‘The man deals a deck of cards’ or ‘Katy enters the room’ are examples of stage directions. They describe the movements of the characters in the scene. Furthermore, setting description such as ‘the morning sunlight fills the room’ is also an example of stage direction.

Stage directions are instructions in the script of a play that tell actors how to enter, where to stand, when to move, and so on. Stage directions can also include instructions about lighting, scenery, and sound effects, but their main purpose is to guide actors through their movements onstage.

Stage directions are the playwright’s chance to shape physical and emotional space through effective blocking. That said, directors and actors don’t have to be faithful to stage directions if they think a different interpretation would be more effective.

Stage Directions: Information in the script of a play that instructs the director, the actors, and others involved with the production (including musicians and stagehands who generate special effects) on gestures, sound effects, emotional responses of characters, the geographical location of a scene, the moment when a …

Type stage directions in italics. Speaker names within stage directions should be typed in SMALL CAPS (not italic). Type speaker names in FULL CAPITAL letters, flush to the left margin (not centered). After the speaker name, type one tab and then begin the dialogue on the same line.

Stage directions include center stage, stage right, stage left, upstage, and downstage. These guide the actors to one of the nine sections of the stage named after the center and four directions. Corners are referred to as up right, down right, up left, and down left.

The most common stage directions just tell the actors where to go on the stage. If you’re standing on the stage, looking at the audience, stage left would be to your left and stage right would be to your right. Going towards the audience is downstage, and walking away from the audience is upstage.

•stage business (noun) acting device, jeu de theatre, stage direction, incidental activity.

noun. an instruction written into the script of a play, indicating stage actions, movements of performers, or production requirements. the art or technique of a stage director.

nine stage positions

The stage directions are written explanations of the time and place of the play as well as instructions about how actors and actresses should speak their lines. A dialogue is the conversation between and among characters in a play.

By specifically stating the characters’ actions, the stage directions develop the characters more than their dialogue alone. For example, the stage directions describing Amanda’s actions and dress exemplify her pretenses and her inability to part with her past.

The door opens and she comes back in, grabs her plant, and goes out for the last time. What do you learn from the stage directions in this passage that you DON’T learn from the dialogue? Mama wants to hide her emotions as she leaves her apartment.

There are seven basic formatting elements that make up the text pages of a properly formatted playscript. These are Page Numbering, Act/Scene designations, the Setting description, Blackout/Curtain/End designations, Character Names, Dialogue, and Stage Directions.

The 6 Aristotelean elements are plot, character, thought, diction, spectacle, and song.

How to write a play

1. Create an interesting plot. If you don’t have a plot, you don’t have a play.
2. Add an appropriate subplot.
3. Decide on your structure.
4. Decide how you want it to look.
5. Know your audience.
6. Lay it out correctly.
7. Create interesting characters.
8. Make your characters’ gestures grand.

Requirements of a 10-Minute Play

1. Stick to 10-minutes.
2. Create a story with an arc.
3. Ask a question.
4. Develop your character, conflict, and setting.
5. Skip exposition.
6. Introduce the conflict quickly.
7. Use the play to answer the question you asked.
8. Get creative and take risks.

An audio script (double-spaced, Courier 12-point) is about 250 words. That means that a voice-over script for five minutes would be about 3 pages.

2) A sketch is not a play Make sure the play has some kind of story ‘arc’. “Telling a 10-minute story is what makes a 10-minute play great. Too many writers drag a joke out to the point of torture or attempt to condense an epic emotional journey into the length of two ad breaks.”