Dramatica Act Structures
 by Chris Huntley

Based on materials developed by
Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley

The basic unit in Dramatica is the quad.

The quad describes many different relationships. Some of the relationships relate to time and sequence. Other relationships relate to space and arrangement.

  • The temporal sequence relationships in a quad describe the order of the acts.

  • The spatial relationships in a quad describe what is examined in each act.

Let's explore the temporal sequence relationships first.

TEMPORAL SEQUENCE RELATIONSHIPS IN A QUAD

The quad can be used to express time by using the sequence of numbers 1-2-3-4. If we place the numbers within the quad, one per quadrant, we can assign a time-based sequence to the pieces of the quad. For example:

Example 1A
Example 1B

Sample Sequences within Quads

NOTE: The use of different colors is to uniquely identify each of the four quadrants. The assignment of the colors is arbitrary.

 

 

 

Copyright © 1994-2009 Write Brothers, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Based on theories and materials developed by Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley
Dramatica is a registered trademark of Screenplay Systems Incorporated. Patent #5,734,916; #6,105,046