - way to celebrate it is to do what is necessary to continue it.

All uddin: Speak more plainly, Malik. I am a soldier, not a courtier. 4 ister: Bring us a queen, your majesty. A queen to grace the throne by your side and you an heir to that throne.

ddin: So you want me to get married next month, before my conquests are Well, there is a point in what you say. Bring me the most beautiful woman in and I shall marry her.

Mi ter: But that is impossible, your majesty. t All ddin: Impossible? Take back your words at once. Nothing shall be impossible for All f uddin Khilji.

Forgive me, your majesty, but the most beautiful woman in Hindustan is

11 her husband to divorce her at once. The most beautiful n Hindustan should marry the most powerful man in Hindustan and sit on the

st not be bidden in an ordinary man's kitchen. Where does she

most beautiful woman in Hindustan is Queen Padmini of Chittor. She is of Rajah Bhimsingh.

Go and tell the Rajah that he will have to give up his queen if he wants to

Miibter: But people say his wife is dearer to him than his kingdom or his life.

din: His wife will not be able to help him when he has last his life. And that is ill happen to him if he is going to be obstinate. I offer him the friendship of the werful man in Hindustan if he gives up the love of a merely beautiful woman. sensible man, he will know how to make the right choice between these two. word that I am going to Chittor to speak to him.

Pad hi: What is all this about, my lord? The maid says the cooks are talking about grai feasts. f

And I'd like to talk to you about it too, Padmini. Allauddin Khilji of Delhi me a visit and he likes feasts.

PsdAini: B)ut what,'s he coming to Chittor for? Does he want any help from us?

k His 1 tter doesn't say that. He says he would like to be friends with us and the terms of a treaty of friendship.

ini: What are the terms, my lord? Are they reasonable? . .

hope they'll be, my dear. we hasn't put them in his letter.

W r l w for Rdio Padmini: That means he will propose reasonably good terms if we give him reasonably good food. So I must have a short talk with the cooks while you hold a long chat with your ministers.

Bhimsingh: I don't think I'll have time for any long chat. Can you see a cloud of dust over there? Allauddin must be bringing a large number of horses to kick up all that dust.

Effect: (HORSES COMING ON)

SCENE THREE

Effect: (NOISES OF A BANQUET)

Allauddin: 1 am deepry grateful to you, Rajah Bhhmirrgh saheb, for this grand reception; but hy hasn't your queen come down to grace this occasion? Bhimsingh; Your majesty must pardon her. Our women do not take part in feasts like this.

Allauddin: Well, if that is your custom, I suppose there is nothing she can do about it. But I have heard so much about her beauty that I am dying to see her. Perhaps she will1 come to see me after this feast is over.

Bhimsingh: I don't think she will, your majesty.

Allauddin: When shall I see her then? Tomorrow?

Bhimsingh: No, your majesty, neither tomorrow nor any other day. You will not be able to see her in this life. A Rajput wife cannot let any other man but her husband set eyes on her. She would sooner die than let that happen.

Allauddin: And I will soon die of curiosity if it does not happen. And a Rajput prince, I am told, would sooner part with his kingdom than let an honoured guest depart disappointed.

Bhimsingh: That is true, your majesty. I would sooner reduce myself to beggary than see my guest beg in vain.

Allauddii: If that is so, I beg you, let me see Queen Padmini's beauty. , '

Bhimsingh: I shall speak to her about this. Your majesty must be tired after your long journey from Delhi. I wish you a good night's rest. I shall attend on you tomorrow morning.

(Musical Interlue)

SCENE FOUR

Padmini: What are you worrying about,'my lord? Is Allauddin making any unreasonable demands? Is he asking you to treat him as your overlord?

Bhimsingh: Do you think it would worry me if he asked that? If he wants to be my overlord he'll have to fight me and fulfil his wish if he can. But that isn't what he wants. He challenges me to be a true Rajput host, and begs for the impossible.

Padmini: The impossible? This is the first time I have heard you talk about anything is impossible, my lord. What does the man want?

Bhimsingh: Oh, how can I talk about it? He wants to see you. He says he is dying to gee your beauty. How can I ask you to let him see you? And how can I break the rules of hospitality?

Padmiii: But you needn't do either, my lord. a ,

' Bhimsingh: Is that another puzzle for me? But I'm not looking for more puzzles, Padmini. What I want is a sofution.

Padmini: And that's what I'm offering you. If Allauddin wishes to see my beauty, he may do so without seeing me.

Bhimsingh: If you're thinking of your picture, I can assure you he isn't.

Padmini: Neither am I.

Bhimsingh: Then how can he see your beauty unless he sees you?

mini: Where there is a will, my lord, there is a way; and where there is a mirror, re will be my beauty without me.

imsingh: Brilliant! But it's so simple. Why didn't the idea strike me?

admini: Because you don't look into the mirror every day, as I do, my lord.

himsingh: There's more to it than that, but again, how will Allauddin see your image the mirror without seeing you?

mini: Stand a full size mirror across the door between two rooms. 1'11 stand on my of the wall facing the mirror, and he can stand on the other side and look at it. Then

e can see my beauty although he will not see me. What do you think of my idea? That's ne way of doing it.

himsi&h: You're so clever and so clear.

Padmini: I'll go and and look for a clear mirror while you think out the clever words in whlch you will put the idea to Allauddin.

(Musical Interlude)

SCENE FIVE

Maid: This way, your majesty, this way. There stands the Queen.

Allauddin: Her beauty is breath-taking. Is she really like this?

Maid: She looks exactly as you see her in the mirror, your majesty.

Effect: (FOOTSTEPS RECEDING, COMING ON AGAIN)

Allauddin: Rajah saheb I can find no words to speak about my gratitude. SO I must express it in action. Will you come to my tent today and be my guest of honour?

Bhimsingh: That will be the pleasantest of my duties as your host in Chittor, your

Allauddin: I am happy that you think so. And I hope to make it pleasanter than you think. I shall expect you before sunset.

(Musical Interlude)

Effect: (NOISES OF A BANQUET IN TENTS)

Allauddin: So you promise that Chittor will be friends with Delhi for ever.

Bhimsingh: Yes. For ever, your majesty. I will never be the cause of a breach between

Allauddin: Then, Rajah saheb, so that our two sta,tes may be united in lasting friendship, I ask for the hand of Princess Padmini in marriage.

Bhimsingh: How can you say such a thing? It is against your laws as well as mine.

ng nothing against the laws because what I say is law.

Bhimsingh: I don't agree with you.

Allauddin: I am not asking for your agreement. 1 am asking for Padmini, and she must be brought to my tent, and handed over to me. You shall not leave until she arrives. Malik, send word to Padmini that Bhimsingh is my prisoner and ask her to come here

SCENE SEVEN

Chittor'sMinister: Death for our Rana or dishonour to our Rani; or both. Neither I nor isters have been able to find a way out of this situation.

Padmini: That means there is no way out of it. But I don't intend to let my husband die, and wait for a widow's fate. So send word to Allauddin that 1 shall be in his tent before tornorrow morning. Ask him to receive me as the future empress of Delhi should be received. My arrival will also be attended with imperial pomp and splendour. Two hundred maids of honour will attend on me on mv inumev and each maid will romp in

='tit@ for Radio her own palanquin carried by four bearers. One thousand horses wtll follow me in a grand procession without riders. I will not be free to marry the emperor until I have divorced my husband. I will not even see Allauddin as long as I am another man's wife. So he must first send my husband to see me when I amve. When I have divorced him and said goodbye to him, I shall send my first maid of honour to call the emperor. He cannot come to me until I am ready to see him. If he agrees to all these conditions I shall start from here tonight. Send him this message and bring me his reply. I shall myself make arrangements for my journey.

Effect: (NOISE OF A HORSE GALLOPING WITH MESSENGER)

SCENE EIGHT

Minister: Do you agree to all these conditions, your majesty?

Allauddin: To all those and even more if Padmini asks. If she wants me to die the day aftedhe marries me, I shall do so without a protest. Ask her to come as soon as she can in as grand a proiession as she pleases. Tell Bhimsingh to be ready to see her the moment she is here.

(Music)

SCENE NINE

~ f f ece (HORSES GALLOPING IN)

Padmini: So, Allauddin has kept his promise. Are you ready my lord?

Bhimsingh: Your lord? How dare you call me your lord after what you have done?

Padmini: I did it all to save your life and call you my lord all my life. Are you ready, my lord?

I

Bhimsingh: No, I'm not. I am not ready to barter your honour for my life and hang down my head in shame for ever after.

Padmini: Cheer up, my lord You don't know your Padmini. You won't have to hang down your headas long as I have my head on my shoulders. Look at the horse in front. Do you recognize him?

Bhimsingh: Hawatez! My lovely Arab!

Padmini: Yes. And he is waiting for you! Leap on to his back, and the next moment these eight hundred palanquin beare* will mount the other horses and so will those in the palanquins.

Bhimsingh: Your maids of honour?

Padmini: My men af honour, my lord, not maids. In these palanquins are two hundred of our chosen Rajput lions.

Bhimsingh: A thousand men, and a thousand horses!

Padmini: I thought they would be enough to talkyou back to Chittor. And unless you would like me to be the empreSs of Delhi, you had better take me with you.

Bhimsingh: Ta,ke you with me? Take you withpe indeed! But this is no time for talking! Quick! On to horses and away! Onward to Chittor!

SFX: HORSES GALLOPING AWAY)

(Music)

Check Your Progress 2 . . Look back at the text of the play you have just read and answer these questions.

1) Which s6eneS of this play fall in the four (McLeish) stages of the construction of a simple play?

2) b o w does the playwright inform the audience about scene changes?

.................. 2 .................. J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I

3) %at can you say about changes in pace, mood, and place in the play?

35.4 DIALOGUE n

now got as much information as beginners can use in4tising the craft of ing. More information at this stage may prove confusing and 'counter- ', as journalists would describe such effects. You may remember what you

he risks of an explanation which is far too her information, and give you time to gain some

Experience comes from two sources, -exposure, and exercise. The best osure, for those who are learning to write for radio in English is the BBC. 1 broadcasters and broadcasting organizations are in agreement on this

C World Service broadcasts one full-length radio play every weekend. s.can hear it from 6 o'clock or 6.30 to 7.30 in the morning. (Longer plays In addition, there are selveral shorter broadcasts during the week, such

of works of literature, andso on, which you can ny of them as you can, so that you get a fairly good ctors can do dith the scripts you give them. Even

adcasts are not going to be in Edglish you will gain from exposure to

ions are 'all dialogue' for you to read. Thisone is just to tell you what

The theatre is an 'audio-visual' place. You can see and hear what the actors do and say, and youcan also see several of the things they see in the play as well. But we cannot say as much about smelling, touching, or tasting. These, the audience in the theatre must imagine. So we just believe an actor and oblige him when he says 'What a hot day' and pretends to perspire, eSen though it may be winter and we may feel far from hot. We obligingly imagine the tastes of foods as well, and don't demand the foods for ourselves when the characters are supposed to be eating. Such demands would make the theatre a rather expensive place, and rather messy as well!

So, the stage play leaves information from three senses to the audience's imagination smell, touch and taste. And if they can take care of vision as well in their imagination, they can enjoy the,experience of a radio play. All that they need to do is to pretend to see, as well as to smell or touch or taste, when they hear words and sounds. And this is something the listener is more than willing to do. The popularity of radio drama in spite bf all the attractions of television bears ample witness to that. People enjoy building castles in the air. We as radio writers have only got to lend them a hand when they are building their castles, or at least, we should not do anything that brings those castles down! Now, what are those things? Here is an example. Suppose two persons in a radio play are approaching a castle and you need to tell the listener this. You give one of the persons these words to say:

'That is a castle. We are going to that castle'.

These words will not help your listener believe that he's looking at two persons approaching a castle. It may help him believe he is passing by a primary school, and a school teacher is reading a sentence out of an English &xtbook! What your character could say in front of the castle is something like this:

'There's the castle. Look at it! What an impressive pile!'

To take another instance, suppose someone in a play is in a blue shirt, and the bhq shirt is to be a clue to a detective. What does your character say to inform the audience about the blue shirt? He or she shouldn't just say, 'Mr. Bhimji is in a blue shirt.' (unless there is a good reason for saying it like that, and one reason may be that he or she is talking to a blind companion,but then why should the blind be interested in coloufs?) To make the character sound convincing, we should let him say something like this:

'Where has Bhimji bought his blue shirt? I like it!: Or, 'Wherever has he got his blue shirt from 1 don't like it. I don't like it a bit.

The point of these examples is this. When two persons can see something, there is a reason why one of them describes it, or mentions it. And one possible reason is that he or she is reactingto it, -liking or disliking it, objecting to it, or making some remark about it from his or he? point of view. Your dialogue should bring that out. I

That point was about dialogue in radio drama and what it has to do in addition to what any dramatic dialogue does. It must give the audience visual information without seeming to do so. That is 'an art that conceals the art' as thq saying goes. But if you would rather not conceal the art, you could bring in a NA~RATOR, and let him, or her, do the visual description. But if the Narrator comes in too often, your broadcast may no longer be a play, but 'a group reading' of a story, in which the narrator is the story-teller and the other actors read the words of some characters. Narrators are however very useful when a long interval of time separates two parts of your story. If you take enough trouble to find out how to use your narrator, he will be a valuable contributor to your listener's enjoyment of your play. Apart from the one distinction we discussed above a radio play in just like any other play in the characteristics of its dialogue. And the wordplay gives us the clue to dramatic dialouge. It looks like, but is not in fact like, ordinary conversation, which we engage in for business or social reason. It is play, and play is what players do for the sake of playing, not for any other purpose.

'

(Professional cricket is not in fact real play, only amateur cricket is.) Dramatic dialogue is play, - it is play on words, play with ideas, and play against events. Let us look at each of these three.

Word-play is a very enjoyable and practical way for beginners to practice dialogue writing. Young Shakespeare himself did a good deal of word-play exercises in his earlier writing. So practise word-play to your heart's content in the privacy of your room, to start with. Then put such word-play in your plays in the midst of other devices. There is a good deal of word-play in PADMINI, which you have just read. For instance. 'You will never have to hang down your head in shame as long as I have my head on my . . m h n . . l A n - m , A n - A -aom.-m

b, from.the beginning to the end of the play, the people go on playing with ideas,

'The best way to celebrate the founding of your dynasty is to do what is necessary to continue it.'

iil 'Allauddin can see my beauty without seeing rye.',

) 'He does not ask me to accept him as my overlord. Instead he asks me to be a true Rajput host.'

nd as for playing against events, that is what the story of Padmlni is all about. In this ay she has played against them and won. 'Events' come up against her in the shape of

ddin, the self-appointed emperor of Delhi, w'ho is convinced that everyone in the ry is his property. Against that comes the idea of faith, loyal&, honour, -in short

L ma' - that which upholds society together. Allatiddin's way is alsaone way of, lding a society together. But he seems to feel that it has to be held down, rather than, . And this is the idea of the play, its moving force, 'Might is r~ght' opposing 'right is

might'. This is how you interpret stories to crystallize an idea for a play.

For another example of dramatic reinterpretation of events, let us turn to the life of Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer. He once saved a friend's son from the gallows by using hi< skills in a court of law, charging no fees. Lincoln was also the President who freed slaves. Now, if you connect the friend's son's murder conviction with his anti-slavery activities, you make the story much more dramatic.

But to come back to dialogues, you will find the three 'lateral thinking' iechniques outlined in Unit 33 very useful tools in composing them. For instance, th: dialogue in the next section starts with the statement.

I 'Poets are mad people,' That is what one person says. Now what can hiscompanion says in reply? We generate some alternatives. 1) A very sane thing to say. 2) Butwhy are you saying such a thing now, suddenly, out of the blue? 3) Suppose I say you're mad too?

Now which of these replies would you choose for your play? Your next speech will d g e n d on the choice.

When you read the dialogue, in the next section, watch out instances of word-play. It has also got instances of the second 'lateral thinking' technique, challenging of assumptions; for instance, the assumption of the two friends challenged by the poet. And in the dialogue, you hear challenges such as.

'Why are you reading a newspaper and talking about a poet? 'Because this poet has made some news. (The assumption is that poets don't make news.)

But the main technique however, in this dialogue, is random word stimulation. So as you connect the problem you are trying to solve with any random event, you can connect ideas up-with random words. Pick up a dictionary, open it at any page, and pick out, say. the seventh word on the page. It can be any number, but you must decide on the number before opening the dictionary.'Suppose the word is 'question'. Now you ask yourself, 'Can I make a whole dialogue so that everyone asks questions and says nothing else? Or can I limit the answers to the minimum number necessary. Or, shall I try to compose tbe dialogue with questions as far as possible? 'Well, this was how the dialogue in the next section was composed, although the word 'question' was not taken from a 'dictionary. Then the dialogue was revised. During the revision, more answers were added. But the need to make every one ask questions forced the writer to move in such a way that he hit on all sorts of things for his characters to say. If he had no such compulsion, he might have finished the story in the easiest possible way, as given in tbe original report of it.

NOW for the short play Section 35.5, the topic the writer had to dramatise was an episode in the epic of the Ramayana, Princess Shurpanakha's visit to Panchavati. And the randdm word found was, 'if in the sense of 'whether'. You can read the play and see what amusing turns this random word gave the conversation in it. You can also look for the several minor ideas the word 'triooered nff ifitn ~unr~rr inn

Writlng lor Radio Check Your Progress 3

1) What more h_as radio drama got to do with its dialogue than drama in general?

2) What is the difference in purpose between ordinary conversation and dramatic dialogue?

3) What is the difference between playingwith ideas and playing against events?

...... i ..

, I gentleman enters the coffee house and sits at a table. Gentleman: "A pot of hot coffee, please" He says to the boy. There are already two other men in the room, sitting at another table. One of them is reading a newspaper. The man who has just arrived iq not personally known in this place and no one recognizes him. He seems to be glad of this a d settles down to a long spell of meditation. But the other men in the room start a d conversation and he is cohpelled to listen to it. Let us atso listen along with him.

Guest 1: Poets are mad people. Guest 2: A very sane thing to say I am sure. But why do you say it at this particular moment? Guest 1: The thought occurred to me at this particular moment. Guest 2: Well, well. It occurs to me that ydu are mad too.

b Guest 1: What do you mean? Guest 2: Why do you talk about poets when you are reading a newspaper? h e s t 1: Why shouldn't I talk about them? Guest 2: Because you are reading a newspaper and not poetry. Guest 1: But the news is about a poet. Guest 2: Impossible. How can the news be about a poet? Guest 1: Why not? Who should it be about, then? Guest 2: About politicians. Guest 1: But why? Why shouldn't it be about other people? Guest 2: Because politicians are the people who make news. Guest 1: The people who make news! I thought they were the people who made speeches. Guest 2: And what do poets make? Guest 1: You know what they make. Guest 2: I know they make verses and verses are worse things than speeches. Guest 1: But the poet I'm reading about in this paper has made some news although he will never make any more. Guest 2: How do you know he won't? Guest 1: Because he is dead. Guest 2: I am sorry to hear that. But.what is the news about him? Guest 1: That he is dead. * Guest 2: M a t news is there in that? We hill all be dead sooner or later. Guest 1: Agreed. But not ail of us will kill ourselves as he has done. Guest2: Has he killed himself? Your story is getting e~citing. Who was he?

Guest 1: His name was Samuel Taylor Co1er;idge.

Coleridge: (to himself) Samuel Taylor Coleridge! Killed himself! Guest 2: Mr. Coleridge? I don't believe you. Guest 1: Believe it or not. Here is the news, listen. ' A poet commits suicide. "It is reported that Samuel Taylor Coieridge, a well-known writer and poet, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree on Friday night." Guest 2: On Friday night! On Friday night he had every reason in the world to live. His I - latest play was performed in London on Friday night and all the world praised it. And you say he has gone and killed himself. He must have been mad.

Coleridge: Yes. You are rightcHe must have been really mad. May I join the company, gentlemen? I should like to hear more about this piece of news.

1 I Guest 1: You are very welcome, sir. Coleridge: Thank you, please read on.

b

Guest 1: (reading) "The police discovered his body, dressed all in black, early on . Saturday motning. There was no money in his pockets; nor were there any papers."

Guest 2: Then how did they fjnd out who he was? Coieridge: Perhaps there was'someone among the policemen who had met him. Guest 2: That is very unlikely. How can policemen find time to meet poets? What does the paper say? Guest 1: (reading) ",The only clue the police could find for identifying the body was the name S.T. Coleridge marked on the poetzs shirt." -- - - Guest 2: So he is dead then. This is surprising. This n ? a ~ wro tebm~of the s&mhings I havq ever read. And now it turns out that he was mad enough to kill himself. It does upset me.

Coleridge: And it will upset you all the more when you hear the rest of the neTs. Guest 1: The rest of the news? What is that? Coleridge: That is poet S.T. Coleridge is at this moment sitting with you in this Coffee house. Guest 1 +2: Goodness, gracious me! Hegven help us! Guest 2: A ghost in broad day-light! But where is he, sir? Guest 1: What do you mean?

Coleridge: I may be mad in a way, but I am not dead. Guest 2: Do you mean that you are Mr. Coleridge? Coleridge: If I am not Mr. Coleridge, I am no one. Guest 2: We are very sorry, sir. We hope we have not said anything that has hurt your feelings. But how do you explain this strange report in this paper? Coleridge: It is very simple, gentlemen. I lost one of my shirts before the world lost this poor man who hanged himself.

Charles Robert Leslie (1794-1859), painter and author, has a story of Coleridge in his. Autobiographical ~ecdllections:

"A few days after the appearance of his piece (his tragedy, Remorse), he was sitting in the coffee-room of a hotel, and heard hi* name coupled with a coroner's inquest, by a gentlman who was reading a newspaper to a friend. He asked to see the paper, which was handed to him with the remark that it was very extraordinary that Coleridge, the poet, should have hanged himself just after the success of his play; but he was always a strange mad fellow. 'Indeed, sir', said Coleridge 'it is a most extraordinary thing that he should have hanged himself, be the subject of an inquest, and yet that he should at this moment be speaking to you.' The astonished stranger hoped he had said nothing to hurt his feelings, and was made easy on that point. The newspaper related that agentleman in black had been cut down from a tree in Hyde Park, without money or papers in his pocket, his shirt being marked 'S.T. Coleridge'; and Coleridge was at no loss to understand how this might have happened, since he seldom travelled without losing a shirt or two."

Check Your Progress 4-

Answer these questions in not more than,three sentences each.

1) What assumptions have been challenged in the dialogue, about poets and politicians?

2) Find some instances of word-play in the speeches of GUEST 1.

3) Find some instances of word-play in the speeches of GUEST 2.

What word does the poet himself play on? What is the effect of his 'word-play'?

i.5 A DIALOGUE-DEPENDENT PLAY 'IN REAL TIME'

[URPANAKHA IN PANCHAVATI

Narrator ...................... abbr. (Narr.) Shurpanakha ............. abbr. (Shurp.). Rama.. ...................... Lakshman .................. abbr. (Laksh.). Sita ....................... Ravaria ..................... OT EFFECTS Forest clearing Footsteps, approaching, and receding. Musical intervals f m scene changes. Bird song SFX of celestial chariot taking off

~rrator: Shurpanakha, sister of the mighty emperor Ravana of Lanka, was on a visit her uncle in his forest kingdom around Panchavati. One morning she wandered .ough the forest enjoying the beauty of its scenery. The flowers and the fruits on the es, shining in the glorious golden rays of the rising sun, charmed her. The smell of ies and jasmine that filled the air around her and the sweet notes of singing birds armed her even more. But what charmed her most was the figure that she saw by the rmitage near the lake. He was the handsomest man in the world. And as she walked wards him with her eyes fixed on his face, his beauty charmed her out of her senses. rup. Handome hermit, who are you? ima. A humble hermit, as you know. And who are you, madam? rup. I have wandered all over the world, looking fo~someone who is handsome ough to be my husband; but until this moment I wasn't able to find anyone. ,ma. I'm sorry to hear that. But I cannot believe you were unsuccessful; you look too ppy to be unsuccessful. Anyway, I wish you all success, and hope you'll soon find meone you like. urp. But I have found someone. ima. You said a moment ago that you didn't find anyone. urp. Yes, but a moment ago, I was able to find someone. una. I'm happy. to hear that. urp. And you'll be happier when you know who he is. una. Who is he? urp. You, yourself. Aren't you the happiest man in the world now? ma. Yes; I am. But then, I became the happiest of man several years ago. urp. When? ma. When I got mamed. urp. Are you already mamed? You look too young to be a mamed man. Anyway, loesn't matter. When I marry you, your wife can be my maid. una. But you haven't asked her if she will agree to be your maid, have you? ~urp. No, I haven't, but she'll agree, when I ask her. ma. And have you asked her if she will let me marry you? iurp. I haven't asked her anything. How can I ask her anything when I don't know lo she is?

Rama. I can tell you who she is. .

Shurp. But why ahould I ask her when you agree to marry me? Rama. But you haven't asked me if I agree? Shurp. You certainly agree, don't you? Rama. I don't know if I do. I haven't thought about it. Shurp. Think about it then, an&give me your answer at once. Rama. Very well. I don't agree to marry you. Shurp. You don't, don't you? How dare you say no to me? Do you know who I am? Rama. That is what I would like to know. Who are you? Shurp. I am princess Shurpanakha, sister of the mighty Emperor Ravana, b r d of Lanka and allihe three worlds. No one ever says no to me. Rama. But, Imperial princess, my family is too humble for you to marry into. I doubt very much if your brother will give his consent to our maniage. Shurp. My brother will refuse me nothing. Rama.,Won't he even ask you who I am? Shurp. Oh, I forgot to ask you that. Who are you and where are you from? Rama. I'm Rama, son of Dashratha the late king of Ayodhya.

1 I

Shurp. So, you are the prince of Ayodhya. Why then have you come here to live in the t forest? Rama. That is a l ~ n g $Wry, madam, and it may not interest you. 'shurp. Don't Worry aboht it then. You can tell me all that later. But you said you were married. Who is your wife? Rama. She is Sita, daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. I Shurp. I hope she hasn't come here to the forest with you? ? Rama. Unfortunately she has, madam, and she is in the hermitage at the moment. !

Shurp. Very good. Just ask her to come out here for a moment-Let me find out if she is fit and willing to be my maid.

I

Rama. She is fit enough and may be willing enough to be your maid; but I don't know I if she will let me marry you.

hit on a better plan for you.

L a l i s h m a is here with me in the forest. He is young i n d better alone here. Why don't you marry him. Just wait a moment. I'll

Lakshman.

(dmak&r music) Laksk, Yes, brother. h a . Come here for a moment, will you? Princess Shurpanakha wants to speak to you. 1 Laksh. Welcome to Panchavati, Princess. What service can Lakshman do for you? Shurp. You can marry me and do a great service to yourself. Laksh. You are too quick for me to follow, madam. What does she mean, brother? Rama. She means she wants tomarry you. It was I who told her about you. Laksh. But you know I'm marrikd already, brother. Rama. Yes, you are, and so am I. But the princess doesn't mind that.

. Shurp. But you said he was alone, Prince Rama. Rama. Yes, he is alone here because his wife has not come to the forest. I

Shurp. She is no good for you then, Lakshman. I shall never be away from you fdr a moment. Laksh. wiliyou then live here in the forest and look after Lord Rama and Lady Janaki? Shurp. Certainly not. When we are married we'll go and live in Lanka. And th%re are thousands of servants there to look after us. Laksh. But I can't go to Lanka unless my brother goes too. I have promised to be with him and look after him as long as he lives. And I cannot break my promise. Shurp. You need not break it, Lakshman. We'll take Prince Rama with us to Lanka. Rama. But I can't go with you. I have promised to spend fourteen years in this forest and then return to country. Shurp. your promises are inconvenient, I must say. Well, as you can't do anything about them now, I shall agree to live here in this forest with you au. .

Rama. Well now, Lakshmp$ Laksh. But Princess Sh-ri-aka can't be my wife. Rama. Why not? Laksh. Because she won't like the life here. Shurp. Why shouldn't I like it? Laksh. Madam, I serve my brother like a servant, and if frou marry me, you'll have to be i

maid! It is impossible! It is unthinkable! her himself to marry you, madam. When he returns to Ayodhya, en you will be his queen. And that is what a princess like you ought

right. What do you say to that, prince Rama? hing without Janaki's consent. consent for you. Just ask her to come out here.

u to listen to some fun, Janaki.-We-do need some fun now and

ou mean? Were yuu joking all this time? Yes, we were, of course. And so we thought wereyou. Didn't we, Lakshman? . What else could we do? This is not the way we fix marriages, is it?

fix them. Janaki, I ask you seriously if you will be my maid when

see my lord marry a second time. tinent woman. I can kill you in no time as boys kill butterflies.

ess! If you move a step more Brward, I'll cut off your nose. marriages for you. Get away at once! Vanish! e , human insects? You will suffer for this.

. And you know how they suffered, Shurpanakha went to Lanka a n h s k e d Ravana in the world. She then told him of Sita's

beauty and asked him to make her his wife and to punish Rama and

r to see Sita, Ravana sent Maricha in the shape of a golden deer to Panchavati. went far away into the forest. Sita sent

left alone in the hermitage.

ho? Give alms to a holy sage. . What will you have, holy sage? ana. I'm hungry and thirsty. . Here is some sweet fruit for you and fresh cool water, holy sage.

ergcannot satisfy me. Myhung&he hunger of the heart, and

. I don't understand you, holy sage. Fruit and water is all that I can give you. ana. No, Janaki. You can give me your love. You can give me yourself.

; but the great empeK#, ~ a v a n a , and I have come to e you my empress.

r you to talk to me like this? is he who makes laws for the whole world.

it is time to act. And away I go, to Lanka,

back! Lakshman! Help! Help!

( FX) (NOISE O F RAVANA'S PUSHPAK VIMAN RISING IN THE AIR)

+eck Your Progress 5

$sker these questions in not more than five sentences each. I I

The original story has been 'reinterpreted' for this play. What is the reinterpretation?

.................................................................................................. b ' I""" . 3

A .................................................................. ........................................

2) What makes this play more 'dialogue-dependent' than 'PADMINI'?

3) What can you say about the time-scales of the three plays, 'Shurpanakha', 'Padmini', and 'A Lost Shirt'? .

35.6 LET US SUM UP

1) In the last unit we tried to find ways of getting ideas for our radio plays. Once we have found the ideas, we start the work of construction. Ideas find dramatic expression in stories. So we need stories for our construction work.

2) We can look for stories in two sources, - life, and literature. Life is anything that happens to yuu or around you, Literature can be anything from the great epics of

4) You can look for a story to suit your characters, or use a story because of its I characters. It does not matter which comes first.

3)

5 ) Construction involves four tasks, -explaining the situation, introducing conflict, I developing the action, and resolving the conflict.

Stories from life are not necessarily more original than those from literature. The only difference is that the source of a story may be more difficult to trace if it is taken from life. So the playwright can choose his story from any source as his idea requires. '

-6 ) Scenes can change quickly in radio, and quick scene-changes make a play exciting. Scenes should also be varied when they are changed. They can vary in pace, mood, and place.

7) Audiences find complicated plots in radio drama rather trying. Stick to a simple plot with a few characters, as for instance, in 'PADMINI', given in the unit abia sample for construction.

8)

t 1 The wordplay itself suggests how we should write dramatic dialogues for our plays. They should be plays. They should be play, play on words, (not too often), play with ideas, and play against events.

Just a lot of information about plays will not help you write any. Writing needs training, which you get from exposure and exercise. So you must listen to radio plays regularly.

9)

) The three techniques of 'lateral thinking' can be very profitably used in writing dialogues. The skit and the plays given as samples for dialogues in sections 35.4 and 35.5 are in fact the results of the technique of 'random-word-stimulation'. The random word for the skit was 'question' and the word for the play was 'if' (meaning, 'whether'). These words give the stories the direction they have taken. Then, during the dialogues, the characters challenge each other's assumptions every now and then.

Radio plays ask for only one more concession from the audience than stage plays, -to imagine visual sensations as well as smell.. . And to help the listener in this task the playwright has to provoke his imagination with words. A flat statement of what is supposed to be seen will not work. Nor should narrators come often.

$,7 KEY WORDS I1

t effects: Sound effects which are prdduced 'on the spot' during programme The other effects are sometimes called 'library effects' because they are effects recorded on gramophone discs or audio tapes, which can be

rrowed'from the library.

Psychologists define originalit) as the tendency to come out with unusual or infrequent alternatives. Ordinarily we say someone is 'original' o i original when he seems to have got an idea for the first time. That idea

with that person.

qife: For the purpose of this unit, life is anything that happens to us or around us.

iterature: For the purposes of this unit, literature may be any story, from the great pics to local folk stories. I

85.8 SOMEUSEFULBOOKS AND BROADCASTS

he Technique of Radio Production by Robert McLeish. (Chapter 18 on drama). F- n Intermediate General English Course; Makers and Finders. Already mentioned in nit 33.

roadcasts R. ,... .,- ... ,.,a- ,,. A. ,, ",,A.,A,...,:.a ..,. L ...mh,Lm-A

Cheek Your Progress 1

1) The idea of the message of the play finds expression through the story that is dramatised.

2) Shakespeare looked for the stories for his play in literature, i.e., in the books that earlier writers had written.

3) Originality remains original as long as the source remains unknown. Therefore, if -- we take our stories from life we have a chance of 'seeming' original longer than those

who take theirs from literature. It is often difficult to find out how closely someone copies from life; so it is better not try to be original. .

Check Your Progress 2

1) The first scene explains tpe situation and introduces the conflict. The second scene starts the development of the action. The development reaches a crisis by the tnd of scene six. The conflict is resolved in scene seven.

2) In the first scene, the emperor says at the end he is going to Chittor, and then there is music to suggest the Chittor Court. The second scene ends with the noise of Allauddin's horseback amval and music to suggest the passing of time, before the noises of a banquet begin the next scene. The third scene ends with 'tomorrow'. Then there is a musical interval to show the passage of the.night.

The fourth scene starts with the queen's 'concerned' question, 'What are you worrying about'. . . It ends with relieved anxiety. The short fifth scene ends with the fulfilment of a promise, and the queen's first victory in a battle of wits.

The sixth scene starts the second half of the conflict. So there is a musical interval, this time very pleasant music. And then starts noise of banquet again. In this scene the crisis develops very quickly. So there is hardly any scene division. Only the gallop of a messenger's horse at the end of scene seven suggests the change of scene.

3) You can get the question out of the answer to the last one. The pace quickens between scenes five, six and seven. Scene six begins lightly and soon changes to a grim mood. The rest is for you to find out.

Cheek Your Progress 3

1) Radio drama has to use dialogue to give the listener a great deal of visual information. This is the additional task dialogues have got to perform in radio plays.

2s Ordinary conversation is usually instrumental. It is engaged in for social or business reasons. But dramatic dialogue has a 'terminal' purpose. Dramatic dialogue is play, play on words, play with ideas, play against events. The characters may have various purposes, but they are all make-believe. In fact the dialogues are there for their own sakes, as play, for the audience's joy.

3) Characters play with words, or with ideas, and they may play with these against each other. But 'playing against events' is what happens in the whole play as such. 'Events' are usually represented by the 'anti-hero' in the'play. The 'action' of the heroor heroine againstthese 'events' makes the drama. When the hero loses against the 'events', the drama ends in tragedy. When he wins, it is usually a comedy.

4) To use random-word stimulation, we have one or several words at random, out of a dictionary or any other book, and try to connect them with our problem. For instance, suppose our problem is how to make enough money to build a house. And we find the seventh word on page 7,14 and 21 of the dictionary. Can we find out how these words will help us to make the money we need? It may sound like nonsense. But it may also work! Those words may inspire you to write a novel, which may bring you the money you need!

5) In random stimulation, you connect any random event with your problem, as Newton did. He connected an apple that fell on his head with his astronomical ntohlems Tn rnnrlnm wnrd r t i m r i 1 ~ t ; n n r r n i r , - ~ n E P . ~ ~ ~ o I r~nclem ...n-~~ +n 1.~1-

in solving a problem, such as how to make a story 'original'. But if you decide on just random stimulation, you will have to be satisfied with one event at a time. Several noticeable random events may not happen at the same time within the reach of your attention.

~ * k Your Progress 4

about politicians: 'They are the people who make news,' Challenge: o, they are not. They are people who make speeches. ii) Poets don't make news.

Challenge: 'The poet I'm reading about has made some news. ou can look for more assumptions and challenges.

1 plays on the word 'make' when he says, 'The people who make news! They're who make speeches.' Latgr on in the dialogue he plays on th& word dead.

e news is that he is dead. He wilfnot make any more news because he is dead.'

st 2 plays on the words verse and worse, in the sentence, 'And verses are worse ings than speeches.' He also plays on the word 'mad' when he says a very sane ing to say', opposing 'mad' with 'sane.'

poet himself plays on the word 'lost'. He makes it sound like a poet's statement it becomes the 'punch'line' of the whole skit, explaining the 'deepening mystery'

a ghost in broad daylight.' He says' It's very simple, gentlemen. I lost a shirt fore the world lost this poor man, who hanged himself.

Ch k Youv Progress 5 C story wagtold from one point of view, from the point of view of the

teous, in opposition to unrighteousnes. The story-teller had no doubt about who righteous. But at the same time, the other side did not believe it was hteous. The demons were working on the assumption that they were right.

e we reinterpret the story from a 'neutral' observer's position? a was immersed in her own 'culture'. She was the sister of the emperor . No one would dare ask for her hand in marriage, so she had to do the

s what Queen Victoria had to do, infact. So, the play has been . People brought up in totally different cultures think they are 'right' in , but of course, there can be a 'right' that is above both. Hence the

de physical operation of 'nose-cutting' has been done without. That shows how 'neutral observer' himself leans towads t am ads side.

thing actually 'happens' till the very end of the second scene. So the nt of the drama depends on the words the persons in the play say and

change to the annoyance of one person now, and another later, only amused. Only Shurpanakha and Sita are annoyed. The

ing of the nose does not happen. And Sita's abduction happens dly wi&in the play. go this is a play of ideas, and not very serious ideas either.

e three plays, only PADMINI has a time scale. That is to say, it has to act out ess than half an hour, astory that spread over several days. 'The Lost Shirt' could t have taken any longer to finish in real life than it did in the play. The whole thing pened in a coffee-house on one occasion.

1 urpanakha' too the event can happen dthin the time it takes for people to saying their lines. Of course, Ravanadid not amve immediately. But once he , he does not take longer to accomplish his mission than he takes in the play, ly with a heavenly chariot at his disposal. So, the two plays are each in 'real

e'. Padmini, however, is on a 'scaled down' time scheme. This is like the scaling wn of space in maps. /