Missing Scene Exercise (Lysistrata)

Mrs. Cornelia Ward Hall and Her Children
August 15, 2017
Identify the medical doctor’s professional changes over the past century
August 15, 2017
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Missing Scene Exercise (Lysistrata)

For this exercise, you will have read Lysistrata by Aristophanes. For the purposes of this exercise, I would like for you to write a scene that is missing from the play. This will be between 2 to 3 pages in length. This is a chance to use your imagination and have fun. You might begin by picking two or three of your favorite characters and imagine what they might be discussing at a particular point in the story; or perhaps there is a part of the plot that you would like to see expanded and fleshed out more, so you can start there if you prefer. Maybe it is a scene which takes place before the first scene, or after the last. The sky is the limit. However, it must be realistic within the constructs of the play; it must reflect a similar writing style to Aristophanes, and it must relate to the story of the play (i.e., Lysistrata cannot suddenly travel to outer space because space travel doesn’t exist within this play or time period). Try to give your scene a beginning, a middle, and an end. Characters try to achieve things they have objectives. If you are stuck, imagine what a particular character might try to achieve or get from another character, and go from there. There will be some conflict of some kind, and then that conflict will get resolved in one way or another.

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