Layout and format
The most important thing to remember about a radio drama script is that it is there to help you perform the drama. Therefore, it must be clear and easy to read. Have a look at this example. Can you see any problems?
Hospital Radio Drama
Inside a hospital; it is raining outside. Mary comes in. Mary says, “It is raining outside, can anybody help me with my Grandma: she is in a wheelchair?” A doctor comes over and to help he is worried and asks where the grandma is. Mary answers that the Grandma is outside in the car park getting wet. The doctor is angry and runs outside.
This is not very user-friendly. It is hard to easily see what each performer in the group needs to do. Have a look at the same drama but in a radio drama layout:
Hospital Radio Drama
Scene 1
Sound effect: rain falling then a door opens
Mary: (out of breath and shouting) It is raining outside! Can anybody help me with my Grandma? She is in a wheelchair.
Sound effect: footsteps running
Doctor: (urgently and helpfully) I am Doctor Wong. Where is your Grandma?
Mary: (rudely) She is in the car park. I couldn’t push her anymore because my hair was getting wet!
Doctor: (angrily) You left your grandma in the rain? I’m going to get her.
Sound effect: footsteps moving away and a door opening
End of Scene 1
This script is much easier to follow. It is easy to see what characters say, how they feel and what sound effects are needed. Let’s look at each important part and how to write it.
Character names
You should write the name of the character that is speaking followed by a colon. You can write the name in capitals or bold. It is your choice, but the name should be clear. For example,
Doctor:
Or
DOCTOR:
Acting directions:
After the name of the character, it is helpful to write an acting direction. This tells the performer something about the character and the way they deliver the dialogue. That means, how they say it. Acting directions are usually written in the present continuous tense or using adjectives and adverbs. For example:
Doctor: (breathing quickly, angrily) What did you say?
Doctor: (whispering, politely) What did you say?
Doctor: (speaking loudly, slowly) What did you say?
Here you can see that the acting direction can change the meaning of the dialogue. Acting directions are very important and very useful. They should be written in brackets before the dialogue. You can also add acting directions in the middle of dialogue if you want to show a change. For example:
Doctor: (breathing quickly, angrily) What did you say? (coughing, politely) I mean, sorry, what did you say?
What acting direction would you use for this dialogue?
Doctor: ( ) I have some bad news.
Patient: ( ) Oh no. What is it?
Doctor: ( ) Just joking! Everything is ok. You are fine.
Patient: ( ) Ouch! My chest, my heart! It hurts!
Doctor: ( ) Oh no. Are you okay? ( ) Nurse!
Patient: ( ) Just joking! Everything is ok.
Dialogue
Dialogue you should be written exactly how you want characters to say it. You should use punctuation and check that your English is correct by proofreading your work. You may add in pauses if you wish. A pause is where you wait for a moment before speaking again. For example:
Doctor: (angrily) It is not a good idea to leave a Grandma outside in the rain! (pause) She could get sick!
Remember: pauses should not be long in a radio drama otherwise you will have ‘dead air’. However, they are useful in the middle of dialogue to ensure clarity and show that a character is thinking.
Scene numbers
At the start of each scene include the number of the scene. This is useful for two main reasons:
- It is easy to find a specific scene when practising
- It shows a clear difference in time or place
You may wish to describe where the scene takes place and at what time. However, remember that your audience will not see the script. So be sure to include sound effects or dialogue that help to set that scene. For example:
Scene 2
In a car park in the rain
Sound Effects: rain falling and a car drives past and beeps its horn
Doctor: (shouting, angrily) Hey! Watch where you are driving! You could have killed me!
Other information to include
A script is like a recipe. It contains all the ingredients and instructions for how to perform your radio drama. Before you write scene 1, you should consider including some other information that helps the performers ‘get into character’ and be more organised when preparing and rehearsing.
Cast
The cast is a list of the character names and their performers. You start with the character name and then connect it with one of the following phrases as shown below.
Iron Man played by Robert Downey Jr
Black Widow performed by Scarlett Johansson
Captain America read by Chris Evans
Or like this
Iron Man ……………………… Robert Downey Jr
Black Widow ………………… Scarlett Johansson
Captain America …………… Chris Evans
Or, if you don’t wish to mention the name of the performer, you can just write a list of characters. For example:
- Boss
- Factory Worker 1
- Factory Worker 2
- Safety Officer
Character descriptions
It is useful to consider character descriptions when writing your Radio Drama. These help the actor to understand a little bit about how they might deliver their dialogue. Character descriptions are especially useful when sharing your script with other people if you want their feedback. For example:
- Boss: a short-tempered and moody person who often interrupts people. Usually speaks with a loud voice
- Factory Worker 1: a shy and quiet person who whispers a lot
- Factory Worker 2: an energetic and positive person who seems content no matter what is happening
- Safety Officer: a dull and boring person who speaks slowly and with no passion
These descriptions help a performer ‘get into character’. Notice the way that the description focuses on the voice – a very important part of Radio Drama!
List of sound effects
Sound effects required:
This can help you with your organisation before performing the Radio Drama. You should know who is performing each sound effect. For example:
A door opening…………………. (performed by John)
A parrot squawking…………… (performed by Chris in scene 1 and John in scene 3)
Somebody eating crisps……….. (Margaret)
A monkey howling ……………. (Margaret)
A dog barking……………………. (Megan)
Different colours
When you perform your Radio Drama you want to make sure that you do not miss any cues. You can personalise your script by adding different colours that show what you need to do. Each person in your group will personalise their script differently. Here is a personalised script for the performer of the Doctor:
Scene 1
Sound effect: rain falling then a door opens
Mary: (out of breath and shouting) It is raining outside! Can anybody help me with my Grandma? She is in a wheelchair.
Sound effect: footsteps running
Doctor: (urgently and helpfully) I am Doctor Wong. Where is your Grandma?
Mary: (rudely) She is in the car park. I couldn’t push her anymore, my hair was getting wet!
Doctor: (angrily) You left your grandma in the rain? I’m going to get her.
Notice the way that the sound effects have been highlighted. This is because the person performing the role of the doctor is responsible for making that sound effect!
Aside from highlighting, you can create a script that assigns colours to different group members. For example:
Scene 1
Sound effect: rain falling then a door opens
Mary: (out of breath and shouting) It is raining outside! Can anybody help me with my Grandma? She is in a wheelchair.
Sound effect: footsteps running
Doctor: (urgently and helpfully) I am Doctor Wong. Where is your Grandma?
Mary: (rudely) She is in the car park. I couldn’t push her anymore, my hair was getting wet!
_____________________________
In this example you can see that the green colour shows another member of the group not performing a character in the scene is making the sound effect.
You can also simply use black for all writing and then print a hard copy and highlight that. Try different ways and see what works best for you. Remember, a script is a tool – it helps you! Make sure you have designed it in a way that everybody in your group understands what they need to do.