How to Create the Villain in a Play

The essence of drama is conflict, and the backbone of conflict is a villain or, in the words of dramaturgy, the antagonist. Creating a villain or antagonist in your play requires careful planning, skill and some knowledge about what constitutes the perfect bad guy.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Develop your hero or protagonist first so that you can create the antagonist as your hero's nemesis or antipode. Once you have a hero, think about all the bad qualities that directly oppose your hero's good qualities. Invest those bad qualities into a single character so you'll have the basis for your villain.
2. Find something (or someone) that both the protagonist, your hero, and the antagonist, your villain, desire in a very serious way. Give your villain evil or odious motivations for acquiring the desired object so that you can highlight your hero's nobility for wanting the same thing for completely pure and good reasons.
3. Give your villain power, especially in relation to your hero, since this allows you to define the drama of the play in terms of your hero's getting the power from the antagonist or, more realistically, fighting a difficult battle to overcome the villain's initial power.
4. Write your villain so that he has a distinct mark or trait that allows the audience to associate the ugliness (if the trait is physical) or immorality (if it's not physical) of the trait with the character. A scar, a lust for money or a particularly heinous crime are all good dramatic examples of a trait that allows you to better define a villain while giving the character some history and experience.

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