How To Type A Play Professionally

You have your outline, notes on characters, ideas for plot and incidents. You're ready to start typing your play. Is there a special format for doing so? You bet! But you might be surprised. If you read a lot of plays, the format you see is not necessarily the correct one.

What You Usually See

A lot of plays are printed and published similar to the following:

 MACBETH. Who goeth yon?
 HAMLET. Tis I, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
 MACBETH. (Relieved. Salutes.) What ho, Hammie? Tis I, Macbeth, King of Scotland.
 HAMLET. (Salutes back.)Yo ho, Mac, what beith happening with thon?

The characters' names are aligned to the left (with perhaps a space or two indentation), and the dialogue begins afterward on the same line, with emotional and action cues inserted within. All lines are single spaced. The fonts used are small. More lines can be printed on each page, minimizing publishing costs.

What They Want To See

Publishers, producers, directors, and editors prefer a significantly different format when they read a play for consideration. They are interested in the content. The words on the page need to be clear and readable. I use a 12 point Courier font. Character names are centered on the page in all caps. The speech starts the next line down. Emotional and action cues are on separate lines, indented, and italicized (if possible). There is a double space before the next character's name. (The example below does not use the Courier font.)

JULIET      (Enters.)
Ophelia, you look terrif!

OPHELIA Thanks, Jule. You're looking good, too, girl!
     (Waves.)

For extended action cues, I start about halfway across the page and type on the right side of the page, in italics. Additional examples may be found here and here. You can order manuscript guidelines from Samuel French, 45 W. 25th St., New York City, NY 10010, for $4.00. The format described in this booklet is acceptable industry-wide.

The Title Page

I start on the title page about a third of the way down. I type the title of the play in all caps, centered, and underlined. I double space and then give a brief description of whether it's a comedy, mystery, or drama, and the number of acts. I double space and add the word 'by.' I single space and type my name. Near the bottom of the page, aligned to the right, I put the copyright notice, my name, address, and telephone.

---

. (Several
.  intervening
.  lines)
MY WONDERFUL PLAY

A comedy in two acts

by Dave Brandl . (More
.  intervening
.  lines)

©1998 Dave Brandl

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