Gangster London Writers Edition

7/28/2019 Gangster London Writers Edition

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GW01 GANGSTER LONDON

WRITERS EDITION

CREDITS

Playset written by Graham Walmsley

Script and additional content by Will Hindmarch

Edited by Steve Segedy

Cover art by Jason Morningstar

Gangster London was Playset of the Month, February 2010.

BOILERPLATE

This playset is an accessory for the Fiasco role-playing game by BullyPulpit Games.

This Playset is copyright 2010 by Graham Walmsley. The script and ad-ditional content is copyright 2011 by Will Hindmarch. Fiasco is copyright2009 by Jason Morningstar. All rights are reserved.

For more information about Fiasco or to download other Playsets andmaterials, visit www.bullypulpitgames.com .

If youd like to create your own Playset or other Fiasco-related content,wed like to help. Write us at [email protected] .

When you play, play hard . - Theodore Roosevelt
http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/mailto:info%40bullypulpitgames.com?subject=mailto:info%40bullypulpitgames.com?subject=http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/


3/38

THE SCORE

A NASTY PIECE OF WORK

A dead body, a Cockney drug-dealer selling from the back of thekebab shop, three suitcases full of blue ake cocaine and an unexplodedWorld War Two bombthese are a few of the things that make for a

proper East End asco. This Playset is for fans of lms with a certainugly, stylish sensibility.

Maybe youre just a working-class bloke looking to catch a break, andyour mate from the pub knows a guy who has a sure thing. Only itsnot a sure thing and then your mates dodgy girlfriend gets involved,and then the Russians nd out what youve done and its all going to

go tits-up, isnt it?

MOVIE NIGHT

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels , The Bank Job , Sexy Beast .

Writers Edition?

This is a special edition of Gangster London , including Will Hindmarchsexploration of using Fiasco as a writers tool. See page 12 for more in-formation.


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relationships...

1 WORK

1 Me and this bloke I used to work with

2 Me and my boss from work

3 Me and this bloke from work

4 Me and this bloke who xed our car / plumbing / electrics

5 Me and this bloke I bought something off of

6 Me and my doctor / lawyer / accountant

2 FRIENDSHIP

1 Former cellmates

2 Army buddies

3 This bloke from down the pub

4 I saved his life, you know

5 Ive known him since school

6 Were just mates, were not like shagging or anything.

3 ODD

1 Alcoholics Anonymous

2 Salvation Army

3 Young Conservatives

4 Socialists

5 Environmental campaigners

6 Probation of cer and criminal


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...in GANGSTER LONDON

4 ROMANCE

1 Secret lovers

2 Married

3 Separated

4 On-again, off-again partners

5 Stalker and stalkee

6 Dont like each other much, but cant stop shagging

5 CRIME

1 Criminal boss and underling

2 Gamblers

3 Small-time housebreakers

4 Con man and mark

5 Drug dealers

6 Hoodies

6 FAMILY

1 Siblings

2 Cousins

3 Distant relatives who have never met

4 Parent and child or stepchild

5 Uncle / aunt and nephew / niece

6 Parent-in-law / son- or daughter-in-law


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NEEDS...

1 TO GET LAID

1 to prove something

2 to get something you want

3 to forget about getting dumped

4 to rekindle an old romance

5 for the rst time

6 for the last time

2 TO GET SOME ANSWERS

1 about Neds Four oclock meeting in Brixton

2 about someones in delity

3 to a question of parentage

4 from the police, about an unsolved crime

5 about the accident that still haunts you

6 about Shelleys commitment to the enterprise

3 TO GET REVENGE

1 on Steps and his crew

2 on the Russians who humiliated you

3 on a co-worker

4 on a television personality

5 on a family member

6 on a police detective


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4 TO GET RESPECT

1 from the London criminal underground

2 by showing everybody who the real boss is

3 from your lover, by keeping an unfortunate promise

4 from a family member, by backing their plan

5 from yourself, by standing up to a bully

6 by going straight at last

5 TO GET RICH

1 by ripping off a dealer

2 by running eastern European prostitutes

3 by robbing a family business

4 by working a political deal in the neighborhood

5 by opening a kebab shop

6 by nding a buyer for these diamonds you found

6 TO GET OUT

1 of London before the Russians nd you

2 of debt, through one last bold deal

3 of a relationship gone dangerously sour

4 of your interminable marriage

5 of an obligation to a powerful criminal

6 of England before Scotland Yard catches up with you


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LOCATIONS...

1 RESIDENCES

1 Flat 253, Broadwater House

2 The Rivings

3 23 Mulberry Grove

4 Raddeston Place

5 Villa El Mariachi, Costa Del Sol

6 The Squat

2 HOUSES

1 Penthouse

2 Auction House

3 Whorehouse

4 Family house5 Country house

6 Warehouse

3 LANDMARKS

1 The British Library

2 The Tower of London3 The River Thames

4 Canary Wharf

5 The Millennium Dome

6 Kew Gardens


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4 FOOD AND DRINK

1 Alis Cafe

2 The Crown and Anchor

3 Grabbers Nightclub

4 Stan Fishs Gentlemans Entertainment Club

5 The Ivy

6 The Royal India Tandoori

5 WORKPLACES

1 Reiman, Losser and Reiman, a large bank

2 The pig farm

3 Jacob Fein, jeweller

4 Captain Comic, books and graphic novels

5 Bulldog Englishs specialist bookstore

6 The Paper Recycling Plant

6 ODDITIES

1 Cat rescue home

2 Royal Northern Hospital

3 The Lodge of the Masonic Order of the Stars

4 A synagogue

5 Locker 3867 At Waterloo Station

6 You Do Not Ask What Goes On Back There


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OBJECTS...

1 UNFORTUNATE

1 Forty chickens in eighty cages

2 Hydroponic cannabis-growing facility

3 Collection of priceless stamps, ruined

4 Peckham Rolex electronic ankle monitor

5 Dead body

6 Ten thousand lea ets about Jesus

2 TRANSPORTATION

1 Motorbike

2 Nondescript white van

3 Subaru Impreza 5-door wagon

4 Milk oat

5 Speedboat

6 Rolls Royce

3 WEAPON

1 Sawn-off shotgun

2 Jesus Christ, its a fucking katana!

3 An unexploded World War Two bomb

4 Antique duelling pistols

5 Three hand grenades

6 A water pistol that looks like a real gun


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4 INFORMATION

1 Angus mysterious last words

2 A conversation you shouldnt have been listening to

3 A contract; maybe a legally binding one

4 An encrypted CD

5 Property deeds

6 Compromising photographs

5 VALUABLES

1 Ten thousand pounds in 5 pence pieces

2 An arse-load of diamonds!

3 Vintage car

4 All you need to know is: whats in here is fucking valuable.

5 Suitcase full of cash

6 Purebred cat

6 EXTRA-LEGAL

1 The strongest weed you will ever smoke

2 Three suitcases full of blue ake cocaine

3 Five thousand fake passports

4 Six Romanian asylum-seekers

5 Floor plans of a Ministry of Defence establishment

6 This is the most dangerous weapon you have ever laid your dirtylittle hands on.


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A chav-tastic

INSTA-setupRelationships in gangster London

For three players

* Friendship: Mates from prison

* Crime: Drug people* Family: Siblings

For our players, add

* Romance: Secret lovers

For fve players, add

* Community: Church friends

Needs in gangster London

For three players

* To get revenge: On the Russians who humiliated you

For our or fve players, add

* To get rich: By opening a Kebab shop

OBJECTS in gangster London

For three or our players

* Weapon: A water pistol that looks like a real gun

For fve players, add

* Unfortunate: Collection of priceless stamps, ruined

LOCATIONS in gangster London

For three, our or fve players

* Food and drink: The Crown and Anchor


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12

USING FIASCO AS AWRITERS TOOL We asked our friend, author and game designer Will Hindmarch, to saya few words about using Fiasco as a writers tool. Will being Will, thissimple request turned into an epic investigation into the nature of thewriters process, and the intersection of word count and exhilarating

play. Much of what he has to say appears in The Fiasco Companion , butWill being Willhe also gave us a very thorough worked example thatincluded a meaty and kick-ass script.

The script is worth reading for entertainment alone, but when coupledwith his thoughts on repurposing Fiascos Setup phase in the service of writing, it is a slice of fried gold.

WILL HINDMARCH SAYS...

This wont be entirely in a writers head, but itll be lone-ly fun. Ive wanted to write a one-act play (or something likeit) based on a Fiasco Playset for some time, so lets see how it goes.

To give this a shot, I took Graham Walmsleys Playset, Gangster Londonand drew a little three-sided play space out of it. I didnt roll dice.

I just picked things that I thought intersected in interesting ways,grabbing what struck me as compelling options off the listbut not necessarily the most compelling items. I wanted to chal-lenge myself to work with somewhat more subdued selections.

As soon as I started picking Relationships, though, a sto-ry started to emerge. It was everything I could do to avoid sort-

ing out the whole story at onceto break it, as TV writers say.I wanted some things to emerge naturally through the telling.

As of this writing, Ive laid out the cards, assigned Relationships, aNeed, a Location, and an Object and Im ready to write.


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o d d i t i e s

y o u d o n o t a

s k

w h a t g o e s o

n

b a c k t h e r e

r e l a t i o n s h i p

o d d

a l c o h o l i c s

a n o n y m o u s

N E E DT O G E T R I C H

s e l l i n g d i a m o n d s y o u . . . f o u n d

r e l at i o n s h i p F r i e n d s h i p

I s av e d h i s l i f e

o n c e , y o u k n o w

r e l a t i o n s h i

p

S m a l l t i m e

h o u s e b r e a k e r s

O b j e c t

i n f o r ma t i o

n

O V E R H EA R D

c o n v e r s a t

i o n

JONNY

NIC K IA N

THE

SETUP


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GANGSTER LONDON: AN EXERCISE

Written byWill Hindmarch

www.wordstudio.netwww.gameplaywright.net

Based on Fiasco: Gangster Londonby Graham Walmsley
http://www.wordstudio.net/http://www.gameplaywright.net/http://www.gameplaywright.net/http://www.wordstudio.net/


16/38

EXT. IAN AND JONNYS GARAGE DAY

Its a tiny little ground-level garage inLondons East End, one in a row of look-alikescrammed into the rear arches at the base of abig brick building. A big blue door blocks offthe garage from the alley it would open onto.A lorry wobbles down the cobblestones outside.

Two blokes, IAN (26, in skinny jeans and asweatjacket) and NICK (42, regular jeans and a

wind-breaker) stride up the alley and enterthe garage.

INT. IAN AND JONNYS GARAGE DAY

IAN waves NICK in and pulls the big blue doorshut behind them. As IAN fiddles with thelock, NICK takes a few HESITANT STEPS into thegarage. Theres no car, just a table and

chairs under a low, arched ceiling, and anarrow red door on the back wall.

NICKYou know, this is myfirst time here.

IANI know.

NICKYou guys own this place?

IANAlmost. Were hoping to getit paid off soon. In time tosell it when the galleryowners eventually make their

way down here.


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NICKAlmost. So you and Jonnyshare a mortgage orsomething?

IANOr something. Not to anybank, if thats what yourethinking.

NICK nods.

IAN (CONTD)Have a seat.

NICK does. IAN doesnt.

IAN (CONTD)Fancy a Coke?

NICK

You didnt bring me downhere for a Coke, did younow?

IAN(beat)

No.

NICKThen what?

IANI wanted to talk to youabout something.

IAN walks in a slow circle around the table.

NICKYou want to sit?

IANI want to stand.

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NICKOkay.

IANSo...

NICK(cheeky)

What is it, my son?

IANI have a job coming up. A

meeting. Me and Jonny do.And...

NICKYoure afriad youll take adrink.

IANIm thinking I have to. I

know I want to, even thoughI dont want to, but Im thinking I have to.

NICKIan.

IANI know!

NICKIan.

IANI know.

NICKI think Ill take that Cokenow.

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EXT. IAN AND JONNYS GARAGE CONTINUOUS

A YOUNG BLOKE (26, ratty jeans and a hoodie) walks up to the big blue door and PAUSES. Hereacts, as if he hears something. He peersthrough a crack in the door, then puts his earto it.

INT. IAN AND JONNYS GARAGE CONTINUOUS

NICK sips Coke out of a can. IAN paces.

IANIts an important meeting,though. Its about, youknow, its about our future.Mine and Jonnys.

NICKIf you start drinking again,

Ian, you have no future.IAN

I know that, dont I?

NICKThen you cant be seriousabout this. Take the meetingand just dont drink.

IANI cant do that.

NICKHave a fucking Sprite!

IANI cant do that. You dontknow these people. I need to

look hard in front of thesegents if I want them to take me seriously, dont I?

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NICKYou need to decide whereyour future lies, my son. Ifyou go back into the bottle--

IANIm talking about one drink.

NICK--then I cant help you.

IANFucking great sponsor.

NICKI am. I am a fucking greatsponsor. This is tough love,

mate. I saved your lifeonce, you know, and Im notgoing to give you fuckingpermission to put it back in

the fucking bottle now, am I?

IANIm not looking for--

NICKHell youre not. Let me askyou this, young man: Whycant Jonny go?

IANAlone?

NICKYes.

IANBecause.

NICKThats a crap answer. Whycant he go on his own?

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IAN doesnt answer.

NICK (CONTD)Is he not up to it? No minerals? No sense for this

sort of thing?

IANHe might... you know.

NICKNo, I dont know.

IANHe might... fuck it up.

EXT. IAN AND JONNYS GARAGE CONTINUOUS

The YOUNG MAN looks around, then puts his earback to the door.

INT. IAN AND JONNYS GARAGE CONTINUOUS

NICK slurps soda and scratches his beard. IANstands still.

NICKThats because Jonnyssomething of a fuckup, Ian.

IANJonnys great at what hedoes, but firstimpressions...

NICKYeah.

IAN resumes pacing.

6


22/38

NICK (CONTD)Then heres what you do. Youbring a flask.

IANI do?

NICKYou do. A flask with tea init.

IANReally.

NICKFucking iced tea or applejuice or whatever you like.You drink out of that.

IANAnd if they pour me a shot?

NICK doesnt say anything.

IAN (CONTD)What do I do if they pour mea fucking whisky?

NICKThen you decide whether youand I are ever to speakagain, Ian.

A KNOCK shakes the big blue door. A key worksthe lock.

IANShit.

IAN rushes to the door but is too late. The

YOUNG MAN from outside has it open.IAN (CONTD)

Hey, mate.

7


23/38

NICK(beat)

Hello, Jonny.JONNY

Nick. Didnt expect to seeyou here in our villainouslair.

NICKWouldnt think so.

JONNYEverything all right, then?

IANEverythings fine. Good,even.

JONNYYou shites dont look it. Am

I interrupting?IAN

We were just--

NICKNot at all. Im just offactually. Said what I needto say.

NICK stands up and heads for the red door.

NICK (CONTD)Loo through here?

IAN and JONNY both puts hands out to stopNICK.

IAN

No!JONNY

Fuck, mate, no!

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24/38

IANWe dont have a loo here.

NICK(beat)

All right.

IANYeah. Sorry.

JONNYTheres a pub up the alley.You can piss there.

NICKRight. Well.

NICK crosses to the big blue door.

NICK (CONTD)Ian, my son, you let me

know?IAN

Right.

NICKTa, then, boys.

NICK leaves.

IAN and JONNY stand in silence for a moment.

JONNYI miss anything?

IANNo. I just, you know, no.

JONNY

Alcky talk, then?IAN

Yes, actually.

9


25/38

JONNY(nodding)

You ready for tonight?IAN

(beat)Yes.

INT. CROWN AND ANCHOR PUB - UPSTAIRS - NIGHT

Were upstairs at the Crown and Anchor, anarrow, worn-down, badly lit pub. All thetables are empty except one, which is ringedby three surly blokes in leather coats. Theremains of game birds lay scattered on fourplates for four people sat around the table:

IAN and JONNY sit together on one side.Opposite them are a pair of gentlemen inpatterned suits. One wears a WHITE SCARF

(60s), the other wears DARK GLASSES (30s) withtortoise-shell rims.

A pint stands in front of IAN, untouched.

IANSo were sorted, then?

WHITE SCARFIf you accept our terms forthe first delivery, to proveyourselves...

IAN(looking at Jonny)

We do.

WHITE SCARFGood. Then future deals

should be considerably morelucrative. For us both.

10

(MORE)


26/38

Boys, I think your days of moving silverware and Blu-

Ray players are over.DARK GLASSES

(accented)Welcome to big time.

IANThank you.

JONNYYeah, thanks, you two. Whatdo you say we celebrate?

IAN looks at JONNY.

JONNY (CONTD)No?

WHITE SCARF

Fine idea.WHITE SCARF snaps his fingers and twirls afinger in the air. A waiter brings over SHOTGLASSES and A BOTTLE. He POURS.

IAN looks from the shot glasses to JONNY, whodoesnt return the look.

WHITE SCARF and DARK GLASSES raise theirglasses. JONNY does likewise, and finallylooks to IAN... Who gently raises his.

JONNY(to Ian)

To the future. To not working alone.

WHITE SCARF

To bigger things.

11WHITE SCARF (CONT'D)


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Everyone but IAN drinks. One of the BODYGUARDSnods his head toward IAN and says something ina foreign language. IAN looks from theBODYGUARD to JONNY and, eyes on JONNY, drinks.

BEGIN MONTAGE JONNY AND IAN DRINK:

- JONNY and IAN at a nightclub with DARKGLASSES and his BODYGUARDS, where JONNY handsIAN a shot and then pats him on the belly

- JONNY and DARK GLASSES with their armsaround each other, singing, while IAN rubs hiseyes

- IAN with his hand in the air to get abartenders attention

- IAN tosses his flask in the garbage

- IAN tosses back a shot

- JONNY, elated, hands in the air, as IANdrops a shot into a Guinness

- IAN up in some BRICK OF A BLOKEs face.Their eyes wide, their neck veins bulging.

- JONNY backing IAN up, pointing a finger inthe BRICKs face, yelling until his face isred.

- IAN and the BRICK brawling. IANs in aheadlock. JONNYs on the BRICKs back.

- DARK GLASSES sits in a booth full of smiling women, laughing

- IAN and JONNY kicking the shit out of theBRICK, whos on all fours on the club floor

- IAN, battered, on all fours in the clubbathroom, puking in a toilet. Alone.

12


28/38

INT. IAN AND JONNYS FLAT MORNING

A mobile chimes. JONNY, bleary, goes over toIAN, whos bruised and passed out on a couch,and fishes IANs mobile out of his jacket.

CLOSE ON MOBILE SCREEN:

FROM: NICK

I need to talk to you. Its about work.

JONNY clicks REPLY and types out Meet me atthe garage right now

JONNY snaps the mobile shut.

INT. IAN AND JONNYS GARAGE DAY

JONNYs sitting at the table when a KNOCKcomes at the blue door. JONNY walks over andlets NICK in. JONNY locks the door behind him.

NICK looks around.

NICKWheres Ian?

JONNY

You dont want to talk toIan, I dont think, Nick.

NICKWhats that supposed to

mean?

JONNYIans pretty sure you dont

want to see him, not afterlast night.

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29/38

NICK(beat)

I see.JONNY

He thinks youre prettyfurious with him. He wonders

why you want to piss on hischances.

NICKReally. He said that.

JONNYSure he did. He said you

wanted him to throw awayeverything wed worked for.

NICKI know what hes worked for.I know what hes thrown

away. I saved his life, youknow?

JONNYSure I do. I know whatyouve done for Ian.

NICKRight, then.

JONNYIf you want to talk work,lets talk.

NICKWithout Ian?

JONNYIll take it to Ian.

NICKI dont think--

14


30/38

JONNYIm no fuckup, Nick. Im good at what I do. Just notso much at firstimpressions. Right?

NICK(beat)

Right. This isnt... Im nottalking about a job job.Not exactly.

JONNYLets hear it.

NICKI just have some things I

want moved. Sold.

JONNYUh huh.

NICKFamily things.

JONNYYou understand we dont pawnthings, dont you, Nick?

NICKI dont want these pawned. I

want them turned into quidand quietly. My sister cantknow what happened to them.

JONNYWhat are we talking about?

NICKIm sorry?

JONNYWhat things?

15


31/38

NICKJewelry.

JONNYOh yeah?

NICKYeah. Diamonds. My sistercame into them through herhusbands side of the familyand I dont think they know

what theyre worth. Theyreold. Twenties or thirties,at least. My sisters justgoing to sit on them.

JONNYAnd you want us to go getthem.

NICK

No! I... Ill get them. I want you to sell them for me.

JONNYWhen?

NICKRight away.

JONNYWait. Do you have them now?

NICKI... Yes.

JONNYYou have them with you rightnow?

NICKI brought them, you know,for Ian.

16


32/38

JONNYSure.

NICKSo, will you boys help meout?

JONNY(beat)

Our cut is twenty percent.

NICKIs that--

JONNYThats a friendly rate,Nick. Im not a villain.

NICKRight, then.

JONNYNow, then. Lets see whatyouve got.

INT. CROWN AND ANCHOR PUB - UPSTAIRS - NIGHT

A pile of jewelry spills out of a plastic bagonto a sticky wooden table.

JONNY sits alone across from WHITE SCARF andDARK GLASSES, both standing, both dressed morecasually than we saw them last. The bodyguardsform a triangle around the table.

JONNYSo, what do you think?

DARK GLASSES and WHITE SCARF exchange looks.

DARK GLASSESI think you are idiot.

17


33/38

JONNYWhat? What?

DARK GLASSESYou think we are idiots?

JONNYWhat? I dont--

DARK GLASSESThis is how you proveyourself to us? With thisshit?

JONNYWhat do you mean?

JONNY looks around at the bodyguards.

DARK GLASSESThese? Are fake.

JONNYNo, no. Its old, but--

DARK GLASSESArent even very good fakes.

JONNYTheyre... not diamonds?

DARK GLASSESTheyre fucking fuck all!

JONNYOh, shit.

DARK GLASSESWe give you this chance.This one chance--

JONNYNot one chance! Just let me--

18


34/38

DARK GLASSES--and you waste our time

with this artificial shit!JONNY

No! I dont! I--

WHITE SCARFDo you think so little ofus, Jonathan?

JONNYWhat?

WHITE SCARFOr are you so stupid? Sucha...

DARK GLASSESFuckup.

WHITE SCARFSuch a fuckup?

JONNYYou dont understand, I just--

DARK GLASSES(to White Scarf)

Hes not answering.

WHITE SCARFAnswer my question, Jonny.Is this skulduggery orstupidity? Are you a liar orare you stupid?

JONNYI...

JONNY looks at everyone, in turn.

19


35/38

JONNY (CONTD)Im stupid. I swear! Im sofucking stupid!

DARK GLASSESYes. You are.

WHITE SCARFAnd youve made us lookstupid, havent you?

JONNYNot on purpose. I swear. Ifucking swear it.

WHITE SCARFLets talk about how you can

make it up to us, then.

JONNYYes. Absolutely. Just tell

me what to do.WHITE SCARF

Be a canvas.

JONNYA... Im sorry?

DARK GLASSESYes you are.

WHITE SCARFBe a canvas. Be a canvas on

which these men can paint a message for all of your

filthy, idiotic, mouth-breathing, third-rate shitesof cohorts to read. These

men will paint them a

picture, a picture inbruises, all over your miserable waste-of-flesh

body.

20

(MORE)


36/38


37/38

I gave myself about 15 pages to explore the setup Id selected out of the Playset, without doing any major self-editing. I chose to writemy piece in something approximating screenplay format becauseits quick and, obviously, cinematic. It seemed to fit the material.

Notice, by the way, that I picked two elementsa Relationship and aLocationde ned by dialogue. I wanted the challenge of rolling thoseinto the telling, but ended up not getting both lines of dialogue directlyinto my piece. I didnt want to force it. (I couldve kept writing to getto the scene in which the missing Location line is spoken outright, butI didnt get that far before I reached the 15 pages Id set for myself.)

Almost immediately, I broke from Fiasco s scene-setting customs,

though, and lost track of exactly which character each scene was about.My scenes were focused on dramatizing the facts established on thecards (because my imaginary audience presumably wouldnt haveaccess to the cards). They were also mostly about more than one characterat a time, which is just the way those scenes developed in the telling. I

used the cards as a place to start, then got wrapped up in the story anddidnt think to pursue the games format through the rest of the exercise.

Put another way, this shows that those cards defining the spaces

between characters are fruitful. It shows how storiesespeciallytheatrical storiesare so often about the collisions of characters ratherthan the plight of single character. It shows how Fiasco s setups arewonderfully provocative and inspiring. With just a quick jauntthrough a Playset, I immediately had a character dynamic interestingenough that I pursued it for fteen pages of solo playtime, with ease.

Something I didnt do, at least not on purpose, was build thescenes around Fiasco s resolution method. I didnt build in

specific turning points, hinges on which each scene results ina positive or negative outcome for each character. Such turn-ing points emerged naturally, but not quite scene by scene.

This highlights, for me, how Fiasco s narrative architecture isntquite the literal scene but rather a more compelling metric: thequestion. A Fiasco scene doesnt end until an important questionis answered: good or bad, yes or no, success or failure. Which dieis assigned? Which goals are met and which schemes are con-

founded? Where are the victories and where are the defeats?

32


38/38

Because the question and the scene all but overlap in Fiasco, youhave little exposition. You have leaner stories. In play, we dontneed to establish things like our Relationships, because weestablished them during the selection process. Our writers (the play-

ers) are our audience (the players). Ive seen Fiasco groups establishfacts on the ground and dramatize known story elements in actual play, but such things almost necessarily manifest only when they servedouble duty, when they carry some interest beyond just exposition.

For example, in my exercise, I have a short scene that explains whytwo characters meet in the following scene. In play, we might estab-lish the premise of a scene through out-of-character negotiationbehind-the-scenes talk where were playing the parts of writers and

directors, rather than actors. Okay, we say, this is a scene betweenJonny and Nick, in the garage, after Jonny has responded to a textmessage on Ians phone, so Nick thinks hes coming to meet Ian. Lets startit with Nick walking in to nd Jonny, and just Jonny, waiting for him.

In my exercise, the outcome of that scenea black die givento Jonny results in a completely different scene that answerst h e q u e s t i o n : H o w d o e s t h i s s c e n e t u r n o u t f o r J o n n y ?

This would be fair game in a Fiasco session, Ill bet, though Ive neverseen it happen myself. This is what I mean by the question, rather thanthe scene, as the unit of play in Fiasco. The questionWhat color diedoes Jonny get for this scene?could actually result in a whole scenethat dramatizes the black die, showing us not how the scene goes wrongin the moment but, rather, how it leads to bad things for Jonny is a scenethat follows right on the heels of the rst scene, dramatically speaking.Here are some diamonds to sell, Nick says to Jonny. Smash-cut toJonny in trouble, discovering too late, in the follow-up scene after the

black die is bestowed, that the diamonds are fakes. Jonnys turn endswith him being surrounded by gangster muscle and then were onto the next player.

Will Hindmarch, 1 February 2011

Documents

Gangster London Writers Edition