THE STANDARD STAGE PLAY FORMAT Gordon （戈登舞台剧的标准格式）.pdf

1 THE STANDARD STAGE PLAY FORMAT What follows is a guide to “professional” stage play script formatting. These pages are an explanation of the standard stage play format. See the Example Pages for visual examples of the format. There are three reasons why playwrights use this format: 1) In this format, it is easy for a producer/script reader to estimate how long the running time of the script will be. The accepted format lays out the script at roughly one minute per page. 2) This standard format is optimized to make all the separate elements of the script easy to read and comprehend (character names, dialogue, stage directions, page numbering, etc.). 3) This standard format immediately tells a producer/script reader that the playwright knows something about submitting plays. “How good could the play be if the playwright doesn’t even know the basics of formatting?” they will ask. Unfair, yes... but the way your script looks is the first impression you make. 2 THE VERY BASICS Use 8.5” x 11” white paper typed or printed on one side only, using black ink. Standard copier paper is acceptable. Font: Courier 12 point. No exceptions. (You’ll quickly discover that standard play formatting is stubbornly rooted in the days of the typewriter.) 3 THE TITLE PAGE Top Margin: 3.5 inches Left Margin 4 inches Right Margin: 1 inch Bottom Margin: 1 inch The play’s title is printed in ALL CAPS (4 inches from the left side of the page, 3.5 inches from the left.) Two spaces below the title is an underscore line, which runs the exact spacing leng