Play writing?

Question:how do i write a play in the correct context? is there a certain font i should use, and how much action should i say the character is doing? is "stage left" left of the audience? lastly, what kind of things would you like to see in a play, so i know what my audience would like. keep all answers PG, please.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: how do i write a play in the correct context? is there a certain font i should use, and how much action should i say the character is doing? is "stage left" left of the audience? lastly, what kind of things would you like to see in a play, so i know what my audience would like. keep all answers PG, please.

Hi Mood,

Your best bet is to read a bunch of different plays to get used to the feel of the format. Some playwrights write in a lot of action, and some don't; I can tell you that unless the action is very, very vital to the plot (for example, one of your characters shoots someone else and kills them), sometimes directors and actors just ignore it and do the things that come up in rehearsal. So you don't need to do things like "he scratches his elbow" or "he looks confused"; the actors generally take care of figuring out what to do for the little stuff like that.

Reading other plays, and SEEING plays, will also give you a good idea of what kinds of things people are looking for. And sometimes you can't even predict what people are looking for -- if someone had predicted years ago that "people want to see plays about puppets living in Brooklyn" or "people want to see plays about places where you have to pay a tax to pee", they'd probably be accused of being crazy. But two plays about those very things -- AVENUE Q and URINETOWN -- have both won TONY awards for "best new play". One of the best-known plays of the 20th Century, WAITING FOR GODOT, is about two guys just standing around and waiting for a third guy named Godot to show up. Godot never does, so it's just these two guys killing time. Which sounds completely dull if you describe it like that, but it works.

When it comes to the "stage left/stage right" thing -- you take it off of the actor if the actor's standing on stage and looking out at the audience. "Stage left" then is the actor's left hand side, which is the audience's righthand side. (You can get "stage right" from that, I'm sure.) "Downstage" is towards the audience, and "upstage" is towards the back of the stage.

Again, your best move would probably be to read a lot of plays to get a feel for the format and the craft. Good luck!

You are writing for the wrong reasons....Stage left is on audience right

Writing a play is similar to writing a film script. There are programs out there, like Final Draft, that help you format it correctly (what to italicize, what to bold, etc.)

It sounds like you're just getting started in writing and don't have a lot of training or experience, so don't worry about details such as format and just start writing.

All the little details are false distractions that draw you away from your main task. Some people are more interested in those details and they really aren't truly happy with that central task of writing. They don't become writers, they become copy editors (a fine occupation, but it's not writing).

Regarding stage directions and other things, write in a way so that you can go back later and know what you meant. Once you've reached a certain stage in your work, you can go back and put things in a standard form for publishing.

Let us know what grade you're in and we might be able to recommend some books to guide you.

Have fun!

It is not an easy art I have two great books at home. Buy them, they will be your writing bibles.

Scriptwork (by David Kahn my former professor) and Donna Breed. Also buy Backwards and Forwards by David Ball

You will need to have a thorough undertstanding of the dynamics of a play script.

Font use 12 pt times New Roman it is easy to read, screen plays work in courier.

Stage directions (unless you thoroughly understand theatre (like David Mamet) and have a clear vision of the movement I would not include them, many directors don't use them. Some playwrights go crazy with description of movement some tell you nothing.

But FYI stage directions are from the actors POV

Before you attempt to write a play you should watch and read many so you understand the construction. It would not hurt to participate in some community theatre so you have a better sense of the art form.

Take a playwriting class, community colleges offer them all the time.

It also would not hurt to read the Poetics by Aristotle.

Can't tell you what the audience wants but the industry wants more parts for women, women actors greatly outnumber the men.

Well, most people Center, Caps Lock, and Bold the character's name to show that he has a line. Also, if you have any musical numbers, I mostly see people Bold, Italicie, and Underline it. But that's just the play's I've done; you could bold the character's name and put a colon, then type the line. There is not really any specific "Play-writing font".