Abstract
My play, Touch, had both elements of the narrative and elements of the dramatic. It began as a story, but became more of a play because of the way it was derived in my mind. Kathy and her friends were presented to me through images and the sounds of their voices. Their conversations would be overheard in the same images. I recorded their conversations as I saw them and heard them, and by default, the piece became a work of mostly dialogue. It therefore became clear to me that the work would be complete in the format of a play. Another reason for the format of the play is that the dramatic allows certain freedoms that narratives cannot necessarily carry out. The soliloquies that Kathy performs give her a powerful voice, one that stands alone while commanding the attention of the audience (since she would be the only one to see and hear on stage). This way, her voice cannot be avoided, and consequently, must be heard. Seeing her alone on an empty stage would also increase the effect of this voice. This is extremely important to my work because Kathy's voice must be powerful. In a narrative structure, Kathy's voice would drown out in the midst of descriptions of settings, characters, and circumstances. I wanted her to be seen predominantly through her voice, by the things that she says, by her tone. If produced, the play would enable the dialogue to resonate in the minds of the viewers. Description is secondary to Touch; the senses must be awakened to the power of dialogue; the spoken is critical. In my opinion, Kathy's voice is her greatest weapon for survival. Touch communicates through dialogue, so conversation is very important. Out of the British Contemporary Drama course I took with Dr. James Brock, I gained influence from David Hare and Sarah Kane. In The Permanent Way and Stuff Happens, Hare writes conversation with a mixture of long responses and short responses from the characters. His use of monologues in The Permanent Way is attractive. He mixes short conversations between characters with long soliloquies from individual characters. This idea appealed to me and I use this style in Touch. Kathy has short conversations with her girlfriends, but also has long asides that give her dominance on the stage. Hare's plays are mostly dialogue, with very limited stage directions. I also refrain from giving too many stage directions, and they are usually very short and succinct. Although Sarah Kane's material is very violent, I like that most of the tension in the play occurs through dialogue.