#1: I believe that the format of a play is different from that of a movie.  First of all, am i right,and if so, what is the difference?

#2:If I wanted to write a musical that uses real songs all from the same band, (i.e. "Mamma Mia" "We Will Rock You") do i need permission of the band before I begin to write first?  Well, not necessarily write but post it on here.

Thanks,
Tyler

Well if you're only going to write it NO. But if you're going to make it and show it to people YES you do.

well, I think you may have misunderstood me, I know that I can write it but can I post it on the site when I am done writing it.  Im glad you helped me clear that up.

Plays are a slightly different format.

Here's a play I wrote which recently had a successful three month run in a Childrens' Theater:

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22008553/

This play may be corny and overly preachy near the end; however, it's that way on purpose to fill certain needs for its intended audience ... and they loved it!

Im sure that was cool, to see something of yours acted out and warmly recieved.  I was looking at the format, is it supposed to be all on the left side like that, or was that automatically done by the website? Thanks alan.

Yeah, it was much easier to watch than to write.  Plus, the kids would always smile at the end, and that was nice.

That web-site aligned it to the left.  In all three times when something of mine was produced for the stage, the directors were friends of mine, so I really don't know if there's a right format for play scripts.  It's something I should learn.

There is a proper play format. Here's the gist of what I've read on it, both information and plays for a theatre I worked with for a little while.

The margins are 1".

The Scenes are numbered and left justified, and depending on the scope of the play, they may or may not have a location description.
Kind of like this: Scene 1
And that's it, although if there are multiple sets, you might have:
Scene 1. Bob's House.
Capitalization is not required, though not a bad idea. Some will bold face. Some will cap. Some will underline. Some will italicize.
If you have a scene break, it needs to be triple-spaced.

Descriptions go in parenthesis 1" from the margin, and unlike screenplays, you are allowed to be a lot more specific in regards to movement and scenery. This is not to say the director won't scrap it all and do what he wants anyway...you can just do it more allowably in a playscript.

Dialogue headers can either be center-justified or you can use the 2.2" spacing as in a screenplay. The names are capitalized. The dialogue, however, is left justified and runs from one side of the page clear to the other. Since the drama in plays comes from the dialogue, there tends to be a lot more of it. See the correlation? In screenplays, images should dominate, so they're left-justified and run from one side to the other.

A play will generally be divided into two acts for a full-length and the act headers are centered and capialized.

If you do a musical, the sung lines are all capitalized in the dialogue, kind of like this:

       ED
I feel a song coming on.

       HENRY
You're not serious.

       ED
I am.
I FEEL LIKE SINGING A SONG!

       HENRY
Please don't. I beg of you.

       ED
I can't stop.
IF I DON'T SING IT OUT TODAY
HER MEMORY WILL MAKE ME PAY

And so on...

okay, thanks.  that will definetely be useful.  But does anyone know if I could post a musical on here with songs that aren't mine?

Post on here? Sure. Fan fiction is just as legal as borrowed music. Can you sell it? I'd say you'll have just as many buyers as the fan fiction gets.

haha. Okay sweet, that clears that up.  Thanks for your help.