Plot

Plot is a hard one for some students. One of the best ways to come up with a decent plot is to think about memorable events or experiences in your own life. Those small snapshots in time often make for fantastic short plays. For instance:

A bad transport moment. Perhaps you just missed your bus, went to the train station and just missed the train, finally got on a bus and then it broke down.
A lost item. You’re in your bedroom, and you can’t for the life of you remember where your sunglasses are. You rip apart your room and search everywhere, but can’t find them, until, finally, you realise they’re on your head.
The cheating exam (hopefully not something you’ve done). You’re in the exam, sweating, because you haven’t studied. You try every trick in the book to cheat, from looking at other student’s answers to texting a friend on your mobile. There’s a great Mr Bean episode where this happens. In fact, Mr Bean has lots of great short situations like this one.

The trick is to pick a story that you can tell to your audience in five minutes (or however long you are allocated). The story needs to be interesting and not overly complicated.

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