Conflict

Conflict is a pretty simple word and a simple concept. Disagreement, clash, discord, divergence: all of these are descriptive of what makes up a good plot. When I taught Theatre 101 I would tell my students again and again: “Plot is conflict, conflict is plot.” That is all well and good, but what does it really mean?

To put it simply, “conflict” in theatre is two opposing forces vying for the same thing. One is the protagonist (or the hero) and the other is the antagonist (or the “anti-hero”). One then, is the one you root for, the other is the one you do not. This must be made clear. If your audience does not know who is who, how can they know what message you are trying to send?

The conflict should put a question into the mind of the audience, “Who is going to win?” “What is going to happen?” At each plot point, turning point, or what ever you wish to call it, they should ask the central question. (examples of central questions: “Will the boy get the girl?” “Will the boy become a man?” “Will the girl get her brother back?” Every conflict should be so simple it can be distilled into one question in this way.