How to Distinguish a Play

If we are to write plays, we need to discover the difference between plays and other mediums of art, and figure out what a play does better than these other mediums so that we may exploit it.

First the differences.

It's a live production. No opportunity for mistakes. This offers excitement and randomness you can't get from film. The same play could be different with each viewing.

Live Audience. Opportunity for interactions between the art and the audience.

Brevity of the viewing. There is only a limited time for the audience to connect, which makes it important all interesting insights to be closer to the surface. The audience should be able to "get it" by the end of the first viewing. They won't have as much time to spend on it as a written piece.

Movement. The play presents a scene better than any other work except film.

Visual stimulation. The lines of the actors are fine and its good for them to have strength, but if the play is going to be held by the writing alone, the same could be done better by a novel, which could provide the opportunity for deeper insights by pointing out things the characters will not point out to the audience themselves. You can't be afraid to take advantage of the ability to present something visually beautiful.


Theoretically, a play should be the most powerful medium of art because it invokes all elements of art. It has the opportunity to have the tactful writing of a novel, the visual stimulation of a painting or sculpture, the motion and action of a film, the auditory stimulation of music, and a strong level of intimacy with its audience. The only place where a play seems to be lacking is in its evanescence. Its the only art form apart from music that only exists during its brief performance. This drawback needs to be taken into account and counteracted with its many strengths.