What constitutes an act or scene in a play? How do you know when to name the next stuff a new act or scene?
In a novel, when you divide it into books, such as six books for Lord of the Rings, how do you know when it is a new book, same for chapter.
Yeah, I know its a stupid question. I know the answer for textbooks, etc.
Well, the reader knows because the author has helpfully inserted chapter headings, titles and so forth.
The author doesn’t so much <i>know</i> when to start a new chapter or book or scene or whatever as <i>decide</i> when to do so. He can do this on any basis he likes. Usually he will do it because he wants to take up a new theme, involve different chaacters or a different location, or whatever.
Well, a scene is simple - whenever the action is taking place in a new location, the scene has changed. (ie, the actual scenery is removed/hidden, and new scenery replaces it)
acts, books and chapters are pretty much up to the author. My favourite author, Terry Pratchett, refuses to use chapters at all because they ‘break up the flow of the story’ (he does put chapters in his children’s books, because otherwise he might get lynched by parents who want to be able to say ‘just to the end of the chapter, then go to sleep’)
chapters normally seem to eb equivalent to scenes - they signify a change of time/location/characters etc.
Acts are trickiest… in many cases they are simply so that the audience can go get a drink, and the cast gets a bit of a break (IMO - IANAActor)
Books in my opinon, should tell a complete story. I should be able to pick up book 4 of a series and be able to understand most of it without having read books 1-3. So, to use LOTR as the example, book1, FOTR, Tells of the forming of the fellowship up to it breaking apart. TT tells of Frodo’s journey to Mordor, and the battles between the assorted armies, in particular Saruman (it ends with his defeat, IIRC). The third book deals with Mordor, and the battle with Sauron. Each is a separate entity, but joins together…
And yes, I know that LOTR actually has 6 books… but the principal still applies…
As regards Acts. If you want to be a purist the act division of a script serves a certain purpose of keeping some sanity in the story telling.
The Greek tragedy introduced the formal division into acts. Around 600 BC the celebratory ode to Dionysus, the dithyramb is formalized by Arion of Mehtymna. Shortly thereafter Thespis of Attica, father of all actors, introduces the idea of a protagonist or main character as a standard element of drama. This gave birth to the Greek Tragedy and Satire, which was the birth of real theatre and led to the classic division of five acts for a play. In theory a script should comprise the following movements, divided over the five acts.
Movement First Introduction of the protagonist, the premise and the plot.
Movement Second Development of plot, climax and protagonists evolution
Movement Third closure and conclusion of protagonists evolution
Where the first and last movements should be no longer than one act and the second cover the three remaining.
In Greek theatre the ideal was to have the climax in the middle of the second movement, over the years the ideal has shifted towards a delayed climax that often occurs at the end of the second movement and carries into the last. The format action screenplay being the ultimate example where the last movement is often so reduced that we hardly notice it.
However, it is probable that the real origin of the act is the need for an interlude where the actors could change costume and mask. The act driving the story was most probably a development that went hand in hand with the increasing complexity of the dramatic reality that Thespis protagonist had to inhabit. The height of Greek theatre also introduced the prologue and the epilogue to preceded and succeed the actual play.
Over the years the act separation has been used for everything like interlude plays, song and dance numbers or just breaks. The formal act division has of course also shifted back and forth and in our day serves more an academic purpose than anything else. The three movements of Greek tragedy, pretty much survive though both for the stage and the screen.
Sparc
Perfect thread for Cafe Society.
Off to Cafe Society.
DrMatrix - General Questions Moderator
I don’t mean to bite the hand that feeds me Shadow, but LOTR is six books, not three. The published version is usually in the form of two books per volume.
Thank you sparc, that was the answer I was looking for, I think.
Actually, LotR is one book. The publishers broke it up into three because they didn’t think anyone would want to read a book that long. Considering the state of fantasy novels today, I wish we had more publishers like that now.
Lord of the Rings is one novel, divided into six books, published in three volumes. Yeah, it gets confusing.
And strictly speaking, in movies, a “scene” is much shorter. Every time there’s a cut from one camera angle to another is a separate scene, even if it’s taking place in the same place.
Eh… No. A scene in a film is a string of action that takes place in one location. If you leave the location just for one cut and come back, it’s a new scene. As long as you do not leave the location, a scene can have several camera angles and hence cuts. It’s defined by the way the script flows, not the edit.
Sparc