core curriculum handout detail

FORMAT GUIDELINES FOR SCRIPT HAND-OUT

TO ACCOMPANY THE: RHYTHM/UPTEMPO ASSIGNMENT

FORMAT GUIDELINES FOR SCRIPT - AN INTRODUCTION

ANMT/NMI has a very detailed document that outlines the Samuel French Broadway format for an integrated script and score. You will want to become familiar with that document - which is available in the GENERAL DOCUMENTS section of the Core Home Page.

In the meantime, for the purposes of this RHYTHM/UPTEMPO scene assignment for bookwriters, please follow the basic format guidelines below.

BOOK

1” margins top, bottom, right, left

Courier (12 point)

Cover page indicates title and authors (traditionally bookwriter first, then composer, then lyricist)

Second page with cast, time, place

New scene begins new page

Initial stage direction of a scene indented 3”; no parentheses on initial stage directions

Subsequent stage directions indented 1” from left and 1” from right

Character names indented 3”

Dialogue flush left

Asides indented 1”, lowercase, in parentheses; asides should not be full sentences. (If they’re full sentences, promote them to full stage directions.)

In stage directions, capitalize character names and pronouns for the party performing an action – not the one having an action performed on them (“GEORGE walks into the room. HE stares at Mrs. Washington.”)

Page numbers - Indicate Act, Scene and page in upper right (2-3-67)

Song title should be the last thing in the script before the lyric page, in a stage direction, bolded. Precede the bolded title with some kind of not-bolded stage direction, even if you have to invent something innocuous like “HE smiles” or “THEY preen.”

no need for copyright notices

final collated script and score copies should be double-sided.

LYRICS

Lyrics in ALL CAPS, indented .5”

B-sections of lyrics indented 1.0”

C-sections of lyrics indented 1.5”

Subsequent sections, continue to increase indent by .5”

Introductory sections indented so they won’t be mistaken for A sections — probably 1.5” or more, depending upon aesthetics.

If a line of lyrics is too wide for margin, apply a .5” hanging indent, so that when it wraps, the remainder of that line is additionally indented.