Creating a Script from a Piece of Literature

Making a script for your Interpretive Speech will take time, but it is not as hard as it might seem. After choosing a piece of literature for Interp, you will need to type the text of your piece into script format.  You will want to include dialog and any necessary narration.  Cut any words, phrases, or sentences that you do not want to use in your script.

You are allowed to change pronouns, such as I to you or he, and change a verb’s tense, such as bring to brought, to facilitate the interpretation as needed.  Dialogue from one character may be given to another character.  You may be able to add your own words as an introduction or for clarification, but be sure to check the “Stoa Speech Rules” and your Speech Category for details about the number of words you may add for your particular speech. All added words must be underlined as in the introduction in the script below right.

We have included an example below for you to see how the text of a literary piece is transformed into a script. In the left column is shown the straight text of the story and in the right column is a script we have created from the text, including an introduction. The columns displayed here are used for instructional purposes only–your script will be a stand-alone document.

Script Example