Little Things

Five years ago when I began readings play submissions I was surprised to find how many writers don’t follow standard formatting. Being a playwright myself and having studied the craft in school, I guess initially I assumed everyone who would submit a script to a theatre would know the basics. 

I should point out that I adore playwrights and I truly find joy in discovering new works worth producing. When I find those scripts, I don't just fight for them at my theatre - I keep fighting for them. I directed a play 2-3 years ago which I still tell everyone I can about to try to get others to produce it. When I was a Literary Manager my absolute favorite though, was establishing a relationship with the playwrights whose plays we produced - and I still love this. In fact tomorrow I'll be meeting the playwright of the play I'm currently acting in and I'm so giddy with delight I can't sleep.

 Our theatre receives hundreds of plays every year. It takes a heck of a lot of manpower just to read them all. So at my day job, I spend my lunch breaks reading submissions. Today, I picked up a play which began with an utter nonsense synopsis. I was discussing it with a friend who is also a playwright, she casually mentioned that someone should write down all these little nuisances for aspiring playwrights. So here goes – this is what I’ve learned:

•   For the love of God, please use page numbers. I don’t care where they are, just use them. Without them you make the job of any Director, Stage Manager, Actor, etc. trying to use your play far more difficult.
• Consider that people will be walking around reading your script – in other words, the spacing should not be formatted like a term paper. Give your words some breathing room. 
• FONT – don’t use anything smaller than 11pt, or anything bigger than 14pt. Use a simple, standard font. The person reading an electronic copy may not have the wonky font you think is “cool”. If your font is too fussy, I’ll think you’re trying to compensate for something lacking in the story and the actors won’t be able to read it as readily.
• The Title page (YES you NEED to have one) should include: the title, perhaps the type of play (drama, comedy, etc.) and how many acts, your name, your email, your physical address, possibly your phone number – nothing more, nothing less. 
•  The Cast of Characters (YES you NEED to have one) should list all characters, their age range, gender, race (if a specific race is required), and if necessary a BRIEF description of each.  This page helps theatres understand how many actors will be required and if your play will fit with their talent pool. 
•  Synopsis – Include one or don’t, but please keep it brief. No more than half a page max.
• If possible, when submitting a play go to the theatre’s website. Get a feel for what they produce, there’s no point in submitting a musical to a theatre that doesn’t produce musicals (or vice versa).
• When writing your characters consider casting. Is it really necessary to refer to a character specifically as tall, blonde, fat, busty, etc.? If it’s not important to the story don’t include these details because they will limit who the theatre can cast and in some cases may make your work more difficult to produce.
• Likewise, consider actions – requiring a character to change clothing in 1-2 pages can be very difficult, requiring a change in less time, practically impossible. Requiring a character to change hair or makeup is even more difficult. If something must be damaged, cut or destroyed will it be costly or difficult to accomplish this night after night?
• Children and teens are hard to find and take more effort to direct. They can be a deterrent to electing to produce a script.
• What scenic changes do you require? If you require only one set, that’s an asset for any theatre! Mention it on the same page as your Cast of Characters. If you require lots of changes, recognize you may be limiting which theatres have the resources to produce your work.
• Consider how an audience will perceive actions performed, for example: audiences can be scared by knives, so don’t use them if your intention is not to display erratic or dangerous behavior.
• When in doubt, trust your audience. They are intelligent. Don’t talk down to them or you’ll lose them.
• Do your research. If your play requires a character to speak to high-level math, science or in general to be an expert, make sure you understand what they’re saying and that they in fact sound like an expert. Otherwise you run the risk of having an actual expert in that field come to your show and hate it because of its inaccuracies. It happens more than you’d think.
• PROOFREAD. Then proofread it again. If possible, have someone else check it for errors too.  A spelling error can cause confusion, as can a missing or extra word, or other inaccuracies.
• If you must include nudity or sex (especially rape or incest) make sure it’s truly necessary to the story. 
• Don’t include more stage directions than necessary.
• Unless it is important to the story do not do the job of the scenic designer, casting director, director, or costume designer for them.  The less specific you are, the more creativity you will be able to inspire to make each production different and exciting.
•   Do not use a song you do not have permission to use - in fact do not use any copyrighted material without being certain you have permission to use it or the theatre will not legally be able to produce your play. (Think about it - would you want some random person quoting your play in a production without permission?)
• Just as with casting, consider any props or set pieces you describe in the dialogue. Unless, it is truly pertinent to the story, don’t describe that radio as being mint green since the theatre will then be forced to locate (or make) an item to meet your exact specifications.
• Get your audience's attention quickly. You only have a few pages to grab them, you don't have to make them ridiculously dramatic, just make sure something is happening to keep them interested in seeing what will unfold.

Remember that those theatres who perform new works receive an obscene amount of scripts every year. Yours should stand out because of the story and the characters, not the flaws.