✏️ WritingGrade 3Lesson 22
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Write Plays or Short Scripts

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Learning Objectives

  • 1Write a short script using the four standard elements in order
  • 2Open a scene with a stage direction in parentheses that sets the setting
  • 3Format dialogue with the character name in capital letters followed by a colon
  • 4Insert a mid-scene action in parentheses that describes what a character does
  • 5End the scene with an exit stage direction that shows a character leaving
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Mini Lesson

A play is a story told entirely through what characters say and do — there is no narrator to describe what is happening. That means the writer must give the actors everything they need: who speaks, what they say, how they move, and when they leave. That information is organized using a special format called a script.

How a script is different from a story

  • In a story, the narrator describes action and dialogue together in prose.
  • In a script, everything is laid out as instructions for actors. The writer does not describe scenes — they direct them.
  • Readers of a script are imagining a performance, not a page of prose.

The four script elements — in order

  • 1. Stage direction — written in (parentheses) or italics, this tells the actor where to go, how to move, or what the setting is. It is never spoken aloud. Example: (Mia enters the library, looking nervous.)
  • 2. Dialogue — the character's name is written in capital letters, followed by a colon, then what they say. No quotation marks are used in scripts. Example: MIA: I need to find the lost map before sunset.
  • 3. Action — a stage direction placed mid-scene that describes what a character does during or between lines of dialogue. Example: (She pulls a dusty book from the shelf and blows off the cobwebs.)
  • 4. Exit — a stage direction that tells the actor to leave the stage. Example: (Mia tucks the map under her arm and hurries out the door.)

Formatting rules

  • Stage directions and actions are always in (parentheses). They describe — they are never spoken.
  • Character names before dialogue are always in CAPITAL LETTERS followed by a colon.
  • No quotation marks around dialogue in a script — the format itself shows who is speaking.
  • Scripts are read left to right, top to bottom, in the order the action happens on stage.

Making dialogue reveal character

  • In a script, the character's words must carry everything — personality, emotion, urgency — because there is no narrator to explain it.
  • Write dialogue that sounds like how a real person with that character's personality would actually speak.
  • Use short, punchy lines for tension; longer lines for explanation or emotion.
Script format anatomy diagramA labeled diagram showing the four parts of a script in order: stage direction in parentheses at the top, then character name in capitals with a colon followed by dialogue, then an action in parentheses, then an exit in parentheses at the bottom.Script Format1. STAGE DIRECTION (in parentheses)(Mia enters the library, looking nervous.)2. DIALOGUE (name in CAPS + colon)MIA: I must find the map before sunset.3. ACTION (parentheses, mid-scene)(She pulls a dusty book from the shelf.)4. EXIT (stage direction — actor leaves)(Mia tucks the map away and hurries out.)
The four script elements in order — stage direction (blue), dialogue (orange), action (green), exit (gray).
Example short script sceneA short example script featuring two characters, Mia and Leo, showing a stage direction, two lines of dialogue, an action, and an exit, each element labeled.Example Script Scene(Mia enters the library, looking nervous.)DIR.MIA: I need the map — where did Leo put it?DIAL.LEO: It is on the top shelf. Hurry!DIAL.(She climbs the ladder and grabs the map.)ACTIONMIA: Got it. Let us go — before it is too late.DIAL.(Mia tucks the map under her arm and exits.)EXITNo quotation marks in scripts — format shows who speaks.
A short example scene between Mia and Leo — each line labeled by its script element.
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Ask yourself: Does my stage direction tell the actor where to go? Does my dialogue sound like my character? Does the exit clearly end the scene?

Vocabulary
Script
A written text that contains dialogue and stage directions so actors know what to say and doe.g. She read the script carefully before rehearsal.
Stage direction
An instruction in parentheses that tells actors where to move or what the setting ise.g. (Mia enters the library, looking nervous.)
Dialogue
The spoken words of a character, written after the character's name in capital letterse.g. MIA: I must find the map before sunset.
Action
A mid-scene stage direction describing something a character physically doese.g. (She climbs the ladder and grabs the map.)
Exit
A stage direction that tells the actor to leave the stagee.g. (Mia tucks the map away and hurries out.)
Playwright
A person who writes plays — creating characters, dialogue, and stage directionse.g. Shakespeare is the most famous playwright in English.
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