THE PARENTHETICAL
MAD, SAD, OR GLAD.
This is probably the most overworked and misunderstood convention in screenwriting, especially by
new writers who aren’t sure whether the dialogue they’ve written has the proper impact when read.
The simple rule of thumb is to use the parenthetical to indicate emotional tone, that is, mad,
sad, glad, only when it’s not clear what the proper tone should be for the dialogue. This is very true
when one character is being sarcastic . . .
JOE
(sarcastic)
I love you too.
Or is teasing another character . . .
JOE
(tease)
I love you too.
This tells the actor and the audience how to read this line that has a whole other meaning in another
context.
It’s always best to try to capture the true emotion in the words, content, and rhythm of the dialogue
instead of using the parenthetical as a crutch.
One notable exception is to use the parenthetical as a shortcut for stage directions. In a speech, the
character may be talking to several other characters. So you would use the parenthetical like this:
JOE
I’m not sure what to do.
(to Jack)
What do you think?
(to Sue)
Didn’t you have this problem last year?
