An Alphabet Dialogue – A playwriting challenge
Write a conversation between two people that is 26 lines long – the length of the alphabet!
When you write a play, you start by getting your characters to have a conversation. This is called dialogue and it is a very important part of writing a play. We will also see the characters carry out actions during the dialogue, for example, they might drop a glass of water, or jump over a hedge.
Looking for inspiration? Pick between either:
A) your location is a park and one of your characters is dancing but the other character wants to stop them,
B) your location is a river and one of your characters doesn’t want their dog to get wet but their dog loves swimming
C) your location is a swimming pool and one of your characters has a goldfish in a bowl.
You could just call your characters ‘A’ and ‘B’ if you like and remember that your conversation can be as silly as you want it to be! Send your Alphabet Dialogues to Camberwell Arts!
Example Dialogue
LELA and NED are at school, hiding in a cupboard, during lunch break.
LELA: Maths in five minutes.
NED: I hate Maths.
LELA: It’s not that bad!
NED: Speak for yourself!
LELA: NED! Your bag is moving!
NED: ARGH! Can you see what it is?
LELA: It’s YOUR bag!
NED: Please!
LELA: No!
NED: Fine, okay.
NED nervously opens his bag and shrieks when he realises that his hamster is in the bag. He takes out the hamster.
LELA: Why did you bring Hamilton with you?
NED: I didn’t! He must’ve escaped again! And he’s chewed up my homework!
LELA: No! Ms Bobb’s going to kill you!
NED: I know. What should I do?
LELA: Don’t ask me!
NED: I’m going to have to hide Hamilton too!
LELA: Maybe you should just explain what happened?
NED: How can I explain this?!
LELA: Okay, well, you could shut him in this cupboard?
NED: He’ll burrow through the walls - he’s like the Invisible Man!
The school bell rings.
LELA: We’ve got to get going!
NED: Okay, I’m just going to put him back in my bag!
LELA: What about your homework?
NED: I’ll say that it got stolen by a monster on the way to school!
LELA: She’s not going to believe that!
NED: Fine, I’ll say it was a dog!
LELA and NED run offstage.
Exercises written by Emma Dawson. Emma Dawson is a playwright who also works at Southbank Centre. Her short plays have been staged at Theatre503, Battersea Arts Centre, and Pleasance Theatre. She's currently working on a full-length play about explosions, ASMR, and porcelain.
