Dialogue. Dialogue is conversation involving two or more people or characters. Plays are made up of dialogue and stage directions. In a play, dialogue appears after the names of characters. As you begin to read, pay attention to what parts of the play are actual speech between characters.
Stage Directions. Stage directions are notes included in a play or script to describe how something should look, sound, or be performed. Often stage directions appear in parentheses and italic type to set them apart from dialogue. While dialogue is made up of the words delivered aloud on stage, stage directions are not read or delivered aloud and are intended as notes for the director and actors.
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• Applied English Connection. Screenwriters put to paper the words that form the basis of movies and television shows. First, a screenwriter creates an outline describing the plot of the film or show in one or two pages. Then a screenwriter writes what is called a treatment, or a more full detailed description of the film or television show containing dialogue. Finally, the screenwriter writes the actual screenplay. Screenplays consist of dialogue, or the words actors speak, as well as stage directions describing actions, settings, or the way something is performed. Unlike traditional dramas or plays, screenplays may also include instructions about how the camera should move or how the film should be edited. In the Fog is a screenplay. As you read, you will discover instructions about how the camera should move and what it should film.
• American History Connection. The screenplay you are about to read is set at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This place was the site of one of the most bloody American Civil War battles. The Civil War was fought between the northern states, known as the Union, and the southern states, known as the Confederacy. The Civil War took place between 1861 and 1865, and the Battle of Gettysyburg took place from July 1 to July 3, 1863. Although the battle was an important victory for the Union, many soldiers of both sides died during the three days of fighting. President Lincoln dedicated a soldiers’ cemetery at Gettysburg and gave his famous Gettysburg Address there.
As you read the beginning of the play, keep track in a chart like the one below of what is dialogue and what are stage directions. Focus on that part of the play from the doctor’s first words to the bottom of the page.
Write about a time when you were frightened by something you heard or saw at night.
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