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Steamboat Chambers
Member
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Posted: Sat Mar 8th, 2008 05:20 pm |
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I started retyping a play into Samuel French style or somethign closeby. Please have a look at the passage I'm posting below and respond, pointing out any errors and making suggestions. I'm still new at this and well, terrible at it too. The main concern I had was with (more) and (cont'd) at the bottom of a page and top of the next to alert reader of continuation in dialogue. Does it have to be there? Also, when I interrupt dialogue to interject a stage direction unrelated to the character speaking, do I then have to restate the character's name with (cont'd) following it or can I double space below the direction and continue on with the dialogue? Do pauses get there own line as a direction or can the be interlinear in parentheses within the dialogue? How much is too much when describing the setting? Ahhh!
Example #1:
CONSTANCE (offstage)
Thomas! Thomas, what’s going on up there?
(Sound of feet climbing stairs. Thomas straightens, and his hands come to a halt, his attention given to listening. He sets his knife on the stool, switches off lamp, and crouches to the floor to blow away the dust and wood pieces. Forgetting his knife on the stool, he crawls under the blanket and assumes an asleep pose.)
CONSTANCE (cont’d) (louder)
Tom! Toommm! What’s going on up there? Did you sneak a girl into the house?
(Knocks on attic door.)
Tom? Caution me, please, if I shouldn’t trespass. Are you decent in there? I’m giving you a four count—one, two, three, four. I’m coming in.
(Constance enters carrying a glass of water and two nighttime sleeping tablets. She reaches around for the light switch, turns it on. Conditioned by the darkness, her eyes automatically squint to narrow slits and her head veers away from the light. Her face appears paralyzed, still needing to undergo the thaw that reanimates facial expression after a deep sleep. An entanglement of statically-charged fly-aways spring from her head in the likeness of dandelion fuzzies, bent crooked by the surge of a child’s warm breath. She wears scarlet, satin pajamas, the sash around her waist tied in bow. She finds the knife on the stool and picks it up.)
What’s going on here? Hey…answer me. It’s two in the morning. Quit your playing possum. It’s unrealistic.
(She nudges him with her foot.)
Example #2:
Is this an acceptable way to end a scene?
(Constance looks over the knife in the light, then switches the lamp off. She exits stage right. Blackout.)
Example #3:
After the stage direction in this instance, do I have to rename the speaker and place (cont'd) behind the name?
CONSTANCE
Yes, they do. And what men in your position gotta do is figure out what they like and show them you have or, at the very least, pass yourself off as having figured out their likes, when in fact you’re still searching.
(Thomas grunts. Constance cross to table, picks up loaf of bread.)
It’s sad—you and your father—breadwinners. Three months have come and three months have gone since your father and said our goodbyes before he departed on the ship.
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Edd
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| Joined: | Sat Jun 10th, 2006 |
| Location: | Denver, Colorado USA |
| Posts: | 906 |
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Posted: Sat Mar 8th, 2008 06:37 pm |
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I have my own style which has served me well for many years. I use the Samuel French "published style" which they had no objection to when publishing my work. It is exampled by every play posted on my website. But, to be a safe soldier, stick to the style suggested by these links.
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/eng/howtoformatastageplay
http://chdramaworkshop.homestead.com/FormatStagePlay.html
http://www.chameleontheatre.org/newplay/playformatting.html
Last edited on Sat Mar 8th, 2008 07:20 pm by Edd
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carlblong
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| Joined: | Sun Feb 11th, 2007 |
| Location: | Manassas, VA, USA |
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Posted: Mon Mar 10th, 2008 12:53 am |
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#1. I have never used (more). And I wait until everything is done to insert the (cont.) at the top of appropriate pages. That doesn't make revising any easier, but I usually wait until I'm otherwise ready to send the piece off or give it to people (hard copy) to read.
#2. Yes.
#3. Depends. What I've done is, if the stage direction relates to the speaker, include it (single spaced) between lines of dialogue (sometimes in the middle of sentences). In these cases, I don't repeat the character's name.
If the direction is for another character, I add a space before the stage direction line, and another afterward, then repeat the speaking character's name. All in all, I don't think there's a hard-fast rule about that. Do what feels comfortable.
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katoagogo
Member
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Posted: Mon Mar 10th, 2008 03:39 am |
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I say volunteer to read plays for a literary office near you.
You'll see lots of plays -- lots of formats -- and see what works best for telling the story.
There are many options.
The way the play looks on the page is up to you and can be used to serve your intent.
But it's also good to know what is considered standard for each of the forms. Follow the links that have been posted by folks and read guidelines. The standard format is a god place to start.
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