Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Creative Writing: Martha and Honey’s Dialogue”

In this activity, students will create a scene between Martha and Honey that is absent in Albee’s script.

Although the play consists of only four characters, the majority of the dialogue takes place between George and Nick. In this activity, you will create a dialogue between Honey and Martha while they are absent from the men’s scenes. Working in pairs, you and your partner will write the script together, ensuring the integrity of Albee’s characterization, while also exploring creative elements that could be included in the dialogue. After drafting your dialogue, perform your scene for the class.

Teaching Suggestion: This Activity encourages creative writing in the context of understanding the basic elements of scriptwriting and character development. Albee uses the dialogue between George and Nick to further many of the plot elements, such as the discussion of marriage, childrearing, and employment. You may wish to point out specific scenes in the play in which the two women are offstage together: George and Nick’s discussion of their academic specialties in Act 1, after which Honey reveals she has learned about George and Martha’s son; the point at which Martha and Honey drink coffee together in Act 2.