Sorry for not answering earlier, I got called out as soon as posted last night and have just got back.
Griff: Nothing wrong with having narrators or dramatised scenes from textbooks or whatever else you want to use to get your theology across. As long as the material is interesting in itself and contributes to the play without being dry exposition.
I purposely didn't want a narrator as I felt that I would be cheating by taking an easier route. That is just my opinion for thjis particular piece, I think a narrator can add to some works but not this. I hope the material is interesting and have had positive feedback from the few who have read it.
Griff: Of course if your brief scene explicitly calls for armies of archangels swooping down from Heaven while a choir sings something from Mahler then you may need to think again. But you haven't done that, right?
Bugger! Not really there are nine parts for seven actors, I would love an army of angels but unfortunately the writing budget wouldn't stretch to it never mind the performance one.
Frantically: The only advice I can give is - is it physically feasible for the stagehands/crew to somehow create this 45 second scene in some way without completely wrecking the rest of the setup?
Keewick: You don't need scene changes if you use different stage areas for different scenes - skilled lighting is needed and you have to be careful not to have too many 'pieces' of set (furniture etc).
I have really tried hard to keep the set numbers to a minimum and do have a scene where two sets are used at the same time, with one set being in conversation whilst the other is in mime. The biggest problem I could see is that the background could be kept basically the same for most scenes but the props need to change. The only saving grace is that there would be very few props needed but those props need to be used.
billwill: Depends how the play will be performed. Short scenes in stage plays are unrealistic as you will wear out the scene-shifter theatre staff and bore the audience with too much curtain closing.
That is my biggest concern, I have looked at a natural shift from one set to the other, and on two occasions have a scene set in a "Black Room" between scenes, where with just a bit of lighting only a small part of the stage needs to be used. I don't know if this woud allow the scene change to take place on another part of the stage or not, but as Frantically said "If the play is strong enough I'm sure the director will find a way, so just go for it"
Finally Lazzard it is definitely a play although I think turning it out as a screenplay and definitely a radioplay would be easier. But if theres no hardship theres no sense of acheivement, Right?
Thank you all for your replies and I really do feel better about it now, than I did last night, your advice has been great.
Batley
