Audio Drama Script Format (with Example and Template)

The elements of an audio drama script

There is no single standard, but most audio and radio drama scripts share the same building blocks. Conventions vary between studios and broadcasters, so treat the table as a common pattern, not a rulebook. The third column says how AudioDrama deals with each element.

The key difference is that a human cast and sound team can interpret a cue like FX: Engine idling. A text-to-speech tool will just read it. So the version you paste into the generator is a stripped-down version of the full script.

An annotated example in traditional layout

This is a short scene in the traditional layout:

THE LAST BUS HOME

CAST
  MIRA - a night-shift nurse
  DRIVER - the last bus driver

SCENE 1. INTERIOR. A BUS, NIGHT.

FX: Engine idling. Rain on the roof.

MIRA: (tired) Is this the last one?
DRIVER: (gently) It is, love. Sit anywhere you like.
MUSIC: Low piano, fades under.
MIRA: (to herself) Anywhere. Right.

What each part does:

• Title and cast tell the production who is needed. They are not spoken.
• The scene heading tells the director where and when. In audio drama the listener learns it from the Narrator or from the dialogue, because there is nothing to see.
• FX: and MUSIC: are instructions to the sound team.
• Parentheticals like (tired) are instructions to the actor.

The same scene in AudioDrama format

Here is that scene as AudioDrama reads it. It is 208 bytes with speaker tags, so at least 14 seconds of credit.

Narrator: Scene one. Inside the last bus of the night.
Mira [tired]: Is this the last one?
Driver [gently]: It is, love. Sit anywhere you like.
Mira [quiet, to herself]: Anywhere. Right.

What changed, and why:

• The title and cast list are gone. They are not part of the spoken script.
• The scene heading became one Narrator line, so the listener hears where we are.
• The FX: and MUSIC: lines were removed. Add that audio in an editor afterwards.
• Round-bracket directions became square-bracket directions, and moved after the name.
• Capitals were dropped from the names, which is fine as long as they are consistent.

To turn longer scripts into this format, follow the conversion steps on script to audio.

The rules the parser follows

AudioDrama reads one line at a time. These are the exact rules:

• A line is a turn. Blank lines are ignored.
• Speaker format: Name: line or Name [direction]: line. The name can be up to five words and 40 characters, and cannot contain colons, square brackets, angle brackets or pipe characters.
• One bracket group before the colon. Name [angry] [fast]: line is not recognised as a speaker line. Write Name [angry, fast]: line, or move the second direction after the colon.
• No name, no speaker. A line with no Name: is read by the Narrator.
• Directions inside lines go in square brackets: [short pause]. Wrap one word in <emphasis> tags to stress it.
• Limits: 16 characters per script (the Narrator counts), 6,000 characters, 9,000 bytes per job.

Mistakes that change the result

FX: Engine idling.
MIRA: (tired) Is this the last one?
Mira: [tired] Is this the last one?

Those three lines produce three separate speakers: FX, MIRA and Mira. The first line is a sound cue that would be spoken, the second keeps its parenthetical as spoken text, and the third is the correct form, but spelled differently from the second.

Copyable template

Copy this skeleton and replace the capitals. It is 285 bytes before you fill it in; as you write, the app shows you the size of your script.

Narrator: SET THE SCENE IN ONE OR TWO SHORT SENTENCES.
CHARACTER ONE [HOW THEY SAY IT]: Their first line.
CHARACTER TWO [HOW THEY SAY IT]: Their reply, with [a short pause] in the middle.
CHARACTER ONE: A line with no direction at all.
Narrator: A closing line that moves the story on.

Notes on using it:

• Delete any line you do not need. A scene can be two characters and a single Narrator line.
• Keep every direction short and specific. See text to speech with emotions for directions to try.
• Generate one scene per script. If you are planning a whole episode, read how to make an audio drama.