ABSTRACT
Traditional stage directions are written by the playwright to inform readers of time period, set considerations, production requirements, stage action, blocking, entrances and exits, line interpretations, and, in some cases, the style and tone of the play. They offer guidance and inspiration to the creative team and are not written to be spoken aloud in a full production. Stage directions are formatted differently from the dialogue, usually in italics and often in parentheses. George Bernard Shaw's lengthy stage directions read like essays. Other writers describe blocking extensively. Some playwrights specify how certain lines should be interpreted by placing an adverb before a line of dialogue such as 'adoringly' or 'suspiciously'. Harold Pinter is notorious for stipulating every pause actors should take between lines. Many playwrights write novelistic, poetic, or unconventional stage directions, which pose challenges for Readings. Historically, stage directions in published scripts were taken from the stage manager's prompt book.
