February’s Buzz:

FIRST ACT ISSUES: HOW TO BEGIN
(Copyright 2004)

by
Kathryn McCullough

Most writers are aware of the importance of the first five to ten pages of a screenplay, which provide a first impression to agents and development executives. However, even if you manage to hook your reader with an exciting opening, you need to make sure he or she keeps reading. Tight, compelling first acts that are integral parts of the whole story take work. Below are some key elements of the first act, and suggestions on how to deal with the challenges that come with them.

Exposition:

Finding a dramatic way to express background information concerning your setting, story, and characters can be difficult. While you don’t want your reader to be confused, you also don’t want to stop the plot just to relay a few facts.

One method of getting exposition across is to use conflict. Having characters reveal information as part of an argument automatically makes it more interesting. Conversely, if a character is desperately trying to get information from a character who is reluctant to give it, you create tension and therefore drama.

Another way to get exposition across cleverly is by having a principal character be a stranger or newcomer to the location. That character then stands in for the audience, who is similarly in the dark. The character’s need to find out more about the setting, situation, and/or other characters becomes a logical part of the plot.

Whenever you do reveal information, try to do it in action. One of the best examples I have ever seen of using exposition to move the plot forward is the pilot for CHEERS. Even though it’s a teleplay and not a screenplay, it is worth studying to see how the writers manage to tell us everything about the characters, their situation, their relationships, and their world, all within the essential dramatic action of the plot.

Lastly, don’t feel you have to tell the reader everything in the first act. Withholding information until its revelation is crucial can create suspense and drama. In THE COOLER, we learn fairly late in the movie that Alec Baldwin is responsible for William F. Macy’s limp, and this information changes our perception of their relationship in a dramatic way. If we’d known this detail from the start, the dynamic between the two men would not have seemed as complex. The writer also delays revealing Maria Bello’s initial motive for pursuing Macy.

Character set-up:

Make sure that you clearly establish who your protagonist is, why she is special, and why we should be interested in her story, within the first few pages. Many writers fail to distinguish the lead from the other characters quickly enough, and this makes it difficult to be drawn into the plot.

Another common weakness is the inclusion of several scenes demonstrating the protagonist’s problem. For instance, if the script is about an alcoholic, we see more than one scene of his addiction getting him into trouble with his family or at work before the actual story starts. Or, in a romantic comedy, there are several scenes of the heroine on bad dates. While the action of the individual scenes might be different, the information is the same. Once you have shown us the character’s problem, start the story as quickly as possible. Even better, have the revelation of his problem be the beginning of the plot. THE COOLER could have had a slow build-up, showing us how everything in William F. Macy’s life goes wrong from the moment he wakes up. Instead, the film opens with Macy at the casino causing gamblers to lose just by standing near them, and this is all we need to know.

The point of attack:

This is a key moment in the first act, and its absence is a notable flaw in some scripts. This is the moment that shifts the piece from a situation to a story. In SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE, the conflict between Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson never would have gone anywhere if not for Nicholson’s heart attack. It is this that propels the two closer when Keaton has to take care of him during his recovery. Make sure you can clearly identify the point of attack in your script.

The turning point:

You should also be able to clearly identify the end of the first act. This is when we know what the conflict is and know very specifically what we are supposed to be rooting for. Simply, this is where the story begins. In ELF, Buddy leaves the North Pole for New York City in order to find and reconcile with his father. In SCHOOL OF ROCK, Jack Black’s character decides to form a rock group with his elementary school students in order to compete in a battle of the bands.

The first act is often the easiest thing to write in a first draft, because enthusiasm and energy are high, and you are still setting up the characters and situation, rather than struggling to develop these elements. But this is no reason not to go back in later drafts and be ruthless about structure, pacing, and establishing conflict, as well as the issues mentioned above. A solid first act should propel the writer, the characters, and later the reader into the second act, which I’ll discuss next month.