Description
Subtext—the hidden emotional truth of a scene—deeply enriches storytelling across all genres. It puts the reader’s brain to work, piecing together clues to uncover characters’ unspoken agendas, motivations, underlying conflicts, and repressed feelings that shape a narrative. Through subtext, writers add weight to plot developments, deepen characterization, heighten tension, underscore important moments, and evoke powerful emotions without broadcasting them.
But how do we know what to leave unsaid in a scene? In this workshop, led by Tony Award-winning director Robert Falls, we’ll discuss the many ways subtext adds dimension to a story and techniques for creating layered narratives. Through writing exercises, we’ll experiment with adding undercurrents of meaning to action, dialogue, and thoughts to deepen the significance of scenes and ensure characters’ interactions are nuanced. We’ll also discuss how characters use subtext to talk around sensitive topics, uncomfortable social dynamics, and different cultural perspectives.
By exploring our characters’ unreliability and what’s left unsaid, our scenes will extend beyond the written word and captivate readers as they unravel the hidden layers of meaning.
About Robert Falls
Robert Falls is acclaimed for his visionary directing in theater and opera, spanning from classics to groundbreaking premieres. His Broadway triumphs include Death of a Salesman and Long Day’s Journey into Night, earning a combined seven Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Falls also directed and cowrote the book for the Elton John and Tim Rice musical Aida. His recent projects include his original adaptation of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People and the world premiere of 2666, adapted from Roberto Bolaño’s novel. Recognized with an Obie Award, a Helen Hayes Award, and multiple Jeff Awards, Falls was named one of the “most powerful” individuals in American theater by American Theatre magazine and inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2015. His distinguished contributions have been further honored with the Savva Morozov Diamond Award and the O’Neill Medallion. From 1986 to 2023, as artistic director of Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, Falls propelled the institution to international prominence with innovative productions, a new theater complex, and acclaimed community programs. Under his leadership, the Goodman was named “the number one regional theater in the U.S.” by Time magazine in 2003 and won the Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater in 1992.
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