Interior Chinatown

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.

“Scene from a Second-Person Screenplay”

In this activity, students will reflect on the interplay of forms in Interior Chinatown after writing and performing their own scenes from a second-person screenplay.

Interior Chinatown uniquely combines a second-person screenplay format with the conventions of a novel. In this activity, you will create your own screenplay scene, written in the second person. You will perform your scene for your classmates. Then, you will read several of your classmates' scenes, watch these scenes being performed, reflect on how the written versions compare with the performed versions, and explain what this experience highlights about Yu’s text.

Write, “Publish,” and Perform Your Scene

• Choose school-appropriate characters, setting, and conflict, and write a scene of 1.5-2 pages.
• Remember that in a screenplay, a “scene” takes place in one setting and at one time—don’t change locations or use any time-shifts.
• If you need a refresher on how to set up a screenplay scene, you can consult online sources like this one.
• Provide copies of your scene for your classmates to read.
• Perform your scene for your classmates.