‘EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC’—David Mamet

EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW UP IN THE SCENE.

THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE, TO FAILURE – THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.”
David Mamet

Back in 2010 I wrote the post David Mamet’s Bold Memo (?) where I pulled the above quote from, but if you go to this Movieline link you can read the full David Mamet all caps memo that he sent to the writers of The Unit. It’s sort of a modern day screenwriting classic, so if you aren’t familiar with it check it out because it’s full of wisdom from a Pulitzer Prize winning and Oscar/Tony-nominated playwright and screenwriter.

Here’s what a dramatic scene looks like from Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross screenplay. (This scene was not in the play…