From Idea to Opening Night: The Writing and Performing Process – Script Writing and Performance (Senior 6 Literature in English) | Ganzaa

Script Writing and Performance

Lessons

Senior 6 · Literature in English

Script Writing and Performance

5 lessons

Lesson 2 of 5

From Idea to Opening Night: The Writing and Performing Process

25 min

Let's begin

Every performance you have ever enjoyed began as an idea in one person's head and ended as the shared work of many people. Between those two points lies a process with clear stages. Writers and theatre companies all over the world follow some version of it, from professional theatres in Kigali to a school drama club preparing for an inter-school festival. Knowing the stages helps you plan, divide the work and avoid the most common disaster: a brilliant script that is not ready on the night.

Stage A: writing the script

Step	What you do	Example: "The Last Bus"
1. Idea	Find a situation with a conflict in it	A young man leaving home for a chance in the city
2. Premise	One sentence: a character wants something, but something stands in the way	A boy must catch the last bus to an audition, but his grandmother needs him at home
3. Outline	Plan the beginning, the turning point and the end	Waiting; the bus arrives; she lets him go
4. First draft	Write fast, without stopping to perfect it	Dialogue first, then stage directions
5. Read-through	Hear the script read aloud by actors	Lines that sound stiff are marked
6. Revision	Cut, sharpen, add subtext, check layout	A long speech about the grandfather becomes one line: "After twelve years."

Stage B: staging the script

Step	What happens
7. Casting	The director chooses actors through auditions
8. Blocking	The director plans every movement on stage and the actors write it into their scripts
9. Rehearsals	Learning lines, building characters, running scenes again and again
10. Technical rehearsal	Lights, sound, set changes and props are added and timed
11. Dress rehearsal	A full run in costume, exactly as it will be performed
12. Performance	The play meets its audience
13. Evaluation	The company reflects: what worked, what to improve

Definition

premise: the central situation of a story in one sentence: who wants what, and what stands in the way.
read-through: the first reading of a script aloud by the cast, seated.
blocking: the planned positions and movements of actors on stage.
director: the person who shapes the whole production; stage manager: the person who runs rehearsals and performances, calling cues and keeping the prompt book.
prompt book: the master copy of the script with all blocking, cues and notes.
upstage / downstage: away from / towards the audience; stage right / stage left: the actor's right and left when facing the audience.

The map of the stage

The names come from old theatres whose stages sloped down towards the audience, so that walking away from the audience meant walking up. Directions are always given from the actor's point of view, which is why stage right is on the audience's left.

Writing blocking into a script

Actors note their moves in pencil beside their lines, in a shorthand: X means "cross" (move), and the stage areas are abbreviated. Here is the blocking for the end of "The Last Bus":

Line or cue	Blocking note	Meaning
Horn sounds	IRADUKUNDA X DR, looks off R	He crosses downstage right and looks offstage towards the road
"Kigali! Last one!"	IRA. picks up bag, turns to MUK. (C)	He turns back to his grandmother at centre stage
"Beans. Actors must eat too."	MUK. rises, X to IRA., gives bundle	She gets up and crosses to give him the bundle
"Go. Before I change my mind."	IRA. exits DR; MUK. sits C, lights fade to a spot on her	He leaves; she is left alone in a single light

Worked example: a three-week rehearsal plan for a 15-minute play

Week	Monday	Wednesday	Friday
1	Read-through; discuss characters	Block scene 1	Block scene 2; set a date for lines learned
2	Off-book (no scripts) for scene 1	Off-book for scene 2; work on voice	First full run; notes from the director
3	Technical rehearsal: lights, sound, props	Dress rehearsal	Performance; evaluation afterwards

Notice the order: actors put down their scripts before the technical rehearsal, and the dress rehearsal comes at least one day before the performance, so problems can still be fixed.

Tip

Test your premise before you write. If you cannot fill in "[Character] wants [goal], but [obstacle]", you do not yet have a play, only a situation.

Warning

Don't turn your back to the audience when you speak, and don't stand directly in front of another actor ("upstaging" or blocking them).
Stage right is the actor's right. Check it every time you write or read blocking.
Never skip the dress rehearsal. Costumes and props always cause surprises.

"Stage Directions and Blocking" from Homegrown Theatre Camp's Theatre Essentials. Practise the stage areas by walking them as you watch.

✦

Practice

Put these in order: dress rehearsal, read-through, premise, blocking, first draft, technical rehearsal, outline.
Write a premise for a short play about a market day, using the formula in the tip.
An actor at centre stage is told "X UL". Where does she go, and which way does she move from the audience's point of view?
What does a stage manager do?
Explain why stage right is on the audience's left.
In a group of four, choose roles (writer, director, stage manager, actor) and write a two-week plan to stage a five-minute scene.

Show answersHide answers

Premise, outline, first draft, read-through, blocking, technical rehearsal, dress rehearsal.
For example: "A trader wants to sell all her tomatoes before the rain, but a rival sets up beside her and cuts his prices."
Upstage left: away from the audience and to the actor's left, which is to the audience's right.
Runs rehearsals and performances: keeps the prompt book, records blocking, calls lighting and sound cues and makes sure everything is ready.
Directions are given from the actor's point of view, facing the audience, so the actor's right is on the audience's left.
Answers will vary. Check that the stages of the process are in a sensible order.

Sources and credits

Stage diagram, tables, rehearsal plan and practice: Written by Ganzaa.
Video: Stage Directions and Blocking | Theatre Essentials, Homegrown Theatre Camp, embedded from YouTube.

1Stage A: writing the script

2Stage B: staging the script

3The map of the stage

4Writing blocking into a script

Stage A: writing the script

Stage B: staging the script

The map of the stage

Writing blocking into a script