Question

In plays, why does authors include directions such as “after a pause” and “with a sideways glance”?

Answer 1

To add detail


To create tension


To direct the actors


To set the stage

Answer 2

Well, think about it:

You're not going to say "after a pause" or "with a sideways glance", so it's not detail, right?

Answer 3

And though the actors doing it might cause tension, what is it REALLY doing? Certainly not setting the stage.

Answer 4

So what's the true option?

Answer 5

They do this to both direct the actors, remind themselves of details in the script, but also for something more. They do this much of the time so that the actors playing the parts will get a sense of the scene and the intricacies of the parts they are playing so that they may improvise correctly and feed off of one another in a direction that correlates well to the direction the work is going.

Answer 6

to direct the actors