By: Christine Reklaitis
Have a great play that you want to convert into a screenplay? A play that you believe might be well-suited for film? If the play belongs to someone else, whether a friend or a famous professional, ensure you secure all rights before starting the writing process. If you are the sole author, dig in.
Here are some things to consider when converting your play into a screenplay.
1- Differing Scale
Although the classic advice that a play lends itself to a smaller scale, while a movie lends itself to epic tales, more characters, higher concepts, and action-packed sequences is not wrong, this doesn’t mean that you need to expand your two location play to involve a helicopter crash and a car chase. On the contrary, adapting a play is a great way to make a sought-after low-budget film, which is a smart move for a screenwriter. Even with cinematic changes, sticking with as few characters and locations as possible is financially savvy.
It’s also easier to move through space and time in a movie. The magic of film allows an audience to jump locations and days from one moment to the next. This movement allows for more frequent but shorter scenes. Rather than one scene conveying five important story beats to advance the plot, a film can use five quick scenes, each conveying a single, important beat. Moving in and out of scenes also allows for changes in character point-of-views that is more difficult to do in theatre. Lean into the scale and flexibility that film allows!
2 – Altering Formatting
The formatting for a screenplay is different from a play. A stage play will list the cast of characters and give lengthy set design notes before each scene begins. Once the scene starts, the stage direction is usually simple with characters entering and existing. A screenplay jumps right in. We meet characters, who should be capitalized in their first use, during the action lines. The action lines describe the setting and what the characters are doing at the same time. Although the usual structure of both feature scripts and full-length plays will be three acts, the acts and scenes are not labeled in a feature script. The rule of thumb for screenplays is one written page equals about one minute of screen time. If you have a one-act play, converting it into a short film script is a great place to start. Shorts are often easier to make and can help launch careers. For these adaptations, consider entering the Shore Scripts Short Film Fund!
Keep in mind that you will be writing a screenplay, which is different from a shooting script. Although you may be excited about the possibilities of camera angles, racking focus, and tracking shots, anyone reading your draft, including agents, producers, contest readers, directors, actors, and even cinematographers, will not. Leave those details out.
If this is your first screenplay, see more formatting tips here.
3 – Relying on Action
Moving from a play to a screenplay involves much more than changing the format. You will be adapting a piece of writing into a new, visual medium. Whereas a play chiefly relies on dialogue, a screenplay relies on visuals to convey information to the audience and advance the plot. This doesn’t mean that you need to overwrite the details of action within a scene. On the contrary, action paragraphs in your screenplay should be short. But it does mean that you should consider the classic adage: show, don’t tell. What can you show the audience in your screenplay that you told the audience through dialogue in your play? Combing through dialogue to find every possible visual way to convey the same information is key to adapting your play for film.
4 – Allowing for Changes
At the core of both your play and eventual screenplay should be a character who desires something in the beginning, faces problems in the middle, and then eventually discovers what he or she needs in the end. Keep in mind the very basics of storytelling, including the setting, characters, plot, conflict, and theme as you plan for your adaptation. Not all of these necessarily have to remain the same. For example, you could change the setting to a different place or time period. You might use different obstacles to convey the conflict for the main character. The order of events might change in your adaptation. Keep checking in with your theme. Most likely, the heart of the story will remain the same, even as details change.
For example, the climax of your play might be an argument between friends. During the long, heated argument, the main character reveals that he discovered his friend lied to him. They would talk about the past event. In the film version, we could see a few extra scenes leading up to the argument where the main character secretly learns about the deception. By the time we see the argument, we already understand what has happened and what has motivated the main character to act. However, the outcome and what it says about their friendship may remain the same.
Keep in mind that you might simultaneously be both the best and worst person to adapt your own work into a new medium. You know the characters and material inside and out, so you understand the key elements and why you want to tell the story. However, being so close to the material can make it difficult to step outside the box to see fresh possibilities in making changes. You might have to “kill your darlings”, meaning eliminate some of your favorite bits, to make the story work in this new format.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help or check in with an expert. And once you have a draft, Shore Scripts Coverage Service is always available to utilize!
