San José State University Writing Center

www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter
Written by Michael Muszynski

Scriptwriting Format

If you are interested in producing work professionally for the entertainment worlds of theatre and
film, you will need to be familiar with scriptwriting format. Scriptwriting is an ever-changing art,
so while you can experiment with different forms and techniques, it is ultimately necessary for a
script to adhere to drama’s traditional rules and structure. This handout will present basic script
formatting rules for whoever wishes to embark on theatrical journeys analyzing or producing the
written word.

Formatting Basics
This guide will use Google Docs as an example; however, there are many programs online that
possess different settings as well as ones that will produce these settings for you. First thing,
throw out Times New Roman font. For scripts, the standard font is Courier New 12
point. Scriptwriting and play formatting still emulate the days with the typewriter, so while
many of us are unable to get clacking on the good old keys, this font will suffice. Use standard
8.5” x 11” white copy paper printed on one side only, using black ink.

Your Title Page

Your title page provides your basic information as the playwright as well as, of course, the title
of your piece. The title should be in ALL CAPS. It should be written four inches from the left
edge of the page, or if you are using Google Docs, where the number ‘3’ is marked at the top.

[Author’s Note: In the future, when this handout refers to measurements of ‘inches,’ begin
measuring from the edge of the page, not the printing edge, which are the standard one-inch
margins indicated on most writing programs.]

An underscore line, a description line, and the name of the playwright accompany the title. Use
the underscore key to create a horizontal line beneath the title that runs the length of the title.

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The margins of the title should be reproduced as follows: top margin 3.5 inches, left margin 4
inches, right margin 1 inch, and the bottom margin 1 inch.

The title page should not have a page number. You should also include your contact information
in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

MOLLY’S INSOMNIA
________________

A Play in Two Acts

by

Michael Muszynski

221B Baker Street

San Jose, CA 94088
Phone: (555) 555-5555
E-Mail:aplayonwords@gmail.com

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Your Character Roster
Your character roster, or ‘dramatis personae’ page, follows the title page of your play and lists
the cast of characters who make up your story. The character roster should not have a page
number. List the names of your characters, or ambiguous names for unknown characters such as
‘man’ or ‘girl,’ and then include a short descriptor of the character. Include the details that are
most important to keep these brief. Consider including a descriptor for your setting as well as the
time period in which the play takes place. The margins of the dramatis personae page should be
reproduced as follows: top margin 1 inch, left margin 1.5 inches, right margin 1 inch, and the
bottom margin 1 inch.

Cast of Characters

Hildegaard: A woman, early 20s, a destitute

yet distinguished painter.

Lady Else: A girl, late teens, heiress, posh

boarding school student.

Igne von Ingrad: A woman, 30s, alcoholic socialite.

Dr. Festungmeister: A man, late 40s, plague doctor.

Lord Hansel: A boy, early teens, face scarred;

Else’s younger brother.

Inspector Osza: A man, early 30s, slow policeman.

Scene

Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Time

1870, the Eve of the Franco-Prussian War.

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Your Script
Once you complete your script’s title page and dramatis personae page, you can begin to move
on to the body of a script—where the story takes place. The main text pages of a script are
composed of six distinct elements.

Scene Numbers and Page Numbers

The title page and dramatis personae page should not have page numbers. All numbers start on
the first page of the actual story. Use the ‘page numbers’ function in Google Docs, and then edit
them in the headers. Be sure to select the top-right-hand corner of the page.

Page numbers always start with a Roman numeral (I, III, IV), which indicate the ‘Act’ or the part
of your play. The second number will be the scene within the act. The final number is the page
number of the overall script. This notation allows the actors and readers to not only know what
page they are flipping through, but also where they are in the story.
Designations
The beginning of each scene should be indicated by the act number and the scene number; both
items should be four inches from the left or centered and underlined. The act number should be a
Roman numeral.

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Setting Descriptions
Your setting descriptions should appear just underneath the designations. They should be written
in ALL CAPS, and the information should be four inches from the left. SETTING is how the
stage appears overall. AT RISE is what appears when the lights come up, the curtain rises, or the
actors come on stage. AT RISE designates what is happening in a particular scene where
SETTING describes more of the set, or what might be permanent throughout the play or before
the curtain rises.
Character Names
Your character names should appear in ALL CAPS, indented four inches from the left edge of
the page. The next line of the script should either be a line of dialogue or stage directions. A
character name cannot exist on its own without some sort of action for that character. Always
capitalize the characters’ names within stage directions; you can even write them in ALL CAPS
for readers to see them easier.
Dialogue
Dialogue is the only element of playscript which will run the whole length of the page from the
left margin to the right margin. These are the words that your characters actually speak to each
other in the script, so keep them clear and concise. Think about how your character or an actor
would say them out loud.
Stage Directions
Stage directions will be indented 2.5 inches from the left margin of the script. These are the
prompts that describe the actors’ actions on stage to portray the characters. In your story, perhaps
a character shoots a gun, grabs a cup off the table, speaks slowly, runs around the room, or feels
a certain emotion—you use stage directions to describe these details. Stage directions should also
indicate whether or not they happen during or after the delivery of the lines of dialogue. Double
space a line of stage directions that happen after a line of dialogue.

The next two pages present a model that demonstrates what these various components of the
script should look like on the page.

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 I-1-1

ACT I

Scene 1

SETTING: The old, crumbling stone bridge in

the forest on COWARD’s estate. A

faint clicking sound is being

repeated over and over.

AT RISE: FIFER sits on a stone, holding a

pistol, pulling the hammer back

and forth, revealing the sound.

COWARD is pacing nervously behind

him. Until he has had enough.

COWARD

Could you stop that?!

(FIFER stops making the noise. He puts his pistol

away.)

COWARD (cont.)

They should be here. It’s the day of our duel. Why wouldn't they
be here? Why wouldn't he be here?

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 I-1-2

FIFER

(monotone)

I have no idea.

COWARD

(suddenly grovels)

This is horrible, oh, why- how could this happen to me?! I don’t
want to shoot him...I don't want to die...

FIFER

...Some time ago, I read a book about a Japanese warrior,... a

samurai, who would often turn up late to his own duels.

(COWARD sits down next to FIFER, trembling.)

The primary reason he made use of this strategy was that it

forced his opponent to wait and contemplate their own death.

COWARD

(hesitates for a moment, then bewildered)

And that is supposed to comfort me?!

FIFER

(rolls his eyes)

No, I just thought it was interesting.

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Conclusion
Whether you study scripts in class or aspire to create your own stories, scriptwriting format is the
invisible way a story that is meant to be seen and heard—not read—is written on the page for an
artistic vision to come to life. Learning the rules and standards of script writing will not only
make you a better storyteller, but a better director, actor, producer, dramaturgist, choreographer,
or cinematographer, who can navigate through the written word for performance. Theatre and
film are collaborative arts that venture far beyond the initial image of the writer. Each page is a
certain length for producers to gauge the amount of time a scene needs to be on stage, and each
snippet of stage directions provides clues for actors to understand the unspoken actions of
characters. The margins, spacing, and repeated character names may feel tedious in the
beginning, but the way writers design scripts ultimately communicates their ideas to their fellow
writers, actors, or directors in a clear way.

Activity 1: Scriptwriting from an Image

For a scriptwriting activity, take this image, the painting “Nighthawks” by Edward Hopper, and
pretend it is a set for the stage or screen. Produce the first page of a play taking place in this
diner. How would you describe the scene? What stage directions would you give to the actors,
the people in the painting? How would you describe their body language for an actor to
reproduce? You could possibly create some dialogue for the people in the scene who are talking
to one another. This is a creative exercise, so there are no right or wrong answers!

Activity 2: Scriptwriting from Prose

For another scriptwriting activity, take the following scene written in prose, the East Egg dinner
scene from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and rewrite it into a scene with stage
directions and dialogue. There are four characters in the scene: Tom (the dinner host), Nick (the
guest and narrator), Daisy (Tom’s wife, Nick’s childhood friend), and Jordan (Daisy’s friend).

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How would you portray the stage directions for the actors performing the scene? How would you
write out the dialogue lines for each of the characters?

“You must know Gatsby,” [I said.] “Gatsby?” demanded Daisy. “What Gatsby?” Before I
could reply that he was my neighbor, dinner was announced; wedging his tense arm
imperatively under mine, Tom Buchanan compelled me from the room as though he were
moving a checker to another square. Slenderly, languidly, their hands set lightly on their hips,
the two young women preceded us out onto a rosy-colored porch, open toward the sunset,
where four candles flickered on the table in the diminished wind. “Why CANDLES?” objected
Daisy, frowning. She snapped them out with her fingers. “In two weeks it’ll be the longest day
in the year.” She looked at us all radiantly. “Do you always watch for the longest day of the
year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it.” “We
ought to plan something,” yawned Miss Baker, sitting down at the table as if she were getting
into bed. “All right,” said Daisy. “What’ll we plan?” She turned to me helplessly: “What do
people plan?” Before I could answer her eyes fastened with an awed expression on her little
finger. “Look!” she complained; “I hurt it.” We all looked — the knuckle was black and blue.
“You did it, Tom,” she said accusingly. “I know you didn’t mean to, but you DID do it. That’s
what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen of a ——” “I
hate that word hulking,” objected Tom crossly, “even in kidding.” “Hulking,” insisted Daisy.

Tips for the Activities

1. Tip 1: Remember to leave room for your actors to make their own creative choices!
Specifying every single action in stage directions limits their interpretations of the
character, so cut those actions down to the bare minimum and most important!
2. Tip 2: You can always write out a scene first; don’t let formatting stall your creative
writing process. One technique is writing out the conversation first with notes for
important actions; then go back and format the whole scene with indentations and formal
stage directions.
3. Tip 3: Conversations are much more fluid in our everyday lives, especially when a lot of
emotion is involved. For simultaneous dialogue—when two people are talking over each
other—a common technique to portray that is using ellipses [ … ] in the characters’ lines
to indicate where the interruptions happen.
4. Tip 4: Your use of language from establishing your scenes to the word choices you make
for stage directions can be interpreted in many different ways. Think of when you wish to
be specific or when you wish to be vague.

References
Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner Son’s, 1925.

Hopper, Edward. Nighthawks. 1942, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.

“The Standard Stage Play Format.” Cary Playwrights Forum.

http://www.caryplaywrightsforum.org/wp-
content/uploads/2012/07/CPF_play_formatting2.pdf.

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