Write Plays or Short Scripts
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What you will learn
- 1Write a short script using the four standard elements in order
- 2Open a scene with a stage direction in parentheses that sets the setting
- 3Format dialogue with the character name in capital letters followed by a colon
- 4Insert a mid-scene action in parentheses that describes what a character does
- 5End the scene with an exit stage direction that shows a character leaving
Mini Lesson
A play is a story told entirely through what characters say and do — there is no narrator to describe what is happening. That means the playwright (the writer of the play) must give the actors everything they need: who speaks, what they say, how they move, and when they leave. That information is organized using a special format called a script.
How a script is different from a story
- In a story, the narrator describes action and dialogue together in prose.
- In a script, everything is laid out as instructions for actors. The writer does not describe scenes — they direct them.
- Readers of a script are imagining a performance, not a page of prose.
The four script elements — in order
- 1. Stage direction — written in (parentheses), this tells the actor where to go, how to move, or what the setting is. It is never spoken aloud. Example: (Mia enters the library, looking nervous.)
- 2. Dialogue — the character's name is written in capital letters, followed by a colon, then what they say. No quotation marks are used in scripts. Example: MIA: I need to find the lost map before sunset.
- 3. Action — a stage direction placed mid-scene that describes what a character does during or between lines of dialogue. Example: (She pulls a dusty book from the shelf and blows off the cobwebs.)
- 4. Exit — a stage direction that tells the actor to leave the stage. Example: (Mia tucks the map under her arm and hurries out the door.)
Formatting rules
- Stage directions and actions are always in (parentheses). They describe — they are never spoken.
- Character names before dialogue are always in CAPITAL LETTERS followed by a colon.
- No quotation marks around dialogue in a script — the format itself shows who is speaking.
- Scripts are read left to right, top to bottom, in the order the action happens on stage.
Making dialogue reveal character
- In a script, the character's words must carry everything — personality, emotion, urgency — because there is no narrator to explain it.
- Write dialogue that sounds like how a real person with that character's personality would actually speak.
- Use short, punchy lines for tension; longer lines for explanation or emotion.
Words to know
Script
A written text that contains dialogue and stage directions so actors know what to say and do
e.g. She read the script carefully before rehearsal.
Stage direction
An instruction in parentheses that tells actors where to move or what the setting is
e.g. (Mia enters the library, looking nervous.)
Dialogue
The spoken words of a character, written after the character's name in capital letters
e.g. MIA: I must find the map before sunset.
Action
A mid-scene stage direction describing something a character physically does
e.g. (She climbs the ladder and grabs the map.)
Exit
A stage direction that tells the actor to leave the stage
e.g. (Mia tucks the map away and hurries out.)
Playwright
A person who writes plays — creating characters, dialogue, and stage directions
e.g. William Shakespeare was a famous playwright.
Ask yourself: Does my stage direction tell the actor where to go? Does my dialogue sound like my character? Does the exit clearly end the scene?
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