(Overlapping)

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > FORMAT > FORMAT EXAMPLE > OVERLAPPING

When you want to show that two or more characters are speaking at the same time, use the (Overlapping) Character s.d. under the name of the second of the pair doing this.

				LARKIN
	You didn't have to do that.  Say that.  You didn't.  It 
	wasn't called for.  You could have had some ... 
	consideration, some ...

				JOAN
			(Overlapping)
	Oh, it's my job to pretend you're this sensitive little bunch
	of petals? This dainty little Black-eyed Susan ...

You can use lots of variants to accomplish the same thing. We'll get the message as long as the phrase you use suggests the point you're trying to make. Some options . . .

(At the same time)
(Riding over)
(Simultaneously)

In the old days when playwrights used typewriters, another option was one Lanford Wilson popularized: running dialogue of the two overlapping characters side-by-side down the page. But to get a typical word processing program to do this, you'll need to read the manual and the result is probably not worth the time needed to figure out how to make it work. That's why the (Overlapping) stage direction is the typical choice today.

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