Transcription
If you're going to submit a script to Radius or anyone else for that matter, there are some things that you ought to fix before you send it. People are more likely to take your script seriously if you've already got the basics working, and you'll get feedback on what really matters.
Your script needs to be formatted properly. Check out our published play. The lines of dialogue are indented, stage directions are in italics, and everything's nicely spaced out. Don't complicate it, and don't try to cram too much onto every page. Otherwise, your actors will react like this, and anyone who might want to produce your play, like this.
Your average play is actually quite slim. That's because words take longer to say than they do to read. Anyway, you're writing a play for actors, so let the acting do the talking.
"The thing that has happened has made me feel unnaturally sad. Words can't describe my sadness, but look, let me try to use words to describe it anyway. It's all the sadness of what has happened, distilled into a single, I don't know, a single emotion."
"Yes, I can tell how sad you are from the way that you told me how sad you are, and I empathize with your sadness in a way that is making me feel an emotion also. It is, it is."
Let me use words to try to explain how I feel. When it comes to dialogue, less is definitely more. Plays are about telling stories. Ask yourself whether every scene, every line of dialogue, is contributing to the story you want to tell. And here's the hard part: if it's not, cut it.
If you've got a clearer idea in your head of how you want your play to look, feel, and sound, chances are you're going to be tempted to put all of that information into the stage directions.
"Okay, so Jayne walks across the stage, trying to hide her limp but failing. She stops about two meters beyond the middle of the stage, looking out into the audience. Rests lightly on a hip, her right hand rubs her shoulder as if massaging a tiny ache. Her feet are about 6 inches apart and at the angle of 67 degrees. Her head tilts backwards, and she laughs softly and silently. She then sits on the ornate triggering factory which ought to form part of the set at this point."
Don't limit stage directions to the bare necessities. The best way to see if your play is working is to hear it for yourself. So, get some friends over, get them to read it through, try out some scenes, find out for yourself what's not working before sending it to someone you don't know.
So, do make sure it's clear. Don't write too much. Do focus on the story. Don't tell actors how to act. And do try it out.
You'll find more tips and information about submitting scripts to Radius at radius drama dot org dot uk.
[James smiles at the camera, tilts his head suddenly to the left at an angle of about 67 degrees.]
You'll find more tips and information about submitting scripts to Radius at radius drama.
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You.
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