Writing a play is a bit like planning a live experiment; it’s more than telling a story–it’s creating a living thing, something people will stand inside and embody, speak aloud. It’s even shared with the audience in real-time
It’s not easy writing a play. It can even be intimidating… but it can also be deeply satisfying, especially if you work with young performers. At Gitelman & Good, we read a lot of scripts written for schools and teen actors. The ones that stay with us are rarely the “cleverest” on the page. The best ones are the ones that pop on-stage.
It’s not easy writing a play. It can even be intimidating… but it can also be deeply satisfying, especially if you work with young performers. At Gitelman & Good, we read a lot of scripts written for schools and teen actors. The ones that stay with us are rarely the “cleverest” on the page. The best ones are the ones that pop on-stage.
What makes a play different from other stories
Before you write your first scene, it helps to remember what a play actually is.
A play is not just dialogue typed in script format. It is a set of instructions for a live event. Your words need to do two things at once; it’s an exercise in efficiency. Designers, actors, and directors need to turn them into movement, sound, and light… but they have to read clearly on the page as well.
Two useful truths to keep in mind:
- A play lives in performance. If something cannot be shown, spoken, or implied for a live audience, it is hard to use onstage.
- A play is collaborative, not “your baby.” Don’t even think of your script as a finished product; it’s there as a starting point for an entire team of artists. It’s a springboard for dynamic interpretation, not the final word.
It’s easier to write when you don’t see the play as the final word - it becomes less about finding the perfect words and more about crafting a solid foundation for rehearsals.
8 steps to writing your first play
These aren’t steps you need to follow in a strict order… writing is rarely that tidy! Think of them as stages you will move through, sometimes looping back, as the play takes shape.
Step 1. Choose a situation you can stage
Instead of beginning with a big message, start with a situation that makes you curious, something that makes you say, “I have to see how this turns out.” Two friends locked in overnight at a supermarket. A student on the verge of exposing corruption in their school. A family waiting for news that might change everything.
As you explore that situation, keep the practical side in view, especially if you are writing for a school
- How many actors are you likely to have
- How much time and budget will there be for sets, costumes, and tech
At Gitelman & Good, most of the plays we publish for schools grow from a clear, stageable situation with a manageable number of locations. Beginning this way saves a lot of rewriting later.
Step 2. Decide who the story belongs to
Every play needs a center of gravity. This doesn’t always mean a single protagonist who never leaves the stage, but it usually means one character’s journey gives the story its shape.
Ask yourself
- Who changes the most between the first scene and the last
- Who pays the highest price if things go badly
Once you know whose story this is, you can build pressure around them. Give them something they want and people who either help or get in the way. In many Gitelman & Good plays, the lead character is surrounded by a strong ensemble so the story never feels like a solo show, even when the focus is clear.
Step 3. Find the world and the rules
Now choose where and when your play happens, and what “normal” looks like there. Is it a fairly realistic school hallway, a courtroom in ancient Athens, or a fantasy city guarded by a wall. Decide how heightened or grounded you want the world to feel.
Plays don’t need cinematic realism. It won’t work on the stage. Instead, think about how you can convey your message and meaning as simply as possible.
- What can you suggest with a few set pieces or lighting shifts?
- What absolutely has to be on stage for the story to make sense?
Many Gitelman & Good shows use simple but engaging settings: convenience store, a bowling alley, the alley behind a pizza place, even backstage of The Crucible. Those kinds of worlds are easier for schools to build and they give actors a familiar environment they can transform with their choices.
Step 4. Map the journey scene by scene
Before you dive into dialogue, sketch how the story moves from your opening moment to your final image. You do not need a spreadsheet. You do need a sense of the path.
Decide roughly how long the play should run. Short one-acts often suit festivals or class discussion. Sixty to ninety minute scripts work well for most school evenings. Longer full length pieces need more rehearsal time and audience stamina.
Then, list out your scenes in order. For each one, write one or two sentences
- Where are we and who is present
- What changes by the end of the scene
If nothing changes, the scene will probably feel flat in performance. It doesn’t always have to be a huge twist; think of a new piece of information or a small shift in a relationship, or an irrevocable decision being made.
Step 5. Draft the play as if you already have actors
Once you know your structure, start writing pages. Do not worry about getting everything “right” in this pass. (This is just the first draft of many.) Focus on keeping the story moving and letting your characters speak.
Helpful habits at this stage
- Read your dialogue out loud: if it doesn’t sound right then, it won’t sound right on stage either
- Keep speeches short! Your young actors should be able to say them in one breath without losing meaning
If a character talks a lot without interruption, ask why no one cuts in. Onstage, silence from other people feels like a choice. Use that only when it matters. Otherwise, let conversations ping-pong quickly.
Plays in the Gitelman & Good catalogue often balance fast exchanges with a few carefully placed longer speeches. That rhythm keeps audiences engaged and gives nervous performers achievable challenges instead of overwhelming blocks of text.
Step 6. Add stage directions that invite collaboration
Stage directions are notes that sit between lines of dialogue. They cover entrances, exits, important actions, and sometimes mood or tone.
Good directions do two things
- They protect what the story absolutely needs for clarity or safety
- They leave room for directors and actors to invent staging that suits their space
You do not need to choreograph every step or gesture. Instead, mark the vital beats. A character tears up a letter. A prop breaks. A door that has stayed closed all play finally opens.
When you are writing for schools, think about student designers and stage managers too. Clear notes about sound, lighting shifts, and scene changes make their work much easier; if they create problems instead of solve them, you can bet they’ll be ignored! You can see this in many Gitelman & Good scripts, where scene breaks and technical needs are flagged in ways that respect limited build time.
Step 7. Hear the script read aloud, and listen like a director!
Do a full reading of the draft once it’s ready. Find people willing to read it with you at a drama class, writing group, or even a few friends over a video chat. They don’t need to be actors!
Ask them to read the script straight through without stopping for long explanations. Take notes while you listen
- Where do people laugh, lean in, or react
- Where do people laugh, lean in, or react
Resist the urge to explain what you meant. In fact, speak as little as possible. Your job at this point is to listen. Anything that needs a speech from you probably needs a clearer moment in the script. Table reads are standard practice for professional playwrights. They are just as valuable for a first play in an unused classroom.
Step 8. Polish, format, and share
Your final step is to refine the script so that other people can use it without you in the room. That means another round of cuts and clarifications, plus tidy formatting. It’s common for rewrites, rereads, re-everything to take five, six drafts–or more–over years.
You do not need specialist software. A simple layout can still look professional:
- Put character names in capital letters above their lines
- Ensure your stage directions stand out from dialogue - put them in brackets or italics!
Check your page numbers. Make sure every new scene is clearly headed. Then, save a clean version you can send to readers, festivals, or publishers.
Gitelman & Good receive a lot of school-friendly scripts. Clear formatting and easy to follow pagination do not guarantee acceptance, but they do make it far easier for an editor or teacher to imagine the play in performance.
Writing plays specifically for schools and teen actors
If you are writing with young performers or educators in mind, a few extra choices will help your script feel immediately usable.
Think in terms of ensembles
School directors rarely want a single star with everyone else standing around. They are usually looking for ways to involve more students in meaningful ways. While you may still have a central character, look for chances to create strong, active, unforgettable roles for people around them.
Ensemble friendly choices might include
- Small groups who carry recurring scenes, such as a student council, a bowling team, or a stage crew
- Moments where background characters have clear tasks and lines rather than just filling space
Read through your cast list. If you see a long tail of characters who appear once and never return, consider combining or expanding them so more young actors can feel involved throughout.
Respect real world limits
Great school plays are not “watered down” versions of grown up theatre. They are pieces that understand the context in which they will be made. That context includes timetables, shared spaces, and limited tech.
So while you write
- Favor a small number of flexible locations
- Avoid asking for complex effects that need equipment most schools don’t own
You can see this practicality across the Gitelman & Good catalogue, from simple set dramas to multi-set scripts that give student designers and crew space to flex and have fun.
Be honest and age aware
Teens live with big questions about identity, power, mental health, and digital life. Strong plays for them do not talk down or dodge those realities. At the same time, you are writing for classrooms, families, and communities with different comfort levels.
That balance is easier to strike if you
- Focus on how characters respond to difficult events rather than lingering on harm
- Provide space for reflection and support in the story, especially after intense scenes
Many teachers appreciate scripts that come with a short note about themes and potential sensitivities. Including that as an optional page at the end of your script shows awareness of the larger ecosystem your play will enter.
Learning from existing plays
Read and watch plays. Engage with them and ask yourself questions about what you’ve seen. How do they start scenes? How do they end them? How do they manage large casts or shift between humour and seriousness?
When you explore catalogues like Gitelman & Good’s, pay attention to how often the most effective scripts are also the most practical. You will notice patterns
- Clear central situations that you can describe in a sentence
- Roles that feel exciting for students across a range of experience
Use those insights as reference points, not rules. Your voice and your community will bring something new to the stage.
Final thoughts
Writing your first play is not about proving you are a genius… It’s about building a story that can stand up in rehearsal, support a group of actors, and connect with an audience sitting a few feet away.
Move through the steps above and keep production realities in mind. Stay open to what you learn in the room. If you do, you’ll already be doing what working playwrights do.
And if you are writing for schools or youth theatres, remember that every good script is also a learning space. The words you put on the page will give young artists their first experience of what theatre can be. That is a responsibility. It is also a real gift!
Go deeper
If you’re looking to go deeper, Gitelman & Good also publishes The Playwriting Curriculum by Dr. Andrew Black, a classroom-tested guide designed specifically for high school writers and teachers. Built around practical exercises, ensemble thinking, and production-aware craft, it complements the principles above by giving students a clear, supportive path from first idea to finished ten-minute play.