Tension was in the air last Friday morning as the gathered for their first session, on the day that the Trump Protest was planned at Portland Place. The sixteen ingenue writers arrived with instructions to cross the famous 大象传媒 piazza straight to Old Broadcasting House, only to find it blocked by chain fences and muscular security. Cue some W1A-style repartee with reception, until the aptly named producer Marigold Joy rescued us.
Our first real Drama Room session - we鈥檇 met once before at the - was held in the Council Chamber, a grandiose room with ornate windows and portraits of the all the Beeb鈥檚 past Director-Generals gazing solemnly down from on high. It began with Anne Edyvean, Head of the 大象传媒 Writersroom, champion of new voices and sympathetic ex-smoker, giving us an introductory talk about the Drama Room鈥檚 opportunities and our potential 鈥榮pec scripts鈥�.
Being part of the Drama Room does not mean we have 大象传媒 commissions, she explained, but it brings us a lot closer to that step. We鈥檒l get to work with TV, radio and children鈥檚 drama over the scheme, and we鈥檒l get the chance to forge relationships with producers. Although many of us are aiming for TV, radio is the biggest commissioner of original drama, where writers like Jack Thorne started. And we鈥檒l write spec scripts, which are not for commission, but to show off our talents.
Suitably energised by all the writing ideas this spurred, it was time for us to spend the rest of the day learning about storytelling with John Yorke. Author of Into the Woods, 鈥榓 five act journey into story鈥�, and de facto Executive Producer of EastEnders since June 2017, he explained to us about developing the perfect screenplay structure. I鈥檇 actually already had a session with Yorke as part of a Holby City residency, and so I knew to expect references to Macbeth, ET and The Godfather.
Why? Because they all follow the same five act structure and archetypal storytelling narrative. ET follows Elliot from selfish to selfless, whilst Macbeth and The Godfather are both 鈥榙ark inversions鈥� as their protagonist's journey from heroes to monsters. For an audience to really emotionally invest in a story, Yorke stressed sternly but passionately, you must see the protagonist experience inner change through the course of a story. This is what creates a gripping, three-dimensional work.
The biggest obstacle to the protagonist鈥檚 change is embodied in the antagonist. Yorke suavely contended with his own speaking antagonist by lunchtime, embodied in the Trump Protest. As thousands of people chanted 鈥楴o Trump, No KKK, No Racist USA!鈥�, the atmosphere in the storytelling session potentially became rife with its own sparks of inspiration. Whilst we learn about thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, the very sound of social protest germinated in our ears.
I left the first Drama Room session alive with ideas, and a passion to apply the power of structure. However, first I headed down to Trafalgar Square to be part of the Protest, and observe the story.