Title of Play

By,

Name of author

(Date last edit)

Copyright © YEAR
By Name of Author
*Fun fact: By putting the copyright logo and that phrase above, you do in fact legally own the
copyright to this play. When you’re done with the final draft and you really want it to be official.
All you need to do is print it and then mail the script to yourself. Don’t open it when it arrives. If
someone ever plagiarize your work, the sealed mail with this script inside would be your proof
you would need in court. Now delete this paragraph. You don’t want it on your manuscript.
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Characters

NAME OF FIRST CHARACTER, and then you put the character’s description here.

NAME OF SECOND CHARACTER, and then you put the character’s description here.

NAME OF THIRD CHARACTER, and then you put the character’s description here.

NAME OF FOURTH CHARACTER, and then you put the character’s description here.

NAME OF FIFTH (if you have one) CHARACTER, and then you put the character’s description
here.

Setting

Describe your setting here.

Time

Describe the time period here. It can be as simple as “the present day.”

Notes

If you have special notes or instructions, they go here.

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(Stage directions go here. They almost always begin

with the phrase, “Lights up on…)

FIRST CHARACTER
And now this is where dialogue goes.

SECOND CHARACTER
And more dialogue can go here.

FIRST CHARACTER
(Sarcastically)
If you want a character to say the line in a particular way, you use an adverb in parentheses and
italics before the dialogue begins but after the colon. The shortcut is to click on “Normal text”
then “Heading 3.” This should be used very rarely. Let your actors make decisions on how the
character says lines.

SECOND CHARACTER
Is there a shortcut for putting my character name centered and in all caps?

FIRST CHARACTER
Yes, click on “Normal text,” and then “Heading 2.”

SECOND CHARACTER
Is there a proper font and size I should be using?

FIRST CHARACTER
Yes. It should be Times New Roman, size 12.

SECOND CHARACTER
What if I want a character to get interrupted?

FIRST CHARACTER
Easy, you can use a hyphen which looks like -

SECOND CHARACTER
And then I just start talking!

FIRST CHARACTER
What if I want two or more characters to speak at the same time?
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FIRST and SECOND CHARACTER

Then you just write both of their names with “and” in between them.

(Both characters look at each other quietly for a

moment. Then they high five one another making a
glorious, smile inducing clap.)

FIRST CHARACTER
How do you get the stage directions to be moved into the page like that?

SECOND CHARACTER
Go to the top of your window on Google Docs and click on “Normal text,” then select “Heading
1.” There’s no need to use the tab key if you choose that approach.

(The First Character tries that out. It works!)

FIRST CHARACTER
And how do I end this play?

(The Second Character takes the First Character to

the computer and shows her. Plays almost always
end with the phrase, “Lights out.”)

LEGEND
Dialogue = Normal text
Character Name = Heading 2
Stage directions = Heading 1
Character Direction = Heading 3
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