If you are asking what does playwriting format require, the short answer is this: consistent character cues centered on the page, stage directions in a specific style, clean dialogue blocks, and act/scene headings that orient the reader instantly. Unlike prose, a play script is a production document, and every formatting choice communicates something to a director, stage manager, or actor before rehearsal begins.
The longer answer involves a handful of concrete rules that most theaters, agents, and competitions expect you to follow. None of them are arbitrary. Each convention evolved to make a script readable at speed, reproducible in the rehearsal room, and stageable without guesswork. Get them right and your work looks professional. Get them wrong and readers start wondering whether you know the form at all.
The Basic Page Setup
Most playwriting format calls for a standard 8.5 x 11 inch page with one-inch margins on all sides, set in a 12-point Courier or Times New Roman font. Courier remains the industry default because its monospaced characters make page count a rough proxy for running time. A well-formatted play typically runs about one to one and a half minutes per page, though that varies with how much stage direction you include.
Page numbers go in the upper right corner. Your title page should list the play's title, your name, your contact information, and the draft date. Keep the title page clean. Nothing else belongs there.
Act and Scene Headings
Acts are labeled ACT ONE, ACT TWO, and so on, centered and in all caps. Scenes follow immediately below: SCENE 1, also centered and all caps. Both headings typically stand alone on a line, separated from what follows by a blank line. Some playwrights underline these headings; others bold them. Either is acceptable as long as you are consistent throughout the script.
One-act plays skip act headings entirely and open directly with scene or setting information. If your play is a single unbroken piece with no scene divisions, you can go straight into your setting description after the title page.
Setting Descriptions and Stage Directions
The setting description opens each act or scene. It tells the reader where the action takes place, roughly what the space looks like, and what time of day or period is implied. Keep it functional. A sentence or two is almost always enough. You are not writing a novel; the designer will interpret the space. Over-describing it suggests you do not trust your collaborators.
Ongoing stage directions, meaning instructions embedded in the script as the action unfolds, are formatted differently depending on the tradition you are working in. The most common American approach places them in parentheses and italics within the dialogue block for small physical actions, and in a full left-aligned block, also italicized, for larger movements or scene descriptions. Either way, stage directions should be purposeful. If the action is implied by the dialogue, cut the direction. Actors and directors resent being told what the words already say.
Character Cues and Dialogue
The character cue, the character's name before they speak, is centered on the page and written in all caps: MARGARET, THE BOY, VOICE OFFSTAGE. It sits on its own line directly above the dialogue. No period follows it.
Dialogue runs beneath the character cue, usually indented about 1.5 inches from each margin so it occupies a narrower column than the stage directions. This visual separation is important: it lets a reader or stage manager skim the script and instantly distinguish who is speaking from what the stage is doing.
Parenthetical acting directions, when you absolutely need them, go on their own line between the character cue and the dialogue, or within the dialogue block in parentheses and lowercase: (quietly), (turning away). Use them sparingly. Overloading a script with parentheticals is a red flag in playwriting the same way it is in screenwriting.
How Playwriting Format Differs from Screenplay Format
Writers who move between film and theater often trip on the differences. In a screenplay, scene headings are called slug lines and specify interior or exterior, location, and time of day in a rigid formula. Playwriting has no equivalent rule for slug lines, partly because theater does not cut between locations the way film does.
Dialogue column width, character cue placement, and stage direction style also differ. Screenplay format places character names further right on the page and is enforced almost universally by software like Final Draft or Highland. Playwriting format is somewhat less standardized across software, which is why understanding the underlying rules matters more than just hitting a template button. If you want a deeper look at how scene headings work in the screenplay world for comparison, the screenplay scene heading explained post covers those conventions in detail.
If you are working on a play with a large cast, the challenge of writing ensemble scenes cleanly, keeping each character's voice distinct and the page readable, is its own craft problem. The principles in ensemble dialogue writing best practices apply to theater just as much as film.
Software and Templates
You can write a play in any word processor if you set up the styles correctly. Microsoft Word and Google Docs both allow you to define paragraph styles for character cues, dialogue, and stage directions, then assign keyboard shortcuts to each. Once set up, this is fast. The disadvantage is that you are maintaining the template yourself.
Dedicated playwriting software exists, including Fade In (which handles both plays and screenplays), Scrivener with a play template, and WriterDuet. Each has slightly different default formatting, so check what your target theater or competition specifies before you submit.
If your play is also being considered for production as a film or audio drama, or if you want professional structural feedback as you draft, Better Draft offers margin notes, structure analysis, and honest script coverage that works across formats. It never writes the script for you; it helps you see what your draft is actually doing so you can make it better.
Submission Requirements Vary: Always Check
Regional theaters, Broadway development programs, and playwriting competitions each publish their own submission guidelines. Some want PDF; others want Word documents. Some require a specific font size or margin width that departs from the standard. A handful of competitions are blind submissions and ask you to remove your name from every page except the title page.
Read those guidelines before you format the final draft. Formatting errors in submissions are rarely fatal if the writing is strong, but they signal carelessness. Competitions with large submission volumes sometimes use formatting compliance as an early filter. Do not give them a reason to stop reading.
When you are ready to take your play from draft to something submission-ready, Better Draft's plans starting at $16 a month include table reads with AI voices, which let you hear your dialogue before a live reading reveals problems, along with structural notes that catch act-level issues early. A free tier is also available, though the free trial does require a card.
FAQ
Does playwriting format have to be in Courier font?
Courier is the most widely accepted font and the safest default, but many theaters and competitions accept Times New Roman or other readable 12-point fonts. Check submission guidelines. When no preference is stated, Courier is the professional choice.
How do I format a monologue within a play?
A monologue follows exactly the same format as any other dialogue block: character cue centered in all caps, then the speech below in the standard dialogue column. If the monologue is long, stage directions can appear within it as parenthetical lines. Do not indent the monologue differently or break it into separate character cues unless another character genuinely interrupts.
What is the correct way to show overlapping dialogue in playwriting?
A common convention is to mark the overlapping word or phrase with a slash (/) in the speaking character's line and begin the interrupting character's line with the same slash. Some playwrights use brackets instead. Either works as long as you include a note at the start of the script explaining the convention you have chosen.
Should stage directions be written in present or past tense?
Present tense is standard in contemporary playwriting and in screenwriting. Write what is happening now as the audience sees it, not what happened or will happen. Past tense in stage directions reads as a narrative habit carried over from fiction and tends to slow down the professional reader.