THE STANDARD STAGE PLAY FORMAT - Guide to professional script formatting

Sep 11, 2026

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Guide to professional stage play script formatting, explaining why playwrights use a standardized layout for predictable running time and easier comprehension. The document specifies physical page requirements (8.5” x 11” one-sided white paper, black ink, Courier 12-point font) and details the complete structure from the title page and cast list to the main text pages. It covers margin settings, typography conventions, and page numbering rules to support consistent submission presentation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPaper Templates

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time6 min

AccessFree to download

THE STANDARD STAGE PLAY FORMAT

THE VERY BASICS

THE TITLE PAGE

DRAMATIS PERSONAE PAGE (The “cast of characters” page)

MAIN TEXT PAGES

PAGE NUMBERING

ACT AND SCENE DESIGNATIONS

SETTING DESCRIPTIONS

1 THE STANDARD STAGE PLAY FORMAT What follows is a guide to “professional” stage play script formatting. These pages are an explanation of the standard stage play format. See the Example Pages for visual examples of the format. There are three reasons why playwrights use this format: 1) In this format, it is easy for a producer/script reader to estimate how long the running time of the script will be. The accepted format lays out the script at roughly one minute per page. 2) This standard format is optimized to make all the separate elements of the script easy to read and comprehend (character names, dialogue, stage directions, page numbering, etc.). 3) This standard format immediately tells a producer/script reader that the playwright knows something about submitting plays.“How good could the play be if the playwright doesn’t even know the basics of formatting?” they will ask. Unfair, yes... but the way your script looks is the first impression you make. 2 THE VERY BASICS Use 8.5” x 11” white paper typed or printed on one side only, using black ink. Standard copier paper is acceptable. Font: Courier 12 point. No exceptions. (You’ll quickly discover that standard play formatting is stubbornly rooted in the days of the typewriter.) 3 THE TITLE PAGE Top Margin: 3.5 inches Left Margin 4 inches Right Margin: 1 inch Bottom Margin: 1 inch The play’s title is printed in ALL CAPS (4 inches from the left side of the page, 3.5 inches from the left.) Two spaces below the title is an underscore line, which runs the exact spacing length of the title. (Like the title, the underscore line begins 4 inches from the left side of the page.) Two spaces below the underscore line is a description line such as “A Play in Two Acts”. Note the capitalization here. Two spaces below the description line is the word “by” --not capitalized. Two spaces below the byline is the playwright’s name. If the play’s copyright has been registered, put this information in the lower left hand corner of the page, at the left margin. Put your contact information (minus your name--that’s already on the page) in the lower right hand corner of the page. The title page is not numbered. See the title page example to see how this all comes together. 4 DRAMATIS PERSONAE PAGE (The “cast of characters” page) The Dramatis Personae page comes directly after the title page. This page is not numbered. Top Margin: 1 inch Left Margin: 1.5 inches Right Margin: 1 inch Bottom margin: 1 inch One the top of the page, the words “Cast of Characters”(note capitalization) are centered and underlined. Two spaces below the “Cast of Characters” line, you’ll enter the first name in your list of the character names. The character names line up on the left margin, are underlined and followed by a colon. To the right of each character’s name, at a tab setting of your choice, comes a brief description of the character. Two spaces below the character description comes the name of the next character, in the left margin, underlined and followed by a colon... etc. See the example of the Dramatis Personae page if you’re confused. If there’s enough room, put the Scene and Time descriptions for the play somewhere below the character list (your choice). Center the word “Scene” --capitalized--and underline it, and two spaces below it write the scene or place where your play takes place at the left margin. (Such as “A college dormitory overlooking a parking lot.”) Two spaces below this, center the word “Time” --capitalized--and underline it. Two spaces below it write the scene or place where your play takes place at the left margin.(Such as “The present.”) If there is no room for a description of Scene and Time on the Dramatis Personae page, put it on a separate page following this one. 5 MAIN TEXT PAGES Top Margin: 1 inch Left Margin: 1.5 inches Right Margin: 1 inch Bottom margin: 1 inch There are seven basic formatting e

FAQs

What are the required paper and font settings for standard stage play formatting?

Use 8.5” x 11” white paper typed or printed on one side only with black ink. Use Courier 12 point with no exceptions.

How should the title page be laid out and formatted?

Set the top, left, right, and bottom margins as specified, print the play’s title in ALL CAPS, include an underscore line matching the title’s spacing, then add a description line (e.g., “A Play in Two Acts”), the word “by” (not capitalized), and the playwright’s name.

How does page numbering work across acts and scenes?

Title page and cast page are not numbered; the first scene page starts numbering. Use Arabic numerals for one-act plays, and for multiple acts use Roman numeral act plus dash plus Arabic page number (and include an Arabic scene number when applicable). Page numbers continue consecutively through the whole script.

Sep 11, 2026

Upload by James