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Write A Play And Get It Performed: Radio

by Lesley Bown and Ann Gawthorpe

Writing for radio gives the opportunity of writing about anything, set anywhere and featuring anybody. It is an intimate form of drama, allowing the listener to use their imagination, and, unlike stage plays, it can also allow the listener to hear the innermost thoughts of the characters. However, the more surreal the plot the more important it is to take your listeners with you and to give them enough information for them to imagine what is happening in the amazing world you are creating.

Radio plays should follow the basic rules of dramatic construction – the added element, which the writer must take into account, is that all the information received by the listener is through their ears. There are five ways of giving them this information: dialogue, sound effects, background atmosphere, music and silence. It is not enough, however, to write a stage play and then bolt on some explanatory dialogue and a couple of sound effects. The writer should embrace the medium and use sound to flesh-out characters, move the plot forward and set the scene.

It isn’t necessary to use all five elements in every play but it is the way these elements are woven together which allows the listener to create the pictures in their imagination.


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