LESSON XI.
Continuity of Scenes.
It is not advisable to have a long lapse of time between scenes. Some of the best plays are those in which the action takes place in a few hours or days.
Keep up with your characters in their movements; and try to account for all lapses of time, making the scene continue in perfect harmony. Have your characters go from one scene to another in a natural way. Do not allow a character to pass from the interior of his office to the interior of another man’s office. In doing so, you destroy the illusion of the two distinct buildings, perhaps far apart, and break the continuity of your story by neglecting to follow up the character in his various movements. If a character is in one scene and you intend that he appear in the following scene, be sure and have him exit from the first scene and enter him in the following scene in the proper manner.
When showing the incidents in the lives of two different characters, do not show every incident in the life of one and then follow with the life of the other. Show the experiences of one of the characters in one scene, then flash the other character in the next scene, and so on. In this way you keep well balanced the incidents surrounding both characters until the climax is reached.
For example, refer to scene number 11 of sample play; note we leave Teddy after he jumps on the car; in the next scene we show Martha and others, and then show Teddy again in scene number 13.