I've been working on a set of guidelines for myself, regarding science fiction theatre. As a playwright, I know that there are essentially no rules when it comes to writing plays. Literally, anything could be produced as a piece of theatre. That's okay, I guess, but for me to write effectively, I need some guidelines.
Imagine for a moment you are standing in a valley surrounded by mountains. You can see a short distance in every direction, but you can't see beyond the horizon. You can walk in any direction you want, for as far as you want, and no one will stop you. But they won't help you either. So you explore the valley, never going too far from your starting point. At the edges of the valley, you see what could be trails going through the mountains - possible passes that, if properly explored, could lead to new territory. But it's going to be tough, and no one is really demanding that you go there, or offering any reason to. You're safe in the valley.
So I imagine, with delusions of grandeur, that if I formulate some guidelines and structure to this field of writing I want to excel at, that I might be part of a movement that forges new paths and finds a pass through the mountains into new territory.
Q: What is science fiction theatre?
A: Pretty straightforward. A play where science fiction elements are present.
Q: What are science fiction elements?
A: Developments in science that have not happened yet - they may exist, but be as yet impractical. Or, simply theorized. In the science fiction genre, things like space travel, faster than light speed, artificial intelligence, time travel, genetic mutation, nanobots, and robotics are all fairly common jumping off points for storytelling.
Q: What is theatre?
A: As one of my old professors was fond of saying: "Theatre is people in trouble!" I interpret this to mean that conflict between 2 or more people creates drama, comedy, tragedy, etc. In addition, theatre is a performance for an audience. So, you need tension between characters on stage, played before an audience. "People" also I think means people the audience can relate to - regular human beings caught up in a difficult situation, or faced with a dilemma that didn't exist before the scientific development existed. For example "should we genetically enhance our baby?" If one parent says yes, and the other says no, you have a very tidy science fiction theatrical conflict. It doesn't require special effects or fancy sets, but it's still science fiction.
Pretty simplistic start, I know. That's fine - I need simplistic tools to do my work.
Science Fiction Theatre has:
1. A science fiction element that is best explored in a theatrical environment.
2. A science fiction element is integral to the tension between 2 or more characters.
3. Characters of relatable scale wrestling with the impact of scientific development.
Those are my first three guidelines. I don't think I need more at this point, but as I explore reading and writing science fiction theatre, I may discover I need something to narrow my focus yet farther, to better pierce the darkness ahead. Delusions of grandeur, remember?
