Ex and the Narrator

Blurb:
Tom made the terrible mistake of dating and breaking up with his lifes narrator.
Now Tom and his best friend, Johnny must now endure the terrible revenge of
his lifes narrator who has become his crazy ex.

Detail on format:
Ex and the Narrator is a single drama. This is because I wanted it to be a short
and sweet story that has a resolution at the end. I did not want it to end on a
cliffhanger and I do not believe it is an idea that could be made into a series
without drawing it out. I did not want to draw out the story, as I believe it would
affect the comical elements of the story.

Detailed outline of your drama:

My radio drama is set in an alternative world where everyone has their own life
narrator. This narrator is a physical person who follows them commentating on
their life. Unfortunately for a man named Tom his lifes narrator is also his ex-
girlfriend and she knows a little too much about him. When Tom decides to
meet up with his best friend to catch up things, go wrong. His lifes narrator
(Clara) turns into a crazy ex and begins to forcefully narrate Toms life, putting
him in difficult and dangerous situations. This radio drama is a postmodern
drama that plays on the conventions often found in traditional radio dramas.
Using this to create comedy and interest in the narrative. The narrator in my
radio drama is a physical person who follows the main character around
narrating what happens to him. However, she also has the power to change his
world through her narration.

Narrative structure:
This radio drama will display the narrative in a linear format. Linear format is
often used in comedy radio dramas using dialog rather than flashbacks to refer
to what has happened in the past. This is because comedy can be created
through this dialog between characters. It will be 5 minutes long, which works
well for the scheduling, as it will be aired on Radio 1 where many different
shows need to be aired in a day. This time allows it to fit in many slots and not
take up too much time. It will be anti-realist, as it will have the narrator of his
life creating impossible situations and places that do not follow the normal laws
of the world. It will be a single radio drama; there will be no continuing
episodes, this one episode will stand-alone. This is because I believe this story
would be something not able to be dragged out into multiple episodes. Having
it as a single drama allows it to be short and snappy. This is important, as this
will help me create comedy.

Dramatic Conflicts and Resolutions within the Radio Drama:

The dramatic conflict is between the main character Tom and his life narrator.
Due to their recent break up his life narrator wants revenge for him breaking
her heart. To do this she first shares Toms deepest secrets with his best friend
and with a bar full of people. When Tom begins to retaliate things escalate and
she begins to forcefully narrate his life putting him and his friend in very difficult
situations. This is when Toms best friend tries to calm everything down
between Tom and his life narrator. However as he continues to be unsuccessful
and he continues to be put in the difficult and dangerous situations he becomes
more stressed and begins to freak out. The resolution is when the life narrator
feels she has fully exacted out her revenge on Tom, she stops and quits her job
as his life narrator.

Narrative and Plot:

It starts of in a bar with Tom and his best friend are catching up. They have not
seen each other in a couple of months, as Johnny (Toms best friend) has been
very busy in Uni with his end of term exams. When catching up Johnny points
out Toms life narrator, this is when we find out that Tom has recently broke up
with his life narrator after a couple of weeks of dating. Bringing this up triggers
Clara (Toms life narrator) and she begins to join in the conversation telling
Johnny and a bar full of people Toms deepest secret, which she knows because
she is his lifes narrator. When Tom reacts, it causes it all to escalate and Clara
becomes crazy and begins forcefully narrating his life. Because Johnny is with
Tom, he is dragged into this. She puts them into dangerous situations such as
underwater in shark-infested water, in a volcano, in a world where everyone
kicks people called Tom in the genitals, the dinosaur age and other such crazy
and dangerous situations. It ends with Clara feeling that she has exacted out her
revenge fully and quits her job as his life narrator.

Appropriate to Genre:
This story is appropriate to the genre of comedy as it has the potential to have
many funny moments between the characters. Furthermore, I think the conflict
is quite interesting and funny on its own. It allows for lots of funny interactions
between characters and funny situations for those characters. The fact that it is
in a way breaking the fourth wall with the audience as it points out elements
that are in traditional radio dramas and attempts to bring them into the real
world. I think works best with the genre of comedy.

Character profile and representation of characters:

Tom Tom is the main protagonist in my radio drama. He is an 18-year-old male
who has recently broken up with his girlfriend who also happens to be his lifes
narrator. Tom is just a normal person currently in his gap year; he does not
however stop and think about the future and how his actions can affect it. This
leads him to get in this awkward and soon to be dangerous situation with his
narrator.
Johnny Johnny is the main protagonists best friend. He is a 19-year-old male.
He is a lot more mature then Tom, he is in his first year of University. He tries
his best to stay neutral in the situation between the narrator and Tom. Trying to
keep a level head in the whole ordeal while also trying to solve the problem.
However, he soon loses his calm once the narrator begins to forcefully narrate,
putting them in difficult situations.
The Narrator The narrator, also known as Clara is the life narrator of the main
character Tom. This means she narrates what happens to Tom as it happens
however, she also has the power to change Toms life through forceful
narration (which is against the narration rules). When Tom breaks up with her,
she becomes the stereotypical crazy ex but with an extreme twist. Blinded by
the want for range and vengeance she forcefully begins to narrate Toms life
putting him in difficult and dangerous situations.

Target Audience:
The target audience is 16 to 24 year old male and females of any ethnicity in the
socio economic group E
This is because my characters in the radio drama are between the age ranges of
18 and 19. This means that the age range of 16 to 24 will be best able to relate
to these characters, this is important as a lot of the comedy comes from this. I
also believe both genders will be able to relate to the situation of an awkward
break up, which is the base premise of my radio drama. This target audience
works well because it matches the audience of the station I will be airing it on
which is Radio 1.

Budget:
Writers: 8.11 an hour I think it would take 6 hours to write my 5-minute radio
drama = overall 48.66
http://www.contentdevelopmentpros.co.uk/?gclid=CKunxvfrzdECFQ6eGwod06
oKbg
Actors: 252 for one voice actor for a 5-minute script. Overall for 4 actors =
1008
https://voicebunny.com/search/?language=eng-au&units=5&type=m
Hiring Studio: 90 for a day
http://uniqstudios.co.uk/studio-hire/studio-space-images
Overall, this production should cost 1146.66

Actors/Actresses:
Jason Young will play Tom
I chose Jason Young to play Tom, as he is a good voice actor able to show the
emotions I want to show through the character Tom. Furthermore, he has quite
a distinctive voice that is different from the others in the radio drama therefore
no confusion will be made between the two male characters.
Jack Smith will play Johnny
I chose Jack Smith to play Johnny as he has quite a calm voice, which I want my
character to have, and his voice is quite different from Jasons voice.
Charlotte Kelly will play Narrator/Clara
I chose Charlotte Kelly to play the Narrator, as she is a good voice actor who is
able to display the emotions I need from the character well. Furthermore, she is
female and sounds different from the two other male character as she has quite
a high pitch voice.

Where it will be aired:

My radio drama will be aired on Radio 1 as they broadcast to attract an
audience aged 16 to 24. This works well to go with the target audience of my
radio drama. I will have it aired in the evening slot around 9, this is because the
themes discussed might be considered mature content and therefore would
need to play after water shed. Furthermore, it would work well as it is when my
target audience will be home from work or school. Therefore, they are more
likely to be listening to the radio. I chose to have it on Radio 1 as it matches
other content that is often aired on it. I think the comedy element of my radio
drama matches the overall tone of the Radio 1 station.