Year 6 English: Reading a play: stage directions, speakers and conventions
Part of the Year 6 English reading fiction and plays chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Reading a play: stage directions, speakers and conventions
A play is written as dialogue. Each line starts with the speaker's name in capitals. Stage directions, in brackets, tell the actors how to move, speak and feel. They help the reader to imagine the scene.
An original short play extract, with stage directions in brackets.
MAYA: Grandma, is the well really magic? Dad says it is only an old well full of rainwater.
GRANDMA (smiling, and stirring a pot): Magic is a funny word, Maya. Some people say it grants wishes. Others say it only keeps the wishes safe until they are ready.
ROCO (leaning over the stone edge, and grinning): I'm going to wish for a bike, a red one with a bell.
MAYA (pulling him back by his jumper): Careful! You might fall in.
GRANDMA (quietly, to herself): The well listens to the honest wish, and it is patient with the rest.
(Roco turns, looks at the well, and then at Maya. He is silent for a moment.)
ROCO: I think I'll wish for you to be happy, Maya. The bike can wait until another day, and it will still be there.
Key ideas
- A play lists the speakers by name, in capitals, before each line.
- Stage directions are in brackets, and describe movement, tone or feeling.
- Stage directions help the reader imagine the scene, as the audience would see it.
Method. Read the stage direction in brackets, and say what it tells the actor.
- Find the direction. The direction is quietly, to herself.quietly, to herself
- Explain the meaning. It tells the actor to speak softly, as if thinking aloud.speak softly
- Write the answer. speak quietly, as if to herself
Check. The stage direction shows how to speak. ✓
Method. Find the stage direction and the line that follows.
- Find the direction. He is silent for a moment.silent for a moment
- Explain the meaning. The silence shows Roco is thinking, before he changes his wish.thinking
- Write the answer. he is thinking, and has changed his mind
Check. The silence shows Roco is thinking. ✓
Method. Look for the speaker's name before the line.
- Find the line. Careful! You might fall in. is the line.Careful!
- Find the speaker. The name before the line in capitals is MAYA.MAYA
- Write the answer. MAYA
Check. Maya speaks the line. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: the stage directions are not spoken. Read them as instructions that show the scene, not as lines for the speakers.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to read the play extract aloud, with a different voice for each speaker, and to follow the stage directions.
Exercise 10E Practice: plays and stage directions
Method. Find the words in the text that answer the question.
- Find the words in the text. Scan the text for the detail the question asks about.smiling, and stirring a pot
- Check the answer. The stage direction says who is stirring the pot.Grandma
- Write the answer. Grandma
Check. The text states this detail. ✓
Watch out. Copy the detail from the text, and do not guess.
Method. Find the line that Roco speaks.
- Find the line. Roco says he will wish for a bike.wish for a bike
- Copy the words. The words are a bike.a bike
- Write the answer. a bike
Check. Roco wishes for a bike. ✓
Method. Find the speaker's name before the line.
- Find the line. Careful! You might fall in. is the line.Careful!
- Find the speaker. The name before it is MAYA.MAYA
- Write the answer. MAYA
Check. MAYA speaks the line. ✓
Method. Think about who the words are for.
- Find the direction. Quietly, to herself means she is not speaking to the others.not to the others
- Explain the effect. The words are a private thought, which the audience hears.a private thought
- Write the answer. It shows that Grandma is thinking privately, and her words are not meant for the others
Check. The direction shows a private thought. ✓
Method. Read the stage direction.
- Find the direction. Roco turns, looks at the well, and then at Maya.looks at the well
- Explain the meaning. He is thinking, and then turns to Maya.thinking
- Write the answer. He is thinking about what he wants to say, and he changes his mind about his wish.
Check. The direction shows he is thinking. ✓
Method. Count the different names before the lines.
- Count the names. MAYA, GRANDMA and ROCO speak.MAYA, GRANDMA, ROCO
- Write the number. There are three speakers.three
- Write the answer. three
Check. Three different names speak. ✓
Method. Think about the actors and the audience.
- Think about the actors. Actors need to know how to move and speak.how to move and speak
- Think about the reader. Readers imagine the scene from the directions.imagine the scene
- Write the answer. To tell the actors how to move, speak and feel, and to help the audience imagine the scene.
Check. Stage directions guide the actors and help the reader. ✓
Method. Look for a word that warns.
- Find the warning word. Careful is the warning word.Careful
- Check. Careful warns that something could go wrong.warns
- Write the answer. Careful
Check. Careful is a warning. ✓
Method. Find the words in the text that answer the question.
- Find the words in the text. Scan the text for the detail the question asks about.The well listens to the honest wish
- Check the answer. The text says what the well does.listens
- Write the answer. listens
Check. The text states this detail. ✓
Watch out. Copy the detail from the text, and do not guess.
Method. Think about what the myth explains.
- Find the explanation. The myth explains why the Moon is soft and gentle.why the Moon shines softly
- Name it. A myth often explains a natural thing.natural thing
- Write the answer. The myth explains why the Moon shines softly
Check. The myth explains a natural thing. ✓
Method. Think about how a myth begins.
- Look at the opening. Long ago tells the reader the story is old.long ago
- Name the convention. Myths often begin in a time long ago.a time long ago
- Write the answer. A myth is set in a time long ago, so the reader knows it is an old story.
Check. A myth begins in a time long ago. ✓