Playwright Discovery Award Teacher's Guide - The John F. Kennedy ...
Playwright Discovery Award Teacher's Guide - The John F. Kennedy ...
Playwright Discovery Award Teacher's Guide - The John F. Kennedy ...
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ACT IV: PRESENTATION<br />
Sharing Your Work with Others<br />
When writing a play, playwrights follow special formats. Below are descriptions of the various<br />
formats, and on page 57 is an example of a professional dramatic manuscript.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Title Page<br />
<strong>The</strong> title of the play should be centered on the page. <strong>The</strong> playwright’s name, school, teacher’s name,<br />
city, and state, should be placed in the lower right corner.<br />
Cast of Characters Page<br />
This page includes all characters and indicates any double casting that may be required. Characters<br />
are described by age and relationship to other characters on this page as well. Directors and producers<br />
use this information to help them when casting. Pay attention to the margins and formatting.<br />
Cast of Characters:<br />
Alexa: 15<br />
Matt: 15<br />
Suzie: 12<br />
Peter: 13<br />
Lead member of band, and new to town<br />
Alexa’s stand partner, and a popular kid<br />
A friend of Peter’s, and Alexa’s sister<br />
Suzie’s friend<br />
<strong>The</strong> Play Itself<br />
Page numbers are in the upper right corner; character names are centered and in all caps; major scenic<br />
settings and stage directions are indented toward the right margin; minor directions are in parentheses<br />
and appear within the dialogue; there are two spaces between lines of dialogue; the common font is<br />
Arial and the font size is 12.<br />
Celebration<br />
When a reading concludes or the curtain draws to a close, everyone—cast, director, dramaturg, writer,<br />
and audience—should stop and applaud the work. Everyone has worked hard to express themselves<br />
or help others realize their artistic vision on stage. This is difficult work. To find the words to articulate<br />
what’s wanted and then to present them with artistry and integrity takes patience and great effort, and<br />
isn’t easy. So applaud your fellow collaborators! Or applaud in sign language and wave both hands in<br />
the air! Stand up if the work or effort was extraordinary! Shout Bravo if you think applause does not<br />
express how much you enjoyed the work. Celebrate the accomplishments, for everyone deserves to<br />
know how great they did. •<br />
56 ACT IV: PRESENTATION