Lazy Bee Scripts
Script Formatting

This Only Applies If...

You have submitted a publication query and we have invited you to submit your text.

We will only consider plays submitted in any of the following File Formats

• Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)
• Rich Text (.rtf)
• OpenOffice text (.odt)
• Text (.txt)

We will only consider music submitted in any of the following File Formats

• Sibelius (.sib)
• Finale Music XML Export (.musx)
• Enigma Transportable Format (.etf)
• Midi (.mid)

Script Submission Checklist

Before submitting your text, please ensure that you can answer yes to all the applicable questions:-

• Is the play title at the top of the first page?
• Is the author's name immediately below the title?
• Is there a list of characters before the main body of the text?
• Is everything (except musical scores) in one document?
• Has the text been checked for possible infringements of copyright and trademarks?
• For a script including verse: have you checked that it conforms to our iconoclastic rules?
• For a script with musical scores: Do the lyrics in the score match the lyrics in the text?
• For a script with musical scores: Is the music in a format we can handle?
• For a script suggesting the use of music or songs from third parties, has the text been checked for possible infringements of copyright?
• For a script containing options for localisation: are they clearly indicated in the text?
• Are stage directions clearly differentiated from speeches?
• Are your character names consistent throughout the script?
• Are all the characters who appear in the script present in the character list?
• For realistic drama, have you checked that the character names match their ages?
• Are your Acts and Scenes numbered and formatted consistently?
• Has your text been proof-read and corrected?
• Have you run a spell-checker and corrected your text?

Optional Extras

In addition to the text, we will publish anything else that is likely to be helpful to a producer. (Since the producer is likely to be the person responsible for the choice of script, helping the producer is a wise move.)
If we accept the script for publication, we may ask you to provide production notes.  So, if you have any of the following, please include them in a production notes section at the end of your script.

• Descriptions of the characters (the sort of brief which could be handed out before auditions, to give potential cast members some idea of characterisation)
• A list of props (preferably scene by scene, indicating how the prop arrives on stage - on stage from the start of the scene or carried on by a (specified) character
• A description of the sets. This could include a diagram if the specific stage layout is essential to the plot.  (Stage diagrams should be high-resolution, scaleable graphics.)
• Suggested songs or incidental music
• Lighting plot (if specific lighting is essential to the plot - if it's just "on" and "off", then a lighting plot is unnecessary!)
• Sound effects plot
• Song lyrics if you have written new lyrics to existing music

House Style

Lazy Bee Scripts has a house style (a set of formatting rules for scripts).  At this stage in the process, we don't insist that you apply it;  what we need at this stage is a script that is readable and consistently formatted.
However

• The house style may give you some guidance as to what issues you need to consider in the presentation of your script
• If we accept the script for publication, we may ask you to make changes to bring it closer to the house style (because that way we will be able to format it without introducing mistakes!)

Things to avoid

• Don't include photographs of previous shows in your script (amongst other things, it makes the files too big)
• Don't enclose speeches in quotation marks. We know they're spoken, that's what makes a script!