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Theatre Arts for Advanced Secondary Schools

of the story and choosing the language for telling the story to the audience. When
the scriptwriting process comes to an end, it is the performance that brings the
script to life.

FOR ONLINE READING ONLY
Activity 2.1

Search for various scripts for stage, radio and screen from online sources, and
then write down the title of each script and highlight elements of each format.

Exercise 2.1

You have been asked to participate in a presentation during an opening
ceremony of a scriptwriters’ club at your school. Prepare a five-minute
presentation on the distinction between a script and scriptwriting.

Emergence and development of scriptwriting
The art of scriptwriting did not emerge from a vacuum. It can be traced back
in early days when human beings began to struggle to record their actions. The
available evidence shows that writing arose earlier in five places in the world.
These are Mesopotamia ca. 3200 BC, China ca. 1250 BC, Egypt ca. 400 BC,
Mesoamerica ca. 650 BC and Persian Gulf ca.3400 BC. The reason for their
emergence varied across countries. The archaeological discoveries indicate that
writings emerged for reasons of keeping record, economic communication,
religious and administrative purpose. For example, writing which began with
pictographs (picture words) drawn into clay with a pointed tool in Persian Gulf
in 3400 BC was used to keep record of food, workers and groups associated with
religious festival.

In Tanzania, Kondoa Irangi is an example of sites where pictorial writings
which aimed at keeping record of socio-economic and cultural activities that the
community was engaged in are found. The discovery of Alphabet by Greek in
800 BC became the foundation for writing systems of many languages including
European languages. This writing discovery made possible the emergence of
scripts for various purposes that later became popular and available in many
media including stage, radio and screen. There is popular belief that the art of

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