As someone who has never written a script, "Interior: Hotel Room - Day" left me wondering why this isn't too sparse? I can think of a thousand different hotel rooms - from "Hot l Baltimore" to the suite in "Pretty Woman." Each would impact on a scene. Just wondering. Ir would the room type simply be self-evident by the dialogue?
Unless the set has to be super specific for some reason (to set the exact time or items become key to the plot) it’s generally best to leave the directions more general.
Why?
Theatres have their own requirements. They may be limited by space. Some stages have some funky angles. They may be very wide or very deep. Actors may have to enter from the audience. The audience might be on two sides, or three sides like a horseshoe. Or it's theater-in-the-round. The theatre might be outdoors or in a cafe.
Budget is another concern. If you insist upon an elaborate 13th Century palace correct to the tiniest detail, lots of theatres will pass on your play no matter how great it is.
Trust me, a major consideration in a theatre doing your play is how expensive or demanding it is. They’re much more receptive to say a living room set they can just repaint and redress than having to build Versailles.
Can you do the whole play on one set? Or two? Some playwrights write very fluid scripts with lots of quick scenes, but the sets are just suggested by a piece of furniture or a light cue. COME FROM AWAY ingeniously just uses chairs to act as their many sets. Look for way more community and regional theatre productions of COME FROM AWAY than LES MISERABLE.
And finally, theatres like to be creative. They like to devise their own set designs. As long as it doesn’t detract from the narrative of the play I say go for it. I enjoy seeing multiple productions of my plays with different sets. And some I’ve seen have really been eye-popping. They add a whole new layer to the play.
As a playwright, your objective is to get as many theatres wanting to produce your play as possible. You sure don’t want to be blown out of contention on page one by insisting your set be an exact replica of King Tut’s bathhouse.
from By Ken Levine
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