you will be writing a 2-3 pagesingle scene from a play of your imagination. Recall how a script appears from reading “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail,” and notice how the plot is driven through dialogue and actions of characters rather than a narrating voice in paragraphs. Instead, you will use stage directions in italics within brackets to describe movements on stage by characters, props, lighting, or style of voice, ex. [lights fade to black] or [whispering/yelling].

A scene is a portion of a play that contains a unified action taking place in one setting or place. Usually a scene captures one point in a plot’s development, and it may hint at things that have happened or that may happen later. Thus, good scenes convey a sense of ongoing drama. Make sure the scene can appear in front of a live audience on a physical stage in a theatre.As an example, avoid describing skyscrapers falling, something usually done with CGI, without explaining how this will be done in front of a live audience. Will there be a background projection of skyscrapers falling on a white screen as a smoke machine billows on stage? Also make sure to only write one scene, which takes place in one location. In example, not having characters go from sitting in their living room to driving in a car to a bowling alley. Likewise, if it isa single car scene, how will the “car” appear to drive on stage? A scene can be as simple as two friends on the couch eating pizza and having a conversation, hinting at some event that just occurred at school. 🙂 Draw from your own life experiences if you feel stuck. Your creativity awaits!