Play Script Boundaries

[knglerxt]

I just recently became interested in writing plays, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what I can and can't include in a script. I know that a play is more limiting than a screenplay: You're confined to the stage. So, how do you determine what is doable and not doable?

[mammamaia]

that's a big question deserving of a detailed answer... and too much to deal with in just a post...

basically, anything that can be done 'physically' on stage, can be done... but that doesn't mean it should be... therein lies the rub...

i mentor budding playwrights, so if you'd like to get into this in more detail, just drop me a line 'at home' any time, ok?...

love and hugs, maia
[email protected]

[JTBW]

I think you need to know how everything you're writing can be done on stage. So basically as long as you know how something can be reasonably done on stage, you're cool.

Of course you have the consider what type of theater you're writing for. A play like Ave. Q can afford to have elaborate sets and giant puppets. For most playwrights trying to break into the business it's different, their plays should usually be written on a smaller (More affordable and less comlicated to produce) scale with only one or two sets.