A theatrical script Is a text that contains the dialogues and the technical details that are needed in the assembly and realization of a play. It is a booklet addressed to all who participate in the work, to guide them in the performance of their duties.
In this format the author narrates and describes the conversations, expressions, costumes and events that will be developed in the story that is intended to adapt to the theater, following an order or internal structure divided into: principle, knot and denouement.
A theatrical script must fulfill the following functions:
-To serve as a guide for the actors to know the respective dialogues.
-Support the members of the work, so that they know the guidelines of the assembly.
-Inform each one about their functions and responsibilities.
- Communicate to the group about the activities and the moment in which they will take place during the staging.
What are the types of theatrical scripts and what features do they have?
In order to present the set of necessary guidelines in the staging of the story, the author must elaborate 2 types of script: the literary and the technical.
- Literary script : Present in an orderly manner the theme of the story, the dialogues of each character and the action they must perform during their performance.
- Technical script : Contains the texts, quotations or comments for the technical staff, including: directors, costumers, makeup artists, sound artists, set designers and others responsible for the performance and staging of the theatrical work.
characteristics
- They are guides to support all the members of a play in their performance.
-Contains the Dialogues or parliaments Which correspond to each author to represent his character.
-Specific technical details Related to the scenery, costumes, lighting, etc.
- Presentation Dimensions Or comments that the author makes for the actors to perform when they are on the scene. Such as movements when entering, when leaving, some gestures, certain expressions, tones of voice, etc. Written in parentheses ().
Parts
Generally a script should contain the synopsis or summary of the plot, the number of characters and their characteristics, sequences or scenes, dialogues and technical indications.
According to the type of work this format can vary, however, the basic parts of a theatrical script are:
1-Synopsis : It is the extract or summary of the most important in history.
2-Actos : They are the main parts in which the play is divided. Each act is formed by scenes, which are presented following an order with history:
3-Presentation : The characters are revealed and the situation in which the story unfolds.
4-Knot : It is the moment during which the plot of the story unfolds, the problems are raised and it is possible to understand what was presented at the beginning.
5-Outcome : It is the moment in which the situations that developed in the knot are clarified, the problems are solved and the end of the work is reached.
6-Scene: The narrative of the work is presented through the scenes, which contain the dialogues and the dimensions for the development of history. They are the nucleus of the work, marked by the entrance and exit of the actors or by change of scenographies.
7-Characters: They are the different roles that the actors must play. The script identifies each character to which the dialogue corresponds and its dimensions.
8-Dimensions : They are the indications about the entrances and exits of the characters, their gestures, expressions, as well as the changes of scenery, that is to say, where the actions are developed, as well as any indications for the setting of the work.
9-Parliaments: They are the words that must say each character, are the dialogues that must be said and presented by the characters.
10-Table : It is the framework of the act where the same decoration is observed, although the characters change, the scenery is presented: lighting, costumes, sounds.
How to elaborate a theatrical script?
1-Select the story, ie choose the idea for the realization of the script.
2-Write the synopsis, summarizing the most important aspects of the story.
3-Imagine the scenes, think the development of the plot through the images.
4-Describe the scenes, ordering the narration and presenting the sequences of the work.
5-Select the characters and write the dialogues, which should represent the actors.
6-Note all the technical aspects, referring to the scenography, sounds, lighting, makeup, clothing or any detail necessary for the staging of the work.
7-Read the script several times to verify that everything is clear and matches the story you selected.
Theatrical script example
THE PROOF OF LOVE
Act I
Scene I: School, central courtyard
Maria, Antonieta and Patricia are 2nd grade students and are in the central courtyard of the school taking their recess, dressed in their uniforms.
Maria - (sad) You know girls, I have something to tell you!
Antoinette - (looks at her face) What's up, my friend?
Isabel - (worried) You're scaring me, I said fast, what's the matter?
Maria - (with a timid voice) Is that my boyfriend, Manuel, do you remember? ,
Antoinette, Isabel - (they both look at her face and stand up) Of course we know who she is! But what's up, my friend?
Maria - (with tears in her eyes) It is that my boyfriend, Manuel, wants a test of love.
Isabel - (astonished) what is wrong with her? She went crazy!
Antoinette - (looks at her in amazement) and what kind of proof do you need?
At that, the buzzer rings that announces that the break ends and must enter the hall.
Scene II: Classroom
Teacher - (walking in the classroom) Good morning guys, today we will talk about dating and relationships. Who has a boyfriend or girlfriend?
Several students raise their hands, but Maria.
Isabel - (with a little doubt, raise her hand) I have a boyfriend, teacher, and he is asking for a test of love. What should I do?
Maria and Antonieta look at her with anguish and make gestures of complaint.
Teacher - (walking through the classroom, she approaches Isabel) and what do you think is a proof of love?
Antonieta - (with a shy smile) Good teacher, you know, having sex.
Teacher - (he approaches Maria) the proof of love should be given by your boyfriend to you, respecting and caring for them!
Teacher - (walking through the room is addressed to all) That if it is a proof of the purest and true love and if you insist, you do not deserve it, because it does not value you.
Isabel, María and Antonieta - (The friends look each other in the face and shake their heads in a negative way) no, no, no, it does not deserve me!
Characters: Isabel, María, Antonieta, Professor.
References
- Gómez G., M. (1997). Dictionary of Theater, [Links]
- Recognition of the elements of the theatrical script. Recovered from: mineducacion.gov.co
- Screenplays of plays. Recopposed from: tramody.com
- Script. Recovered from: udlap.mx
- Vanoye, F. (1996) Model scripts and script models: Classic and modern arguments in the cinema . Barcelona, Grupo Planeta.