Planning

Treatment for my Live Drama

Name: Your Lover's Secrets

Genre: Relationship drama

Plot

1. The play begins with Leah, the long-suffering wife of alcoholic David, being verbally aggressive towards him about his relapse. He is harbouring the fact that debt collectors have been after him for years and that he is using alcohol to cope with it. He is very defensive over his secret making sure she knows nothing about the debt which in turn makes him become very abusive, physically and emotionally, towards Leah, making her very vulnerable. 
2. Traumatised by the abuse, she runs away from David to her friend, Lucy's house, where she and her husband, Rob, are struggling emotionally after failing to conceive a child again. Leah bursts in on an argument between the pair, distressed by David's abuse and Lucy comforts her while Rob goes to talk to David.
3. Rob visits David to discuss his argument with Leah. David breaks down to Rob about his debt, his alcoholism and how he feels guilt for the way it affects Leah. In turn, Rob breaks down to David about how him and Lucy have failed once again to conceive a baby and how the constant failure is leaving him feeling very depressed and is adversely affecting their relationship. At the same time as Rob & David's conversation, Lucy & Leah are having a similar conversation where Leah breaks down to Lucy about how David's alcoholism is adversely affecting their relationship. In turn, Lucy breaks down to Leah about how her & Rob have failed once again to conceive a baby and how the constant failure is leaving her feeling unfulfilled as a woman and is adversely affecting their relationship.
4. Rob visits Leah to convey David's apologies to her but she refuses. She starts drinking with him instead and they eventually end up going to bed together. At the same time as Rob & Leah, Lucy visits David to confront him about the abuse he has inflicted on Leah. He conveys his apologies for her & Rob's fail, he offers to help them by being their sperm donor, she accepts and they go to bed together.
5. We move forward to the next day, David & Leah are sat together, making awkward conversation, not knowing of each other's infidelity. At the same time, Lucy & Rob celebrate the fact that Lucy is finally pregnant. They both go to Lucy & Rob's house to confess their affair, both not knowing that that's where they are both going. When they arrive, they are all shocked to see each other. Both of the one-night stands are exposed as well as other secrets including that the reason Rob & Lucy have struggled to conceive is because Rob is infertile, which is a secret that Rob has kept from Lucy for years. Another secret that is exposed is that David never stopped drinking after Leah caught him for the first time and that he is in a lot of debt. All of these secrets make Lucy throw Rob out the house and Leah kill David to put an end to her torment once and for all.

Characters

David = David is Leah's alcoholic husband and Robert's best friend. He has become an alcoholic because he has used alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with large debts he's accumalated over a number of years. He keeps his debts and his reasons for drinking excessively a secret from Leah. The alcohol has put on a strain on his marriage to Leah because they are regularly having rows, which often leads to one of them getting hurt.

Rob = Rob is Lucy's husband and David's best friend. He is hiding a secret from Lucy that he is unable to have children because he knows how broody she is and feels depressed that he can't give her what she wants. The depression brought on by their struggle is putting a strain on their marriage and in turn, this struggle makes him cheat on Lucy with Leah.

Leah = Leah is David's long-suffering wife. She is very vulnerable within their relationship because of the abuse she suffers at the hands of David because of his alcoholism and his inability to cope with stress. She has a one night stand with Rob because she wants to feel wanted within a relationship.

Lucy = Lucy is Rob's emotionally distressed wife. She has a burning desire to be a mother and feels depressed when she keeps receiving negative pregnancy tests. She has a one night stand with David in the hope that he will get her pregnant.

Visual Elements:

Lighting = Spotlights will be used in the studio.

Camera angles = During the play, for each scene, three cameras will be used. One will be focused on both characters, David & Leah and Robert & Lucy or one will focus on each character individually.

Editing = Text will be used in the opening sequence to state the names of the cast.

Setting = The play would be filmed entirely in the studio in order to give it the live theatre feel.

Props = The props needed for this play would be:-

• Two sofas
• Glass bottle

Costume
The characters in my play will wear the following costumes:-

• David & Rob = a casual t-shirt, black trousers and shoes
• Leah & Lucy = Casual, trendy, working class clothes and shoes.

Audio

The music to accompany the opening titles would be a song called "bury a friend", by Billie Eilish. I chose this soundtrack because it would set a sombre mood for the play because of the difficult subjects I will be tackling such as alcoholism, domestic abuse, infidelity and infertility. Additionally, I will use copyright free sound effects and music to suit the mood

Rationale

I chose to create a live drama based around a plot line because I was fascinated by the concept of creating and performing drama live.

Requirements and Resources

Cast

• David - Jack Palmer
• Rob - Nathan Burgess-Johnson
• Leah - Charley Mulliner
• Lucy - Sophie Mummery

Crew

• Producer = Jack Palmer
• Directors = Jack Palmer & Morgan Nelson
• Cameramen = Morgan Nelson, Nathan Burgess Johnson, Matt Cooper, Jack Palmer

Technical equipment required

• 3 cameras at a time
• 3 tripods at a time
• 3 spotlights at a time

Locations

• Springboard TV Studio - this would be suitable because there is a black curtain and I could control the lighting slightly easier.

Constraints and Contingencys

This idea is feasible because it will be filmed within the confines of the college campus. However, one problem we may encounter is that we may not be able to use the studio. If we are unable to use the studio, we could use the break room.

Legal and Ethical Consideration

To avoid copyright issues, I will make sure I mention that I don't own any of the music I use and that the play is being made for educational purposes only in the description when I upload the final video to YouTube.

Proposed Schedule

The proposed schedule for the production of this project is that I would film the scenes in four shoots which would be:-

SHOOT 1 - 16th October 2019:

David & Leah's scenes (SCENES 1 & 8)
David & Lucy's scene (SCENE 7)
SHOOT 2 - 17th October 2019: 

Robert, Lucy & Leah's scene (SCENE 2)
Robert & Leah's scene (SCENE 6)
SHOOT 3 - 29th October 2019: 

Lucy & Leah's scene (SCENE 4)
David & Robert's scenes (SCENES 3 & 5)
SHOOT 4 - 30th October 2019: 

David, Leah, Robert & Lucy's scene (SCENE 9)
Opening titles

Production Documents

Studio Floor Plans

Shoots 1, 2 & 3

Shoot 4

Script

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Storyboard

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Location Recce

Risk Assessment

Production Schedule