![]() If you are ambitious in your setting buy a book on set design to research if your set is feasible. If your story takes place in more than one locale, you have to be aware of the logistics of a ‘set’ change. An actor can’t exit stage left and enter stage right, seconds later in a different costume, if you haven’t written in the time it will take to give them the time to accomplish a costume change.ĥ. Be aware of costume changes in your writing. Remember there will be a director who has their own ideas of where they will want their actors to be. The blocking (in italics) is where you give the actors instructions on when and where to move. An actor usually ‘highlights’ their lines and writes the director’s blocking in the margins.Ĥ. ![]() This is a sample of an actor’s (mine) working script. One day when your play is being produced, actors will need a place to make notes in the script during rehearsal. So chose what your characters have to say very carefully.ģ. Each line (dialog) should move the story along…you’ve only got 10 minutes. For a ten minute play your script should be from 10-15 pages. ![]() Each page represents approximately one minute of time on stage depending on how complex you make the blocking. A ‘beat’ is a dramatic pause or to enhance the pace of the speech.Ģ. If only one word, it is placed next to the character’s name and in parentheses. Blocking (action) is indented and always lower case and double-spaced. Notice character name is in CAPS and centered. There is software out there that offer auto-format but I have found them lacking. If you submit your new play to anyone they will not read it if it is not in a proper format. And that led me to create five, custom Journals and Handbooks which include how to write a play and how to create exciting characters.ġ. After all, 45 play scripts ago and seventeen years earlier I began writing my first script. So I thought what a perfect time to give my readers six tips on writing their first stage play. I am frequently asked ‘ how can you be so prolific?’, ‘how do you write so many plays?’ ‘where do you get your ideas?’ A state prison, a haunted lighthouse, my days in Hollywood, the news of the day or remembering the stories of my childhood. The ideas for my plays come to me in a little kernel of truth and I am inspired. And it is a great exercise for the writer to hone and edit their writing skills. The ten minute play does not sacrifice excellent writing and content for brevity. It’s more attractive to the director or educator, for economic reasons, if there are no sets, no costumes, and minimal props needed. It can have costumes and sets, certainly, but ten minute plays are most popular because of their simplicity. It’s only ten to twelve minutes long, remember? Rather, think of it as walking into the middle of the story more like a scene…but in this case it must have a beginning, middle, and end, all in roughly ten-twelve minutes.Ī ten minute play (or one act) is 10-15 pages written in a proper format. ![]() If you need any help deciding which one is most appropriate for your school, we are happy to help.When writing a short play, you will have no time to ‘set up’ the story. Pantos usually have a celebrity guest- but a head teacher would do adequately! Some of the male characters are played by women, and the character of an old woman is most often played by a man wearing a lot of make-up. Traditionally there's a panto horse, cow, or maybe even a zebra on stage. with added slapstick, comedy, jokes, songs, dancing and lots of audience participation. They are usually loosely based on a well-known children's story: something like, 'Cinderella', 'Aladdin', 'Snow White', etc. They are shows for all the family performed in theatres over the festive and New Year period. Pantomimes -or just plain 'pantos' for short- are as essential to Christmas in the UK as a mince pie. At artdramascripts we are proud to offer you a range of Christmas plays and pantos to help you celebrate Christmas in style in your school. ![]()
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