After establishing the basic storyline, during the writing process it felt important to flesh out the script as much as possible. One thing we picked up from a lecture with an actor who had a history of radio drama and voice over is that the script is the fuel for the actor. Without a good, fleshed out script the acting cannot possibly be good.
To do this, we needed to consider who our characters were and how we could expand on them. Upon initial first draft, Thomas and Adam seemed to be quite well crafted. Thomas being from a well off background will speak in complex sentences whereas Adam uses more colloquialisms where possible. What is interesting about dialogue between the characters is that, when put alongside each other, they seem to be even more polar opposites than when alone. This will illustrate the class divide between the characters and make their unlikely friendship even more special.
The Corporal is perhaps the third most important character to the story and acts as the barrier between the soldiers and the home front. To make him a more believable character, it is important for us to give a sense that the character has aspirations beyond our story. To do this, in Scene 3 he hints at the idea that “soon everyone will call me sir” suggesting that he wishes to work up the ranks by any means necessary. He has little regard towards lower ranking soldiers and will try to look as favourable as possible among his superiors.
As we continue to write, research is paramount to provide authenticity. Once the script has been finished, our producer intends to show the script to a local WW1 historian to check if what we refer to is correct.
We also took a look at a WW1 drama which was broadcast on BBC 4. Homefront takes place back in Britain which is interesting as our play is obviously on the battlefield. Hopefully We’ll be able to create something similar to this in scene 5 between Mrs Peterson and the postman. It is interesting how they use historical information in this radio drama series to influence the story. In a similar way to us using Defence of the Realm as the barrier in the story, in Homefront, key developments both politically and on the battlefield affect the characters back home. One thing to learn from this is that research will be key for our drama to be successful. Hopefully when the script is finished we will be able to get into contact with a historian to check the script’s authenticity.
