Creative Writing

Quarter 2 – Module 2:
Conceptualize a
Character/Setting/Plot for
One Act Play
 Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any work
of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or
office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit.
Such agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment of
royalties.

Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names,
trademarks, etc.) included in this module are owned by their respective copyright holders.
Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to use these materials from
their respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors do not represent nor claim
ownership over them.

Published by the Department of Education

Secretary: Leonor Magtolis Briones
Undersecretary: Diosdado M. San Antonio

SENIOR HS MODULE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Author : Pearly V. VIllagracia

Co-Author - Content Editor : Irenea F. Diesta
Co-Author - Language Reviewer : Irenea F. Diesta
Co-Author - Illustrator : Alma F. Garcia
Co-Author - Layout Artist : Alma F. Garcia

Team Leaders:
School Head : Reycor E. Sacdalan PhD
LRMDS Coordinator : Pearly V. VIllagracia

DIVISION MANAGEMENT TEAM:

Schools Division Superintendent : Romeo M. Alip, PhD, CESO V
OIC- Asst. Schools Division Superintendent : William Roderick R. Fallorin, CESE
Chief Education Supervisor, CID : Milagros M. Peñaflor, PhD
Education Program Supervisor, LRMDS : Edgar E. Garcia, MITE
Education Program Supervisor, AP/ADM : Romeo M. Layug
Education Program Supervisor, English : Ilynne S. J. Samonte
Project Development Officer II, LRMDS : Joan T. Briz
Division Librarian II, LRMDS : Rosita P. Serrano
:

Printed in the Philippines by Department of Education – Schools Division of Bataan

Office Address: Provincial Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan
Telefax: (047) 237-2102
E-mail Address: [email protected]
 Creative Writing
Quarter 2 – Module 2:
Conceptualize a
Character/Setting/Plot for
One Act Play
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the Creative Writing – Grade 11/12 Alternative Delivery Mode

(ADM) Module on Conceptualize a character, setting, plot for a one act play!

This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by

educators both from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or
facilitator in helping the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum
while overcoming their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and
independent learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also
aims to help learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into
consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the
body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies
that will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them
to manage their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and
assist the learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

ii
For the learner:

Welcome to the Creative Writing – Grade 11/12 Alternative Delivery Mode

(ADM) Module on Conceptualize a character, setting, plot for a one act play!
You are a living story. You have woven your own story of truth about your
life through interactions with the people around you. Your story is to be a part of
your own history. Every individual has good and bad experiences which can be
intertwined into meaningful and interesting stories. You only need to use your
imagination. Your imagination in this learning resource signifies that you as a
learner are capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant
competencies and skills at your own pace.

This module had been designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities to guide you into learning independently. This will enable you to
become an active learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in
the module.

What I Know This part includes an activity that aims to

check what you already know about the
lesson to take. If you get all the answers
correct (100%), you may decide to skip this
module.

What’s In This is a brief drill or review to help you link

the current lesson with the previous one.

What’s New In this portion, the new lesson will be

introduced to you in various ways such the
elements, techniques and literary devices of
drama, a problem opener, an activity or a
situation.

What is It This section provides a brief discussion of

the lesson. This aims to help you discover
and understand new concepts and skills.

What’s More This comprises activities for independent

practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check the
answers to the exercises using the Answer
Key at the end of the module.

What I Have Learned This includes questions or blank

sentence/paragraph to be filled in to process
what you learned from the lesson.

iii
 What I Can Do This section provides an activity which will
help you transfer your new knowledge or
skill into real life situations or concerns.

Assessment This is a task which aims to evaluate your

level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.

Additional Activities In this portion, another activity will be given

to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of
the lesson learned. This also tends retention
of learned concepts.

Answer Key This contains answers to all activities in the

module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in

developing this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of
the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your
answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning
and gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

iv
 What I Need to Know

This module was designed to provide you with understanding of elements,

techniques and literary devices of drama.

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. Conceptualize a character, setting, plot for a one act play

HUMSS_CW/MPIjc-17

2. Explore different staging modalities viz-a-viz envisioning the script

HUMSS_CW/MPIjc-18

1
 What I Know

Identify the word or phrase that matched the given definition. Choose the letter of
the correct answer.

1. A drama that takes place in a single location and unfolds as one continuous
action.
a. Drama c. Fiction
b. Essay d. One- act play
2. How many situations or episodes are there in in a one-act play?
a. One c. Three
b. Two d. Four
3. This refers to the time and place where the story happened.
a. Dialogue c. Rising Action
b. Plot d. Setting
4. This element portrays the storyline or the sequence of events in the story.
a. Character c. Rising Action
b. Plot d. Theme
5. In this element, the words are written by the playwright and delivered by
the characters in the play.
a. Character c. Rising Action
b. Dialogue d. Plot
6. Which part of the one-act play is the determining place of the hero?
a. Character c. staging
b. Setting d. plot
7. How many significant events can the audience see in a one-act play?
a. one c. three
b. two d. four
8. How many hours or minutes should a one-act play run?
a. Fifteen minutes c. Thirty minutes
b. Forty minutes d. One hour
9. What is the popular subgenre of the one-act play?
a. Farce c. Melodrama
b. Flash play d. Tragic Comedy
10. When can you consider that a one-act play is successful?
a. When tickets are sold
b. When characters are famous
c. When the audience has understood the theme
d. all of the choices

2
What is One-Act-Play?

Live actors play in the stage which is a magical place. You can be actors and
actresses who have the power to teach and please others. But how can you do it?
Before your play can teach and please anyone, you have to write it, rewrite it, and
submit it. It can be a long road, particularly because now more than ever, plays
tend to get plenty of development before getting fully produced. As
good playwrights, you need to have extra patience and perseverance.

What’s In

A. Are you familiar with the biblical stories? Recall the stories you have read
from the bible or watched from the television and list your five favorite
stories.

1. ________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________

B. Do you know the reason why human dies? To know the answer, read the
bible story of “Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden”. After reading, identify
the description of the following:

1. Setting
___________________________________________________________________
2. Characters
___________________________________________________________________
3. Beginning
___________________________________________________________________
4. Middle
___________________________________________________________________
5. Ending
___________________________________________________________________

3
 “Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden”
Genesis 3:1-24

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had
made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree
in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees
in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the
middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not
certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat
from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and
pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate
it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the
eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed
fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife
heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of
the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the
LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in
the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who
told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you
not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave
me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the
woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me,
and I ate.” 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your
belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush
your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will make
your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to
children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17 To
Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about
which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because
of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It
will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the
field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the
ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will
return.” 20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all
the living. 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and
clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of
us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take
also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished
him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been
taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of
Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to
the tree of life.

4
 What’s New

Read the one-act play “The World is an Apple” by Alberto S. Florentino. It is a story
about a man who suffered poverty and misfortune in life. His miserable life led him
to dishonesty and sinful road.
https://ischoolsericsonalieto.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/the-world-is-an-apple-
by-alberto-s-florentino/?fbclid=IwAR0WXQBeXg8AF2bcvCpzBzo5g60nQMEUK3e8
dh7RAbRf_jC_BIqvUd6RQdI

The World is an Apple

By Alberto S. Florentino
Characters:
Gloria
Mario
Pablo
Scene:
An improvised home behind a portion of the Intramuros walls. Two wooden boxes
flank the doorway. At left is an acacia tree with a wooden bench under it.)
MARIO enters from the street at left. He is in his late twenties, shabbily dressed
and with hair that seems to have been uncut for weeks. He puts his lunch bag on
the bench, sits down, removes his shoes and puts them beside his lunch bag.

GLORIA: (Calls from inside) Mario! Is that you, Mario?

MARIO: Yes…

GLORIA: (A small woman about Mario’s age, with long hair, comes out wiping her
hands on her dress.) I’m glad you’re home early.

MARIO: How is Tita? (Without waiting for an answer, he enters the dwelling).

GLORIA: (Crosses to the bench)

Don’t wake her up, Mario. She’s tired. She cried the whole day.

MARIO: (reappears and crosses to the bench and sits on one end) Has she
been eating well?

GLORIA: She wouldn’t eat even a mouthful of lugao. But I’ll buy her some biscuits.
Maybe she’ll eat them. (She slips her fingers into his breast pocket) I’ll take some of
the money!

MARIO: (Rises, annoyed) Gloria! Can’t you wait a minute?

GLORIA: (Taken aback) Hey, what’s the matter? Why are you suddenly so touchy?

MARIO: Who wouldn’t be? I’m talking to you about the child and you bother me by
ransacking my pockets I wish you’d think more of our daughter.

5
GLORIA: (Crosses at the center) My God! Wasn’t I thinking of her? Why do you
think I need some money? Buy a pretty dress or see a movie?

MARIO: Tone down your voice. You’ll wake the child up.

GLORIA: (Low but intense) All I want is a little money to buy her something to eat!
She hasn’t eaten anything all day! That was why I was “bothering” you!
MARIO: (Repentant) I’m sorry, Gloria… (Grips her arm)

GLORIA: It’s all right, Mario. Now, may I have some of the money?

MARIO: (Turns to her) Money? I don’t have any, not now.

GLORIA: Today is payday, Mario.

MARIO: Yes … but…

GLORIA: But what? Where’s your pay for the week?

MARIO: I don’t … have it.

GLORIA: What? I waited for you the whole day and you tell me..

MARIO: (Angry) that I have nothing! Nothing! What do you want me to do,
steal?

GLORIA: I’m not asking you to do a thing like that! All I want to know is
what you did with your money.

MARIO: (Sits on the bench) Nothing is left of it.

GLORIA: Nothing? What happened?

MARIO: Oh, I had a few drinks with my friends. Before I knew it, I had
spent every centavo of it.

GLORIA: (Eyeing him intently) Mario, do you think you can make a fool of me?
Haven’t I seen you drunk before: crawling home like a wounded snake and reeking
of alcohol like a hospital? You don’t smell or look drunk.

MARIO: All right, so I didn’t go drinking.

GLORIA: But your pay, what happened to it?

MARIO: It’s better if you don’t know, Gloria.

GLORIA: Look, Mario I’m your wife. I have the right to half of everything
you get. If I can’t have my share, I have the right to know at least where it went!

MARIO: All right. (Rises) I spent it all on another woman.

GLORIA: Another woman? I don’t believe it. I know you wouldn’t do such thing.

MARIO: I didn’t know you had so much faith in me.

GLORIA: No, Mario, what I mean is you wouldn’t spend all your money when you
know your daughter may need some of it. You love her too much to do that.

6
(Mario sits down and buries his head in his hands. Gloria crosses to him and lays a
hand on his shoulder.)

GLORIA: What’s wrong, Mario?

MARIO: (Turns his face away) Nothing, Gloria, nothing.

GLORIA: (Sits beside him) I know something is wrong, Mario. I can feel it. Tell me
what it is.

MARIO: (Stares at the ground) Gloria, I’ve lost my job.

GLORIA: (Rises, shocked) Oh, No!

MARIO: (Looks up at her) It’s true, Gloria.

GLORIA: What about your pay for the whole week?

MARIO: I lost my job a week ago.

GLORIA: And you never even told me!

MARIO: I thought I could get another, without making you worry.

GLORIA: Do you think you can get another in five months? It took you that long to
get the last one.

MARIO: It won’t take me as long to get another.

GLORIA: But how did you lose it? Mario! Have your sinful fingers brought you
trouble again?

MARIO: Now, now, Gloria! Don’t try to accuse me, as they did!

GLORIA: What did they accuse you of?

MARIO: Just what you meant to say, Pilfering, they call it.

GLORIA: What else would you call it? (Pause)What, according to them, did you
steal?

MARIO: (Low) It was nothing much, really nothing at all.

GLORIA: What was it?

MARIO: It was an apple.

GLORIA: An apple! You mean

MARIO: An apple! Don’t you know what an apple is?

GLORIA: You mean, you took one apple?

MARIO: Yes, and they kicked me out for it: for taking one, single apple.
Not a dozen, not a crate.

GLORIA: That’s what you get.

7
MARIO: (Sits down) Could I have guessed they would do that for one apple? When
there were millions of them?(Pause.) We were hauling them to the warehouse. I saw
one roll out of a broken crate. It was that big. Suddenly, I found myself putting it in
my lunch bag.

GLORIA- That’s the trouble with you; when you think of your own stomach, you
think of nothing else!

MARIO: (Rise) I was not thinking of myself!

GLORIA: Who were you thinking of, me? Did I ever ask for apples?

MARIO: Yes, she did. (pause) Do you remember that day I took her out for a walk?
On our way home we passed a grocery store that sold “delicious” apples at seventy
centavos each. She wanted me to buy one for her, but I did not have seventy
centavos. What I did was buy her one of those small green apples they sell on the
sidewalk, but she just threw it away, saying it was not a real apple. Then she cried.
(Pause)So… when I saw this apple roll out of the broken crate, I thought that Tita
would love to have it.

GLORIA: You should have tried to bring home pan-de-sal, or rice, or milk and not
those “delicious” apples. We’re not rich. We can live without apples!

MARIO: Why? Did God create apple trees to bear fruit for rich alone? Didn’t He
create the whole world for everyone? That’s why I tried to bring the apple home for
Tita. When we brought her into this world we sort of promised her everything she
had a right to have in life.

GLORIA: So, for a measly apple, you lost a job.

MARIO: I wouldn’t mind losing a thousand jobs for an apple for my daughter!

GLORIA: Where was this apple? Did you bring it home to Tita?
(Crosses to the bench to get the lunch bag)

MARIO: No, they kept it as evidence. (Sits down)

GLORIA: See? You lost your job trying to filch an apple and you even lost the apple
for which you lost your job. (Gloria puts away the shoes and the lunch bag. She
sits on the steps and they remain silent for a time.)

GLORIA: (Rising) Filching an apple that’s too small a reason to kick a poor
man out of work. You should ask them to give you a second chance, Mario.

MARIO: They won’t do that.

GLORIA: Why not?

MARIO: (Rises) Can’t you see they had been waiting for me to make a slip like that?
They’ve wanted to throw me out for any reason, so that they may bring their own
men in.
GLORIA: You should complain.

MARIO: If I did? They would dig up my police record.

8
GLORIA: (Crosses to him)- But, Mario that was so long ago! Why would they try to
dig that thing up?

MARIO: They’ll do anything to keep me out. (Holds her arm) But don’t worry, I’ll
find another job. It isn’t really so hard to look for a job nowadays. (From this point
he avoids her eyes). You know I’ve been job hunting for a week now, and I think I
have found a good job.

GLORIA: There you go, lying again.

MARIO: Believe me; I’m not lying this time.

GLORIA: (Crosses to the center) You’re always lying. I can’t tell when you’re telling
the truth or not.

MARIO: In fact I’ll see someone tonight who knows of a company that
needs a night watchman.

GLORIA: (Holds his arm) Honest?

MARIO: (Avoids her eyes) Honest! (Sits down)

GLORIA: I knew God wouldn’t let us down. He never lets anybody down. I’ll
pray tonight and ask Him to let you have that job. (Looks at Mario) But, Mario
would it mean that you’d have to stay out all night?

MARIO: That would be all right. I can always sleep during the day.

GLORIA: (Brushes against him like a cat) What I mean is, it will be different when
you aren’t by my side at night. (Walks away from him) But, oh, I think I’ll get used
to it. (Crosses to the center and turns around) Why don’t you go and see this friend
of yours right now? Anyway you don’t have anything to do tonight. Don’t you think
it’s wise to see him as early as you can?

MARIO: (After a pause) Yes, I think I’ll do that.

(Gloria crosses to the steps to get his shoes, followed by Mario.)

GLORIA: (Hands him the shoes.) Here, Mario, put these on and go I’ll step up and
wait for you. (Sits on the steps and watches him.)

MARIO: (Putting on the shoes) No, Gloria, you must not wait for me. I may be back
quite late.

GLORIA: All right, but doubt if i can sleep a wink until you return.
(Gloria comes up to him after he finishes and tries to hug him, but he pushes her
away). Suddenly confused, he sits on the steps. Gloria sits beside him and plays
with his hands.)

GLORIA: Mother was wrong. You know, before we got married, she used to tell me:
Gloria, you’ll commit the greatest mistake of your life if you marry that good-for-
nothing loafer! ”Oh, I wish she were alive now, She would have seen how much
you’ve changed. (She sees someone behind the tree: Pablo. He has been watching
them for a time. He is older than Mario, sinister-looking, and well dressed.)

9
PABLO: (Sarcastic) Hmmmmmm, How romantic!

MARIO: Pablo!
(Suddenly unnerved, Mario starts to fidget. Gloria rises and walks to the center, her
eyes burning with hate. Pablo lights a cigarette, never taking his eyes burning with
hate. Pablo lights a cigarette, never taking his eyes off her.)

PABLO: You’re not glad to see me, are you? (Puts a foot on the bench)

GLORIA: (Angry)- What are you doing here? What do you want?

PABLO: Saaaay! Is that the right way to receive a friend who has come a visiting?

GLORIA: We don’t care for your visits!

PABLO: You haven’t changed a bit, Gloria… not a bit.

GLORIA: Neither have you, I can see!

PABLO: You’re still that same woman who cursed me to hell because I happened to
be Mario’s friend long before you met him. Time has not made you any kinder to
me. You still hate me, don’t you?

GLORIA: Yes! And I wish you’d stay away from us for the rest of our lives!

PABLO: Am I not staying away from you?

GLORIA: Then why are you here?

PABLO: God! May I not even come to see you now and then, to see if life has been
kind to you? How are you getting along?

GLORIA: (Scornfully) We were doing well until you showed up!

PABLO: Your daughter, she was only that high when I saw her last-how is
she?

GLORIA: She’s all right!

PABLO: Oh! I thought she had not been very well.

GLORIA: (Suspicious) How did you know? (To Mario) Did you tell him?

MARIO: How could I? I haven’t seen him in a long time, (Sits down) until now of
course.

PABLO: What? Is she sick with?

GLORIA: (Curtly) We don’t know!

PABLO: Don’t you think you should take her to a doctor? (Puts his foot down and
pulls out his wallet). Here, I’ll loan you a few pesos. It may help your daughter to
get well.

GLORIA: (Scornfully) We need it all right-but no, thank you.

PABLO: Why don’t you take it!

10
GLORIA: Paying you back will only mean seeing your face again.

PABLO: Well, if you hate my face so much, you don’t have to pay me back.
Take it as a gift.

GLORIA: The more reason I should refuse it!

PABLO: All right, if that’s how you want it. (Sits down and plays with the
wallet.)

GLORIA: Mario has stopped depending on you, since the day I took him away from
your “clutches”! I have no regrets.

PABLO: How about Mario? Has he no regrets either?

GLORIA: He has none.

PABLO: How can you be so sure? When he and I were pals we could go to first-
class air-conditioned movie houses every other day. I’ll bet all the money I have
here now (brandishing his wallet) that he has not been to one since you “liberated”
him from me. And that was almost four years ago.

GLORIA: One cannot expect too much from honest money- and we don’t.

PABLO: (Rises and walks about) What is honest money? Does it look better than
dishonest money? Does it buy more? Honesty? What is it? Dressing like that?
Staying in this dungeon you call a house? Is that what you call “honesty”?

MARIO: (Rises)- Pablo!

PABLO: See what happened to your daughter. That is what honesty has done to
her. And how can honesty help her now? She’s not sick and needs food. Good food.

MARIO: Pablo!

GLORIA: I know you have come to lead him back to your dishonest ways, but you
can’t. He won’t listen to you now! We have gone this far and we can go on living
without your help!

PABLO: (Sarcastic) You call this living? This, Gloria is what you call dying-dying
slowly-minute by minute. (Laughs)
MARIO: (Crosses to him and shakes him) Pablo, stop it! (Pablo stops). You
shouldn’t have come.

PABLO: I got tired waiting for you!

GLORIA: So you have been seeing each other! I was afraid so!

PABLO: He came to the house yesterday.

MARIO: Pablo, don’t.

PABLO: (Ignoring Mario) He said he would be back this noon. But he didn’t
show up. I came because I was afraid his conscience was bothering him.

MARIO: Pablo, I told you she should not know!

11
PABLO: It’s all right, Mario. You’d better tell her everything. She’s bound to know
later. Tell her what you told me: that you no longer believe in the way she wanted
you to live. Tell her. (Mario turns his back on them.)

GLORIA: Mario is this what you meant by another job?

MARIO: Gloria… you…you must try to understand… I tried… but I could

not left us out of this kind of life…

GLORIA: (shouts at Pablo) You’re to blame for this, you son-of-devil!

PABLO: He came to me first.

GLORIA: When you know he’ll cling to anything and do anything! Even return to
the life he hates! Get out!

PABLO: I’ll leave just as soon as Mario is ready to go.

GLORIA: He’s not going with you!

PABLO: Is that so! Why don’t you ask him? (sits on the bench, grinning)

GLORIA: (to Mario) You’re not going with him, are you, Mario? Tell him to leave us
and never come back! Tell him to go, please, Mario… I know he has talked to you
and tried to poison your mind again… but don’t go with him.

MARIO: (Holds her) Gloria, I…

PABLO: Don’t worry about him, Gloria. He’s safe with me.

MARIO: (Pulls her away) You stay there, Pablo, I’ll be with you in a minute.

MARIO: Gloria, I’m going with him.

GLORIA: Don’t Mario, don’t…

MARIO: You can’t make me stop now, I’ve thought about this since last week.

GLORIA- No, no Mario, no … (Holds fast to him.)

MARIO: You take good care of yourself and our child. I’ll take good care of myself.
Don’t wait up for me. I’ll come home very late.
(Mario walks away with Pablo. Gloria stares at them, and then she shouts.)

GLORIA- MARIOOOOOOOOOO!
(She covers her face with her dress and cries into it. The daughter, from inside,
joins her crying as the curtain closes.)

12
 What is It

One –act play

A one-act play has only one act and may consist of one or more scenes. There
are only a few characters with concise dialogue relevant to the plot.
“Flash drama” is a 10-minute play that emerged as a popular subgenre of the
one-act play, especially in writing competitions.

Elements of a one-act play

a. Theme – one-act needs to have a theme or thought just like a full-length
play. But it has to be clear, concise, and well-thought of.
b. Plot – these are series and sequence of events that lead the hero (and the
audience) in the story onward.
c. Character –one-act play focuses on the life of one character who is the Hero.
This is to know the character’s experience well.
d. Dialogue – actor’s line must be crafted carefully to focus on the theme, the
incident, and the character of the protagonist.

Famous examples of one-act plays are:

• Homeric and fantastical story about Cyclops and satyrs.

• Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Backett – focuses on Krapp’s biography and
his ups and downs in life.
• A Memory of Two Mondays by Arthur Miller – focuses on a group of
desperate workers earning a livings in Brooklyn automobile parts warehouse
during the Great Depression in 1930s.

Important factors in constructing a one-act play

a. Theme – What is the play about? Whatever your purpose and intent in
the play it needs to be clear what your theme is.

b. Technique – How are you going to convey your message? Artist uses
technique as a practical method to effectively transfer his message to the
public.

How to write a one-act play

If plays are the small siblings of movies, then a one-act play is the smallest
in the family. One act plays are short plays but contain elements of the stories. The
story happens in only one scene and runs less than an hour.

13
 The elements, techniques, and literary devices are essential features of a
successful and interesting one-act-play.

Guidelines in writing a one-act play

Aristotle discussed that one-act-plays conform to the unities of drama. These

guidelines suggest that a play should take place with:

1. Unity of Location – set in one location

2. Unity of Time – be set over a period of no more than one day
3. Unity of Action – have one central plot

Steps in One-act Play Scriptwriting

These are the simplified steps in starting a story.

Outline the basic plot.

Develop the setting of the scene.
This includes the problems the
This includes where the
characters are facing and how will
characters are talking and what
the characters react to the
the set looks like.
problem.

Decide on characters. A
Develop the dialogue of the character sketch should be written
play. Once the plot and the beforehand to help flesh out the
characters are developed, one will . characters and bring them to life.
need to develop the script.

Read the script with a partner or Rehearse the script all over
friend for revisions. again.

What is staging in connection to the script or dialogue?

The staging and the dialogue (script) are the tools used to bring characters
to life. In a dramatic play, each actor speaks the lines in turn that help to reveal
the type of person that actor is playing. The back-and-forth exchange of lines in a
play is the dialogue, which is the primary way that playwrights characterize their
protagonist and antagonists.

What are the major types of staging?

1. Proscenium Stage – It is the usual “theatre” with its primary feature is the
“picture frame” in the front of the playing area of an end stage. It’s a
window that frames where the play is happening on the stage. It gives the
audience a good view because the performers focus only on one direction to

14
 give a good view from all sides.

2. Thrust Theatre – A stage surrounded by audience on three sides. The

fourth side serves as the background.

3. End Stage – An end stage is the same as the thrust stage but in this case
the audience is located only on the front of the stage and doesn’t extend
around the sides, although there may be entrances there. Music hall is a
modern end stage where its background walls surround the three sides of
the stage.

Example: Almeida theatre – Islington, London – 1983/86

4. Arena Theatre – The world’s first arena theatre was built by The University
of Washington in 1940 but the drama performed was around 20th-century.
The stage area is often raised to improve line of sight.

Example: Royal exchange theatre – Manchester – 1976

5. Flexible Theatre – It is sometimes called a “Black Box” theatre. Stages are

big empty boxes with black paint. These theatres are a flexible tool for
teaching and performing theatre. These spaces support a great range of
productions and audience arrangements in a relatively compact and
configurable area.

Examples: Studio Theatres, Lab Theatres, Experimental Theatres

6. Profile Theatres – These are “found space” theatres. Risers are on either
side of the playing space for the audience. Actors staged in profile to the
audience. It is like the arena stage; a non-theatrical form of the profile stage
is the basketball arena if no one is seated behind the hoops.

7. Sports Arena – It often serves as venues for Music Concert. It has a

rectangular floor plan and a large arena stage.

Example: The Philippine Sports Stadium inside the Ciudad de Victoria in

Bocaue, Bulacan offers a seating capacity of 25,000 and is considered the
largest stadium in the country.
https://rappler.com/sports/in-photos-glimps-philippine-sports-stadium

15
 Notes to the Teacher
This module prepares the learners to conceptualize a character/
setting/ plot for a one-act play.

What’s More

“A Memory of Two Mondays” by Arthur Miller (2005) has started to capture the lives
of ordinary people. Miller is one of the most distinguished American dramatists
because of his direct engagement with political issues and with the theoretical
concerns of contemporary drama. He has frequently been a significant
spokesperson for his generation of writers. His reputation seems secure both
nationally and internationally, and his plays continue to be performed live or
through screenplay adaptations all over the world.

A Memory of Two Mondays: Summary

Arthur Miller
A Memory of Two Mondays covers the Depression period before Miller’s admission
to the University of Michigan, and the play centers on the discrepancy between
human needs and work requirements. Kenneth, the most melancholy character in
the play, also has the greatest feeling for life and for its poetry. Set in what is
plainly the Chadick-Delamater warehouse on Sixty-third Street and Tenth Avenue
where he had worked. In the end, however, he has forgotten the poems he recites to
Bert, the only character who escapes the tedium of the automobile parts
warehouse, who will read the great books and save enough money to go to college.
The other characters remain very much imprisoned in their everyday lives. Bert’s
leave-taking is hardly noticed, even though he lingers in obvious need of making
more out of his friendships at the warehouse than others are willing to
acknowledge. Earlier, he and Kenneth had washed the windows of the warehouse
to get a clear look at the world in which they were situated; now Kenneth is drunk
and Bert must stand apart, like his author, remembering the meaning of what
others have already forgotten because of the demands of their jobs. Those who
work in the warehouse plainly have private lives but we see nothing of them, only

16
receive reports, mostly hinting at private pain, an existence which generates little
beyond despair and frustrated dreams. These are hidden behind stories of drunken
evenings and nights on the town which leave little beyond the taste of irony. These
lives seem to have no more content than the dull routines of a workaday life which
simulate the cohesiveness of community.

After reading the “A Memory of Two Mondays” follow the Steps in One-act Play
Scriptwriting:

Outline the basic plot.

Develop the setting

Decide on characters.

.
Develop the dialogue of the
play.

Read the script

.

Rehearse the script

Conceptualize the stage

Laying out your script

Follow the format below.

ACT 1

SCENE 1

17
The football-club locker-room is dark and empty. The main lights are switched on.
OLD OHN and TONY enter stage right. OLD JOHN is walking with the help of stick.

OLD JOHN: New paint job is it?

TONY: New paint. New benches. New lockers. Even got new soap for the
showers.

OLD JOHN: (Sits on a bench) I don’t recognize anything anymore. Except the
smell.

TONY: Don’t suppose that ever changes.

(Brian enters stage left. Brian is wearing a tracksuit. He’s been on a

run and looks flushed, out of breath.)

BRIAN: Hi, Tony! Who’s your boyfriend?

http://thewritersguide.co.uk/stageplay.html

What I Have Learned

Fill in the blanks.

1. __________ is the popular subgenre of the one-act play.

2. __________ play in the stage which is a magical place.
3. __________ has to be clear, concise and well-thought of.
4. __________ are series and sequence of events that lead the hero (and the
audience) on the journey.
5. __________ refers to the words written by the playwright and spoken by the
characters in the play.
6. __________ is a practical method by which an artist can most effectively
convey his message to the public.
7. __________ is the infant in the family of movies.
8. __________ is also used to mean the result of this process, in other words
the spectacle that a play presents in performance, its visual detail.
9. __________ is a “picture frame” place around the front of the playing area of
an end stage.
10. __________ is a stage surrounded by audience on three sides. The fourth
side serves as the background.
11. __________ is the same as the thrust stage but in this case the audience is
located only on the front of the stage and doesn’t extend around the sides.
12. __________ is sometimes called a “Black Box” theatre. These stages are
often big empty boxes painted black inside.

18
 13. Audience is often placed on risers to either side of the playing space with
little or no audience on either end of the __________ .
14. __________ is often served as venue for Music Concert with a rectangular
floor plan.
15. The final step in writing a script for one-act play is to __________ the script.

What I can do

A. Let’s go back to the story of “The World is an Apple”. Pick a dialogue from
the story that describes each character and tells about their background.

“The World is an Apple”

1. Mario 2. Gloria

3. Pablo

2. After describing the characters from the story, this time you are going to
create your own dialogue and plot using the same name of characters from
“The World is an Apple”.

A. Make a twist from the story by applying 21st century skills which
includes the following:
✓ Creativity
✓ Collaboration
✓ Communication
✓ Critical Thinking
✓ Technology Literacy

B. Cut out pictures from the magazine and paste it on a cardboard or

illustration board to make your story alive.

19
Example:

Adam and Eve with a Cyber Security Twist

By Sofie Skouras

Instead of the Garden of Eden, Eve is based in a

local business park in Kent and works for a tech
company. She gets an email one day that looks
like it’s from her boss, reading: “Action this
immediately” with a link below.

Of course, like any diligent employee she does so.

Eve then turns to her colleague Adam asking if he
got the email and letting him know she’s looking
into it, he then, also clicks the link.

Turns out, the email was actually a serpent and

now a cybercriminal has access to their
company’s systems.

This story is a growing problem affecting many businesses. According to the

Federation of Small Businesses, 86% of cyber-attacks on their small business
members were due to social engineering tactics such as phishing and spear
phishing whereby criminals con or blackmail people into sharing information or
doing tasks to help them execute the crime.

Interestingly, it’s not as if there aren’t any solutions to this problem. In fact, there
are thousands of cyber security companies trying to prevent this very issue.

Assessment

Identify the word or phrase that matched the given definition. Choose the letter of
the correct answer.

1. A drama that takes place in a single location and unfolds as one continuous
action.
a. Drama c. Fiction
b. Essay d. One- act play

20
2. How many situations or episodes are there in in a one-act play?
a. One c. Three
b. Two d. Four

3. This refers to the time and place where the story happened.
a. Character c. Rising Action
b. Plot d. Setting

4. This element portrays the storyline or the sequence of events in the story.
a. Character c. Rising Action
b. Plot d. Setting

5. In this element, the words are written by the playwright and delivered by
the characters in the play.
a. Character c. Rising Action
b. Dialogue d. Plot

6. Which part of the one-act play is the determining place of the hero?
a. Character c. staging
b. Setting d. plot

7. How many significant events can the audience see in a one-act play?
a. one c. three
b. two d. four

8. How many hours or minutes should a one-act play run?

a. Fifteen minutes c. Forty minutes
b. Thirty minutes d. One hour

9. What is the popular subgenre of the one-act play?

a. Farce c. Melodrama
b. Flash play d. Tragic Comedy

10. When can you consider that a one-act play is successful?

a. When tickets are sold
b. When characters are famous
c. When the audience has understood the theme
d. all of the choices

11. What is the usual “theatre” with “picture frame” as its primary feature in
the front of the playing area of an end stage?
a. Profile Theatres
b. Proscenium Stage
c. Sports Arena
d. Thrust Theatre

21
12. What is the world’s first theatre that was built by the University of
Washington in 1940?
a. Arena Theatre
b. End Stage
c. Flexible Theatre
d. Profile Theatres

13. What is the stage which was surrounded by the audience on three sides
and the fourth side serves as the background?
a. Arena Theatre
b. End Stage
c. Sports Arena
d. Thrust Theatre

14. What stage is sometimes called a “Black Box” theatre. This stage is often
big empty box painted black inside?
a. Arena Theatre
b. Flexible Theatre
c. Profile Theatre
d. Proscenium Stage

15. What stage is often used in “found space” theatres where risers are on
either side of the playing space for the audience?
a. End Stage
b. Flexible Theatre
c. Profile Theatres
d. Sports Arena

22
 Additional Activities

A. Focus: Building a Character

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using elements,

technique, and structured event details. Develop an imagined character and
conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

B. Focus: Building a Role

Work on your character worksheets as you prepare your characters with

appropriate role. Here are some examples that could be part of a character
worksheet: The following is best considered when you ask yourselves a series of
questions:

VOTE OR GOTE

Dr. Cohen has developed an acronym for acting technique and character building
that incorporates all of the foundation principles into an easy to remember
acronym: V.O.T.E

Victory or Goal: What does my character want?

Obstacle: What is standing in my way?

Tactics: What actions will I play in order to overcome the obstacle(s) in order to win
my victory?

Expectation: What will happen to my characters when they achieved their victory?

This acting philosophy is grounded on positive expectations; characters should

expect to win their victories in their situational pursuits. When a character expects
to win and they are thwarted by an obstacle(s) in their pursuit of victory, the
natural result is an emotional response to the challenge that is presented.

C. Focus: Building a Relationship

Introduce the concepts of relationships that can be integrated into your approach
to character building. An understanding of their relationship to the other
characters in their scenes will have a profound influence on what choices they
make to achieve their objective.

23
 24
Additional Activity: What I Can Do: Assessment
Answers may vary Answers may vary 1.D 6.D 11.B
2.A 7.A 12.A
3.D 8.A 13.D
4.B 9.B 14.B
5.B 10.C 15.C
What I Have Learned: What I have learned: What’s More:
11. End Stage 1. Flash drama Answers may vary
12. Flexible Theatre 2. Live actors
13. Profile Theatre 3. Theme 6. Gustatory
14. Arena Stage 4. Plot
15. Rehearse 5. Dialogue 7. Visual
6. Technique
7. One-act play 8. Auditory
8. Staging
9. Proscenium 9. Auditory
Stage
10. Thrust Stage 10. Auditory/Visual
What’s In:
What I Know:
Answers may vary Lesson 1
1.D 6.D
2.A 7.A
3.D 8.A
4.B 9.B
5.B 10.C
Reference

Albelda, Josh A. 2015. I n P h o t o s : “ A G l i m p s e I n s i d e T h e P h i l i p p i n e

Sports Stadium”. https://rappler.com/sports/in -photos-
glimps-philippine-sports-stadium

Bigsby, C. 2004. “A Memory of Two Mondays”. In Arthur Miller: A Critical Study (pp.
174-177). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
doi:10.1017/CBO9780511607127.013

Education Programs At Cleveland Play House

https://www.clevelandplayhouse.com/files/assets/ch09characterbuilding.p
df

Florentino, Alberto S. 2012. “The World is an Apple”. Cyberture The Cyber Arena of
Literary Works. https://ischoolsericsonalieto.wordpress.com/ 2012/03/23/
the-world-is-an-apple-by-alberto-s-florentino/?fbclid=IwAR0WXQBeXg8 AF
2bcvCpzBzo5g60nQMEUK3e8 dh7RAbRf_jC_BIqvUd6RQdI

Mambrol, Nasrullah. 2019. “Analysis of Arthur Miller’s Plays”. A Memory of Two Mondays.
https://literariness.org/2019/05/23/analysis-of-arthur-millers-plays/

Skouras, Sofie. 2016. “The Story of Adam and Eve with Cyber Security Twist”.
https://www.aspectusgroup.com/blog/2016-12-07/the-story-of-adam-and-
eve with-a-cyber-security-twist/

25
For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Region III,

Schools Division of Bataan - Curriculum Implementation Division
Learning Resources Management and Development Section (LRMDS)

Provincial Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan

Telefax: (047) 237-2102

Email Address: [email protected]

26