Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region III Central Luzon
Division of Mabalacat City
BICAL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Bical, Mabalacat City (P)

Name: _________________________ Grade & Section: ______________

CREATIVE WRITING
QUARTER 4, MODULE 3
Conceptualizing character/setting/plot for a one-act play

After going through this lesson, you are expected to:

1. Conceptualize a character/setting/plot for a one-act play

Learning Task 1: What I Know

Directions: Using a mind map,

present your idea on what the
terms mean and how will
you use your knowledge in
writing outputs in Creative
Writing. Do this on your answer
sheet.
Directions: Read the statements
carefully. Identify if the statement
is
1
TRUE
or
FALSE.
Write your answers on your
answer sheet.
1. Characters in the play are
individuals that don’t do the
action in the story.
2. Setting refers to the time and
location in which a story takes
place is called the setting.
3.
The plot is the logical
arrangement of events in a story
or play.
4. Protagonist is the chief figure
who struggles against opposing
forces.
2
5. Antagonist is the force,
most often another character,
that opposes the
protagonist.
6. The author does not make
explicit/outright statements or
explanations about the
characters
7. A linear plot begins at a certain
point, moves through a series of
events to a climax
and then ends up at another point.
8. Modular Plot is often used to
mimic the structure and recall of
human memory
but has been applied for other
reasons as well.

3
 9. Episodic Plot is made up of a
series of chapters or stories linked
together by the
same character, place, or theme
but held apart by their individual
plot, purpose, and
subtext.
10. There is a singular aspect to
consider in a story's setting.
Directions: Read the statements carefully. Identify if the statement is TRUE or FALSE.
Write your answers on your answer sheet.

1. Characters in the play are individuals that don’t do the action in the story.
2. Setting refers to the time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting.
3. The plot is the logical arrangement of events in a story or play.
4. Protagonist is the chief figure who struggles against opposing forces.
5. Antagonist is the force, most often another character, that opposes the protagonist.
6. The author does not make explicit/outright statements or explanations about the characters
7. A linear plot begins at a certain point, moves through a series of events to a climax
and then ends up at another point.
8. Modular Plot is often used to mimic the structure and recall of human memory
but has been applied for other reasons as well.
9. Episodic Plot is made up of a series of chapters or stories linked together by the same
character, place, or theme but held apart by their individual plot, purpose, and subtext.
10. There is a singular aspect to consider in a story's setting.

Learning Task 2: Use me to create

Directions: Using the formed words from the previous learning task, create two
sentences that will present your idea about the topic. Also, write your questions that
will be answered after taking the lesson. Do this on your paper.

4
Learning Task 3: Connect the Terms

Directions: Connect the three

terms in the word Play using a
graphic
organizer.
Write your answer in your answer
sheet.
Directions: Connect the three terms in the word Play using a graphic organizer. Write your
answer in your answer sheet.

5
What is It
In this part of your journey, we provide something for you to deepen your
understanding about a character/setting/plot for a one-act play.
Please continue reading with comprehension as you discover further knowledge that will
help you out in your quest on the remaining phases of this lesson.

Nature of a one-act play

A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts.
One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. In recent years, the 10-minute play known as
"flash drama" has emerged as a popular sub-genre of the one-act play, especially in writing
competitions. The origin of the one-act play may be traced to the very beginning of drama: in
ancient Greece, Cyclops, a satyr play byEuripides, is an early example.

The One-Act Play, very popular in the 20th century, is regarded by many as a modern product.
But this is far from the truth. One-Act Plays were written and staged throughout the 18th and the
19th centuries, as “The Curtain Raisers” or “The AfterPieces”.

The one-act play is to the full-length play what the short story is to the novel.
Percival Wilde defines the one-act play as “an orderly representation of life, arousing
emotion in an audience” (Wilde 41). Bernard Grebanier provides this definition: “A one-act
play is an elaboration of a single, significant incident” (Grebanier 172). Because the
playing time of a one-act is about twenty to sixty minutes, the playwright has the challenge of
creating an engaging plot, enticing characters, and resolution to the conflict in a relatively short
amount of time.

6
A one-act play must have the following characteristics and components:

The story must revolve around, or focus on one event.

The action of the play should move fairly quickly. There is no time to have a lengthy
introduction. Introduce characters and conflict fairly early on in the action of the play.
The characters should be limited to two to seven, with one clear main character.
Make your characters believable, but interesting!

Create a setting that is realistic in regards to the characters and plot. The setting can be
very detailed or discussed minimally, always in italics.
The playing time or read-through time of the play should be between twenty and sixty minutes.

The play should be entertaining and engaging, with some element of suspense.
The play's form should follow the standard design:

Characters in one- act play

A play presents us
directly with scenes which are
based on people’s actions
and interactions, characters play a
dominant role in this genre and
therefore
deserve close attention. The
characters in plays can generally
be divided into major

7
 characters and minor characters,
depending on how important they
are for the
plot. A good indicator as to
whether a character is major or
minor is the amount of
Characters in one- act play
A play presents us directly with scenes which are based on people’s actions and interactions,
characters play a dominant role in this genre and therefore deserve close attention. The
characters in plays can generally be divided into major characters and minor characters,
depending on how important they are for the plot. A good indicator as to whether a character is
major or minor is the amount of time and speech as well as presence on stage he or she is
allocated. In play, characters can be:

Protagonist – the chief figure who struggles against opposing forces

Antagonist – the force, most often another character, that opposes the protagonist
Dynamic Character – one whose attitudes and values are affected by the events in the
story
Flat Character – a character having only a single trait or quality
Round Character – a multi-dimensional or a complex character
Static Character – one whose personality, attitudes, and beliefs remain fixed, no matter what
kinds of situations he encounters

Sometimes the quality of

characters can also depend on the
subgenre to

8
which a play belongs because
genres traditionally follow certain
conventions even
as far as the dramatis personae,
i.e., the dramatic personnel, are
concerned.
According to Aristotle’s Poetics,
characters in tragedies have to be
of a high social
rank so that their downfall in the
end can be more tragic (the
higher they are, the
lower they fall), while comedies
typically employ ‘lower’
characters who need not be
taken so seriously and can thus be
made fun of. Since tragedies deal
with difficult
9
 conflicts and subject matters,
tragic heroes are usually
complex.
Sometimes the quality of characters can also depend on the subgenre to which a play belongs
because genres traditionally follow certain conventions even as far as the dramatis personae,
i.e., the dramatic personnel, are concerned.
According to Aristotle’s Poetics, characters in tragedies have to be of a high social rank so that
their downfall in the end can be more tragic (the higher they are, the lower they fall), while
comedies typically employ ‘lower’ characters who need not be taken so seriously and can thus
be made fun of. Since tragedies deal with difficult conflicts and subject matters, tragic heroes
are usually complex.

Setting in one- act play

Setting is an environment or surrounding in which an event or story takes place. It may provide
particular information about placement and timing.

Setting could be simply descriptive, like a lonely cottage on a mountain. Social conditions,
historical time, geographical locations, weather, immediate surroundings, and timing are all
different aspects of setting.

Two types of Setting

Backdrop setting emerges when it is not important for a story, and it could happen in any
setting. For instance, A. A. Milne’s story Winnie-the-Pooh could take place in any type of
setting.

Integral Setting is when the place and time influences the theme, character, and action of a
story. This type of setting controls the characters. By confining a certain character to a particular
setting, the writer defines the character. Beatrix Potter’s short story The Tail of Peter Rabbit is
an example of integral setting, in which the behavior of Peter becomes an integral part of the
setting. Another good example of this type of setting can be seen in E. B. White’s novel
Charlotte’s Web.

Plot in one- act play

The plot is the logical arrangement of events in a story or play. The plot is a organized. logical
series of events having a beginning, middle, and end.

10
Kinds of Plot
In literature, a linear plot begins at a certain point, moves through a series of events to a climax
and then ends up at another point.

Also known as the plot structure of Aristotle, it is possible to represent a

linear plot line with the drawing of an arc.
The primary advantage of using a linear plot is that the reader knows, or at least has an idea, of
where the plot goes next, and the reader is guaranteed to get a beginning and ending.

a) Introduction - The beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is
revealed.
b) Rising Action - This is where the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in
the story is revealed (events between the introduction and climax).
c) Climax - This is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story. The reader
wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or not?
d) Falling action - The events and complications begin to resolve themselves. The reader
knows what has happened next and if the conflict was resolved or not (events between
climax and denouement).
e) Denouement - This is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story.

Modular Plot is a nonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative or disrupted narrative is a narrative

technique, sometimes used in literature, film, hypertext websites and other narratives, where
events are portrayed, for example out of chronological order, or in other ways where the
narrative does not follow the direct causality pattern of the events featured, such as parallel
distinctive plot lines, dream immersions or narrating another story inside the main plot-
line. It is often used to mimic the structure and recall of human memory, but has been
applied for other reasons as well.

It is a story that does not follow a linear narrative. That is, it doesn’t move in a chronological
order, instead jumping around within the story or between different stories. Sometimes, the
different sections don’t even feature the same characters or world. Instead, they are united by
thematic meaning.

Episodic Plot is made up of a series of chapters or stories linked together by the same character,
place, or theme but held apart by their individual plot, purpose, and subtext.

Learning Task 4: Very Short Story Time

Directions: Read the short stories with understanding. Use the table below to determine
the parts of the plot in each story and write your answers on your answer sheet.

11
The Fly
by Katherine Mansfield
Published in 1922, The Fly is
often heralded as one of
Katherine Mansfield's
finest short stories. But it does
not reward lazy readers! Your
enjoyment of this story
depends on how well you read the
story. So please take your time
and read it with

12
careful attention. Readers will
wish to contemplate the
symbolism of the fly, and notice
that the ending of the story plays
on one of Woodfield's problems
mentioned near the
story's beginning. Featured in
WWI Literature
" Y'ARE very snug in here,"
piped old Mr. Woodifield, and he
peered out of the
great, green leather armchair by
his friend the boss's desk as a
baby peers out of its
pram. His talk was over; it was
time for him to be off. But he did
not want to go.

13
Since he had retired, since his...
stroke, the wife and the girls kept
him boxed up in
the house every day of the week
except Tuesday. On Tuesday he
was dressed and
brushed and allowed to cut back
to the City for the day. Though
what he did there
the wife and girls couldn't
imagine. Made a nuisance of
himself to his friends, they
supposed ... Well, perhaps so. All
the same, we cling to our last
pleasures as the tree
clings to its last leaves. So
there sat old Woodifield,
smoking a cigar and staring
14
almost greedily at the boss, who
rolled in his office chair, stout,
rosy, five years older
than he, and still going strong,
still at the helm. It did one good
to see him. Wistfully,
admiringly, the old voice added, "
It's snug in here, upon my word !
"
" Yes, it's comfortable enough,"
agreed the boss, and he flipped
the Financial
Times with a paper-knife. As a
matter of fact he was proud of his
room ; he liked to
have it admired, especially by
old Woodifield. It gave him a
feeling of deep, solid
15
satisfaction to be planted there in
the midst of it in full view of that
frail old figure in
the muffler.
" I've had it done up lately," he
explained, as he had explained for
the past—
how many ?— weeks. " New
carpet," and he pointed to the
bright red carpet with a
pattern of large white rings. "
New furniture," and he nodded
towards the massive
bookcase and the table with legs
like twisted treacle. " Electric
heating ! " He waved

16
 almost exultantly towards the five
transparent, pearly sausages
glowing so softly in
the tilted copper pan.
But he did not draw old
Woodifield's attention to the
photograph over the table
of a grave-looking boy in uniform
standing in one of those spectral
photographers'
parks with photographers'
storm-clouds behind him. It
was not new. It had been
there for over six years.
The Fly
by Katherine Mansfield

Published in 1922, The Fly is often heralded as one of Katherine Mansfield's

finest short stories. But it does not reward lazy readers! Your enjoyment of this story
depends on how well you read the story. So please take your time and read it with
careful attention. Readers will wish to contemplate the symbolism of the fly, and notice
that the ending of the story plays on one of Woodfield's problems mentioned near the
story's beginning. Featured in WWI Literature

17
" Y'ARE very snug in here," piped old Mr. Woodifield, and he peered out of the
great, green leather armchair by his friend the boss's desk as a baby peers out of its
pram. His talk was over; it was time for him to be off. But he did not want to go.
Since he had retired, since his... stroke, the wife and the girls kept him boxed up in
the house every day of the week except Tuesday. On Tuesday he was dressed and
brushed and allowed to cut back to the City for the day. Though what he did there
the wife and girls couldn't imagine. Made a nuisance of himself to his friends, they
supposed ... Well, perhaps so. All the same, we cling to our last pleasures as the tree
clings to its last leaves. So there sat old Woodifield, smoking a cigar and staring
almost greedily at the boss, who rolled in his office chair, stout, rosy, five years older
than he, and still going strong, still at the helm. It did one good to see him. Wistfully,
admiringly, the old voice added, " It's snug in here, upon my word ! "

" Yes, it's comfortable enough," agreed the boss, and he flipped the Financial
Times with a paper-knife. As a matter of fact he was proud of his room ; he liked to
have it admired, especially by old Woodifield. It gave him a feeling of deep, solid
satisfaction to be planted there in the midst of it in full view of that frail old figure in
the muffler.

" I've had it done up lately," he explained, as he had explained for the past—
how many ?— weeks. " New carpet," and he pointed to the bright red carpet with a
pattern of large white rings. " New furniture," and he nodded towards the massive
bookcase and the table with legs like twisted treacle. " Electric heating ! " He waved
almost exultantly towards the five transparent, pearly sausages glowing so softly in
the tilted copper pan.

But he did not draw old Woodifield's attention to the photograph over the table
of a grave-looking boy in uniform standing in one of those spectral photographers'
parks with photographers' storm-clouds behind him. It was not new. It had been
there for over six years.

" There was something I wanted to tell you," said old Woodifield, and his eyes
grew dim remembering. " Now what was it ? I had it in my mind when I started out
this morning." His hands began to tremble, and patches of red showed above his
beard.

Poor old chap, he's on his last pins, thought the boss. And, feeling kindly, he
winked at the old man, and said jokingly, " I tell you what. I've got a little drop of
something here that'll do you good before you go out into the cold again. It's beautiful
stuff. It wouldn't hurt a child." He took a key off his watch-chain, unlocked a
cupboard below his desk, and drew forth a dark, squat bottle. " That's the medicine,"
said he. " And the man from whom I got it told me on the strict Q.T. it came from the
cellars at Windsor Cassel."

Old Woodifield's mouth fell open at the sight. He couldn't have looked more
surprised if the boss had produced a rabbit.

" It's whisky, ain't it ? " he piped, feebly.

The boss turned the bottle and lovingly showed him the label. Whisky it was.

18
" D'you know," said he, peering up at the boss wonderingly, " they won't let
me touch it at home." And he looked as though he was going to cry.

" Ah, that's where we know a bit more than the ladies," cried the boss,
swooping across for two tumblers that stood on the table with the water-bottle, and
pouring a generous finger into each. " Drink it down. It'll do you good. And don't put
any water with it. It's sacrilege to tamper with stuff like this. Ah ! " He tossed off his,
pulled out his handkerchief, hastily wiped his moustaches, and cocked an eye at old
Woodifield, who was rolling his in his chaps.

The old man swallowed, was silent a moment, and then said faintly, " It's nutty! "

But it warmed him ; it crept into his chill old brain—he remembered.

" That was it," he said, heaving himself out of his chair. " I thought you'd like
to know. The girls were in Belgium last week having a look at poor Reggie's grave,
and they happened to come across your boy's. They're quite near each other, it
seems."

Old Woodifield paused, but the boss made no reply. Only a quiver in his eyelids
showed that he heard.

" The girls were delighted with the way the place is kept," piped the old voice.
" Beautifully looked after. Couldn't be better if they were at home. You've not been
across, have yer ? "

" No, no! " For various reasons the boss had not been across.

" There's miles of it," quavered old Woodifield, " and it's all as neat as a garden.
Flowers growing on all the graves. Nice broad paths." It was plain from his voice how
much he liked a nice broad path.

The pause came again. Then the old man brightened wonderfully.

" D'you know what the hotel made the girls pay for a pot of jam ? " he piped. "
Ten - francs! Robbery, I call it. It was a little pot, so Gertrude says, no bigger than a
half-crown. And she hadn't taken more than a spoonful when they charged her ten
francs. Gertrude brought the pot away with her to teach 'em a lesson. Quite right,
too ; it's trading on our feelings. They think because we're over there having a look
round we're ready to pay anything. That's what it is." And he turned towards the
door.

" Quite right, quite right! " cried the boss, though what was quite right he
hadn't the least idea. He came round by his desk, followed the shuffling footsteps to
the door, and saw the old fellow out. Woodifield was gone.

19
For a long moment the boss stayed, staring at nothing, while the grey-haired
office messenger, watching him, dodged in and out of his cubby hole like a dog that
expects to be taken for a run. Then : " I'll see nobody for half an hour, Macey," said
the boss. " Understand ? Nobody at all."

" Very good, sir."

The door shut, the firm heavy steps recrossed the bright carpet, the fat body
plumped down in the spring chair, and leaning forward, the boss covered his face
with his hands. He wanted, he intended, he had arranged to weep...

It had been a terrible shock to him when old Woodifield sprang that remark
upon him about the boy's grave. It was exactly as though the earth had opened and
he had seen the boy lying there with Woodifield's girls staring down at him. For it
was strange. Although over six years had passed away, the boss never thought of the
boy except as lying unchanged, unblemished in his uniform, asleep for ever. " My
son ! " groaned the boss. But no tears came yet. In the past, in the first months and
even years after the boy's death, he had only to say those words to be overcome by
such grief that nothing short of a violent fit of weeping could relieve him. Time, he
had declared then, he had told everybody, could make no difference. Other men
perhaps might recover, might live their loss down, but not he. How was it possible ?
His boy was an only son. Ever since his birth the boss had worked at building up
this business for him ; it had no other meaning if it was not for the boy. Life itself
had come to have no other meaning. How on earth could he have slaved, denied
himself, kept going all those years without the promise for ever before him of the
boy's stepping into his shoes and carrying on where he left off ?

And that promise had been so near being fulfilled. The boy had been in the
office learning the ropes for a year before the war. Every morning they had started
off together ; they had come back by the same train. And what congratulations he
had received as the boy's father ! No wonder ; he had taken to it marvellously. As to
his popularity with the staff, every man jack of them down to old Macey couldn't
make enough of the boy. And he wasn't in the least spoilt. No, he was just his bright,
natural self, with the right word for everybody, with that boyish look and his habit of
saying, " Simply splendid ! "

But all that was over and done with as though it never had been. The day had
come when Macey had handed him the telegram that brought the whole place crashing
about his head. " Deeply regret to inform you ..." And he had left the office
a broken man, with his life in ruins.

Six years ago, six years ... How quickly time passed ! It might have happened
yesterday. The boss took his hands from his face ; he was puzzled. Something seemed
to be wrong with him. He wasn't feeling as he wanted to feel. He decided to get up
and have a look at the boy's photograph. But it wasn't a favourite photograph of his;
the expression was unnatural. It was cold, even stern-looking. The boy had never
looked like that.

At that moment the boss noticed that a fly had fallen into his broad inkpot,
and was trying feebly but desperately to clamber out again. Help ! help ! said those

20
struggling legs. But the sides of the inkpot were wet and slippery ; it fell back again
and began to swim. The boss took up a pen, picked the fly out of the ink, and shook
it on to a piece of blotting-paper. For a fraction of a second it lay still on the dark
patch that oozed round it. Then the front legs waved, took hold, and, pulling its
small, sodden body up it began the immense task of cleaning the ink from its wings.
Over and under, over and under, went a leg along a wing, as the stone goes over and
under the scythe. Then there was a pause, while the fly, seeming to stand on the tips
of its toes, tried to expand first one wing and then the other. It succeeded at last,
and, sitting down, it began, like a minute cat, to clean its face. Now one could imagine
that the little front legs rubbed against each other lightly, joyfully. The horrible
danger was over ; it had escaped ; it was ready for life again.

But just then the boss had an idea. He plunged his pen back into the ink,
leaned his thick wrist on the blotting paper, and as the fly tried its wings down came
a great heavy blot. What would it make of that ? What indeed ! The little beggar
seemed absolutely cowed, stunned, and afraid to move because of what would
happen next. But then, as if painfully, it dragged itself forward. The front legs waved,
caught hold, and, more slowly this time, the task began from the beginning.

He's a plucky little devil, thought the boss, and he felt a real admiration for
the fly's courage. That was the way to tackle things ; that was the right spirit. Never
say die ; it was only a question of ... But the fly had again finished its laborious task,
and the boss had just time to refill his pen, to shake fair and square on the new-
cleaned body yet another dark drop. What about it this time ? A painful moment of
suspense followed. But behold, the front legs were again waving ; the boss felt a rush
of relief. He leaned over the fly and said to it tenderly, " You artful little b . . ." And
he actually had the brilliant notion of breathing on it to help the drying process. All
the same, there was something timid and weak about its efforts now, and the boss
decided that this time should be the last, as he dipped the pen deep into the inkpot.

It was. The last blot fell on the soaked blotting-paper, and the draggled fly lay
in it and did not stir. The back legs were stuck to the body; the front legs were not to
be seen.

" Come on," said the boss. " Look sharp ! " And he stirred it with his pen—in
vain. Nothing happened or was likely to happen. The fly was dead.

The boss lifted the corpse on the end of the paper-knife and flung it into the
waste-paper basket. But such a grinding feeling of wretchedness seized him that he
felt positively frightened. He started forward and pressed the bell for Macey.

" Bring me some fresh blotting-paper," he said, sternly, " and look sharp about
it." And while the old dog padded away he fell to wondering what it was he had been
thinking about before. What was it ? It was... He took out his handkerchief and
passed it inside his collar. For the life of him he could not remember.

21
Learning Task 5: Take Time

Directions: Using the literary text

in Learning Task 4. Answe the
following questions.
Write your answers on your
answer sheet.
1. What is the dynamic between
Mr. Woodifield and the boss at
the start of "The
Fly," and how does that dynamic
evolve throughout the story?
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
_
___________________________
___________________________

22
 ___________________________
_
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
_
2. What do you think "The Fly"
represents?
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
_
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
_
Directions: Using the literary text in Learning Task 4. Answer the following questions. Write
your answers on your answer sheet.
1. What is the dynamic between Mr. Woodifield and the boss at the start of "The
Fly," and how does that dynamic evolve throughout the story?
_____________________________________________________________________________

23
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

2. What do you think "The Fly" represents?

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Assessment

Writing Time!
Directions: With your learnings with \ a character/setting/plot for a one-act play, do the
outlining or planning of your story to be written. Do this on your answer sheet.

I. Characters (Consider the kinds of characters)

II. Setting (Consider the elements of setting)
III. Plot (Identify the five parts of a plot)

Writing Time! Directions: With

your learnings with \ a
character/setting/plot for a
one-
act play, do the outlining or
planning of your story to be
written. Do this on your
answer sheet.
I. Characters (Consider the
kinds of characters)

24
II. Setting (Consider the
elements of setting)
III. Plot (Identify the five
parts of a plot)

25