This is a brief instructional on how to properly write and structure a stage play. In this instructional I intend to list and explain the pre-writing stage of play writing, writing the play and post script writing process.

Pre-Writing

Most plays start with an idea or story that has a particular view of a particular event or situation.

1. The first step in Pre-Script Writing is:

· Brain Storming- It is important to know what you want to write about before you write it. Write a list of ideas you are very passionate about and choose which one would best fit to make an interesting play. This should help lead you to your premise.

· Premise- Most great playwrights start with a premise. Some point that is made evident throughout the play. For example: the premise of the play Oedipus Rex is “Man cannot escape his destiny.” This point is what drives the play from beginning to end.

· The Story- Now it is time to develop a story. Using your theme and premise think about a story, which involves a central character that has a specific goal. This main character must encounter a problem, something preventing this character from achieving this goal. That is creates conflict, which is essential for a play to be interesting to an audience.

2. Now that you have your theme, your premise that drives your play and your general story, it is time to start writing. The first thing you must understand about plays is that most of them follow a general structure, which we call Dramatic Structure. In dramatic structure a story is divided up into five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. Following this dramatic structure, you should be able to effectively write you first draft. The first step of dramatic structure is:

· Exposition- Is also known as back-story. When writing the first few scenes of you play you should include exposition in the lines or actions of your characters. This is important to a play because it tells the audience who your characters are, what they believe, what they stand for, why they are the way they are. You should not assume that you audience would figure it out. Exposition must be included throughout you script for an audience to understand who your characters are.

· Rising Action- Most times this refers to the introduction of the initial conflict. Your character must battle obstacles that try to prevent the main character from reaching his/her goal. Wither it be a villain who tries to physically stop your character or an internal conflict that hinders your character’s ability to focus on achieving his/her goal.

· Climax- Also known as the turning point, the climax is essential for plays to capture the audience in your story. This is when your hero and villain duel it out. The final battle for where your character confronts what ever is stopping him/her to reach their goal.

· Falling Action- In this short time is when the conflict is finally settled. When the outcome of the conflict is made clear. Does your character triumph over evil or does he or she fall in to the darkness himself or herself? This question is answered during the plays falling action.

· Denouement- Also known as the resolution, is when the play ends on it’s main point. This is when your premise is made clear and the story explains and reflects the premise that you came up with in the beginning.

3. Now you have completed your first draft, congratulations! But you work is far from over. There some steps you must take to ensure you play are ready for the stage. The first step is:

· Workshop Your Play- The goal of workshopping your play is to get an honest opinion and criticism about your play before you get booed of a stage. You can workshop your plays in many ways. You can print a few copy for your friends to read and let you know what they think. You can ask some actors to participate in a stage reading, which involves a small audience to come and hear actors to read your script aloud dramatically. This can also involve producing your play on the stage and having a “talk-back” which allows the audience to talk directly to you after your play about their thoughts and opinions.

· Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite!- After receiving tons upon tons of thoughts and ideas about how to make your play better, it’s time to get back in front of your computer and rewrite. Take all of the information you’ve gathered (that you agree with) and make the necessary changes to complete your script.