How Writing for the Stage Differs from Writing for the Screen

Two major aspects that differ between on-stage plays and screenplays are the language and the environment, says author, instructor, director, and screenwriter John Henry Davis. Language is often more important in a play, while screenplays are not as dense and textured in terms of their language. The scenery on stage is usually not naturalistic – the audience has to imagine some things that are not there, along with imagining events that have happened or are currently happening off stage. A screenwriter...