Writing For Theatre

Useful tips I gained from an OU Course in writing Plays.


One of the imperatives of writing for stage is structure. Progression from point A to point B, and can happen with a character. Often with situations, situations change from the beginning to the end and it is important to identify this within this structure.  To write for the theatre is to write poetry. Refine, refine, refine. Present something in it's leanest possible form as there are more constraints in writing for theatre than television/ screenwriting.
Decide the time frame early on. How short a time can I place this in? 24 hours, 6 months or 6 years? Time is useful in creating tension. Time can also help you to structure your play. You could form the play around time or people could be running against time, or time can be used to push the plot or story on. Time progression.
Good dialogue is primarily the purveyor of character. Once you know the play and your characters  in it, you should be able to cover up their names  in the left hand column and still be able to identify them by the rhythm of  their speech.
Don't ever put a character in a play without a function, make sure that they have something to add to the plot. The acid test is if you can actually cut one of the characters out of your play and nothing is lost except a bit of dialogue, then you have obviously written a redundant character. The dialogue comes once you have identified the characters. The characters come as a result of the situation, theme, or the motif that you wish to pursue in your play.




Make basic notes for your play.
. Subject of the play
. Write notes about each character
. Write about the setting
. A treatment of the play- a synopsis of each scene. It helps to know the ingredients of each scene.
. Who's in it?-when they come in, when they go out, and what they take with them or bring on with them and what happens.


EVERYBODY IN THE PLAY WILL HAVE TO HAVE A JOURNEY, INCLUDING THE AUDIENCE.