I Learned Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Supporting Characters from Watching Dream Girls

Okay... not really... But... It makes an interesting title; so, I'll keep it. With Jennifer Hudson up for the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for the role of Effie White in Dream Girls, which Jennifer Holliday won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for in 1982, it seems only fitting that there be some kind of writing lesson here. So here's the lesson as far as I can piece it together.

You see, I read the article in Jet Magazine where Jennifer Holliday reflects on that moment. And while scholar/professor me would cringe at the thought of using Jet Magazine as a citation source, cultural critic me knows that the old saying "if you didn’t read it in Jet Magazine, it didn't happen in the black community" exists for a reason. And romance writer me, could care less about citation source blah, blah, blah. So, anyway... As the story goes, the character of Effie White may very well indeed have started out a "supporting role," a "side character" so to speak. But by the time Jennifer Holliday got done fighting for her character, the character had extra songs in the musical, more space to shine and most important, the character did not die.

When you add to this the fact that the original play is said to have been created for Nell Carter, and you know she wasn't going to play no Deena Jones... and you know she would have been the star not a supporting character... then the fact that the role of Effie has somehow become a supporting role seems all the more strange… but I digress… Because anyone who has seen the film knows that Jennifer Hudson's performance in this role, like Jennifer Holliday's before it, was not a "supporting character." She was the star of the film. The script and writing dictated it. If you take away the character Effie then you have no story. Adding the song "Listen" does not make Beyonce Knowles's portrayal of Deena Jones become the "lead" in the story. They needed to rewrite the script for that. And since I promised there would be a writing lesson here, I'll add that there is a certain finesse to writing truly supporting characters that Dream Girls, the film becomes the perfect "how not to" template for. In fact, the film breaks key supporting character rules that writers should be mindful of when they create side plots and side characters. First, your supporting characters are there for support. The main action should happen to the leads, your heros and heroines. In the beginning of the play and film, the action happens to the girl group and that is fine. But as we watch the film, where does the drama really unfold? Who do we find ourselves on the edge of our seats caring about, wondering what will happen next to her, damn near crying (okay, I really did cry, but I'll never admit it) for when life dealt her another blow? If you say anyone but Effie White, you're a liar and the truth ain't in ya! This leads me to the second supporting character rule, readers should like the support cast and be interested in them yes. But if the reader starts to like the supporting cast more than the lead… if we become more interested in what happens to the side characters and could care less if the so-called lead is there or not… we have a writing problem. I'm sure we've all read books where we've experienced this. We could care less about the hero or heroine but that spunky friend, that witty comrade, now that's someone we'd like to get to know. As writers, I'm sure we've all had side characters that are just begging for their own books. And most of us know how to give just enough of these characters so that they don't outshine the lead. Which leads me finally back to Dream Girls and the character Effie. She wasn't a supporting character in the play's debut in 1981. And no matter what they billing the film role today--or why they billed it that way--she is not a supporting character now. The play just wasn't written for her to be sidelined. The writing dictates that she's the star. The fighting that Jennifer Holliday did for the role back in the eighties demanded that the she be a star. The performance that both Jennifer's contributed to the role demands that they be awarded "Best Actress," not "Best Supporting Actress." But nevertheless, there are writing lessons to be learned by watching the film. I found one. Now, I can call watching the film writing research. ;-) What do you all think? Do you have any thoughts about supporting characters and side stories? Do you think Jennifer Hudson is being cheated of the rightful nomination of Best Actress? Do tell...