What Songwriters Can Learn From Three-Act Stage Plays

Every songwriter knows how it feels to be stuck in the middle of a song–of having no clue what should come next.

You can break through these barriers easily by applying a little wisdom used by playwrights.

The three-act stage play format is very neatly structured, giving playwrights an immediate sense of direction while they write.

By holding your song up to this storytelling model, you can quickly escape “second verse hell” and see a clear path forward, by mimicking the trajectory that all great stories follow.

Quiet, the curtain’s about to open…

Act 1

This is the setup of your song, in which your audience will meet the major players and get a sense of what’s going on. Here are some elements to look for:

• (who)–the song’s characters
• (what)–their situation and the relationships that connect or divide them
• (where)–the setting
• (when)–the time of day, season, even perhaps the year they live in
• (why)–their motivations, ambitions, and drives
• (how)–their intended actions for accomplishing those individual or collective goals.

Of course you may not want to include all of those elements—only what’s relevant, and not necessarily in the order given above.

You don’t have to tell us all that information in the form of statements—instead, you can show us a dramatic scene and allow us to imply the information we need. If you want the story to really come to life, use sensory details to immerse us in the story.

For example, I’m recording a song called “Horseflesh and Scrap Iron.” Here are the first two lines of the song:

This pale witch at night, she turns my flesh to horseflesh and rides
Me on cracked hooves through my own nightmares

By the time half a verse has passed, we’ve learned who is involved (the witch and “I”), what their relationship is (clearly some kind of power struggle), and when all this takes place (“at night”). That’s enough information to begin moving the action forward!

Drama and Suspense

Now is a great time to introduce the core dilemma of your song’s main character. If you don’t know who the main character is, here’s a helpful hint: she often goes by the name of “I.” 😉

In “Horseflesh and Scrap Iron,” the protagonist’s problem is pretty clear… he’s, uh, not sleeping well.

Act 2

Now that a conflict has been established, we’ll observe the protagonist’s actions and the complications that arise. In this act…

The protagonist may try to resolve the problem or achieve his goal—only to meet with resistance, confront personal shortcomings, conflict with other characters, and generally face problems that escalate.

We’ll often see the protagonist under pressure to find a solution—and if she’s not yet capable of finding such a solution, we’ll watch her struggle to become equal to the growing problem.

Whatever happens, there will be a steady build of tension, until momentum pulls us to the decisive moment.

Act 3

Finally the action reaches its highest pitch, the climax: the moment on which everything hinges. The prize is either won or lost. Either triumph or defeat is at hand.

But even after this fateful, decisive moment, the story may not be over. Whatever happened, there will probably be consequences worth exploring.

Characters have changed—perhaps for better, perhaps for worse.

Something important has been gained or lost—what’s the fallout? What’s the outlook? How do the characters celebrate or console themselves?

THE END?

In a sense, we (your faithful and adoring listeners) have lived the story you just told.

If it was told well, we were entertained and moved.

We may even have learned something.

Or we may be left with troubling questions that stick with us for days.

Either way, you’ve created a real work of art that you can be proud of.

Take a bow.

—

Related Posts

• How to Generate Dozens of New Song Ideas Using a Dream Dictionary
• Simple Storytelling Through Song
• Getting the Most out of Your Practice and Writing Time
• How the Haiku Can Improve Your Songwriting
• How to Pull off a Great Circle-Back Ending in Your Song

Make sure you don’t miss the next post! Subscribe to this blog via RSS or e-mail.

Nicholas Tozier is an independent singer, songwriter, private music instructor, blogger, and instructor at Ampersand Academy of Dance & the Performing arts centered in Gardiner, Maine. His first album, A Game with Shifting Mirrors, is slated for self-release in Fall 2010.