Extras

Extras and minor characters are everywhere. They are the COPS that surround the mansion. They are the LAWYERS that confer around a long table. They are the BAILIFF that holds up a pearl-handled pistol. They are the REPORTERS that stand on the steps outside the courtroom. They are the NURSES and DOCTORS hurrying down the corridors of Mercy Heart General Hospital.

Whenever a new character is introduced in a script, their name is all-capped, yes? So that when STELLA MERINGUE walks up the courtroom steps, you know it. But extras should be capped as well. Because when Stella walks into that courtroom in her mink coat, red dress and stiletto heels, all of the MEN stop and stare. And as Stella descends the courtroom steps hours later, PHOTOGRAPHERS jostle one another for the best view. And suddenly, when something unexpected happens – the CROWD gasps.

All-capping extras is a little thing, a format thing and the failure to do so will not reap a PASS for your script – but all-capping extras is the norm and whenever your script can be clear, concise and format-friendly, it helps the read go more smoothly. And this is definitely a plus for you, the writer.

Now, what happens if there are several NURSES and they are going to have dialogue? You can either number them, NURSE #1, NURSE #2, NURSE #3, or you might even say FAT NURSE, OLD NURSE, JITTERY NURSE. Use one method or the other. In my opinion, I would use the more descriptive method if these extras are going to have bits of dialogue that goes back and forth or happens more than once in the sequence.

So let’s take this for a test drive.

A hysterical Stella Meringue is wheeled into the emergency room of Mercy Heart General:

NURSE #1: Hoo, that ankle is the size of a cantaloupe.
NURSE #2: Told you she shoulda wore flats. Like my orthopedics.
NURSE #1: That would looked real nice with her dress, you idiot.
NURSE #3: Shut up you two, and get five pounds of ice and a tourniquet!

It works but notice how keeping track of the nurse’s numbers gets slightly confusing? My friend Dan, a fellow writer and consultant, once told me a hysterical story which if I repeat here in its entirety will annoy him but it culminated with a main character actually speaking to a numbered extra character thusly:

Stella: Over my dead body, NURSE #2!

If we give the extras a descriptor rather than numbers, their conversation is a little easier to follow:

FAT NURSE: The lord works in mysterious ways to humble the prideful.
JITTERY NURSE: You learn that in Sunday school? You always been jealous.
FAT NURSE: She’s a murderin’ tramp!
OLD NURSE: Shut up you two and get a bucket of ice.

See? Much easier to keep the nurses straight.

I recently read a script in which several members of a meeting, with dialogue, are identified as ANOTHER MEMBER, ANOTHER MEMBER, ANOTHER MEMBER – creating much dissatisfaction and confusion on my part. It wasn’t a significant scene and yet it is discombobulating to not understand who is speaking and when we’ve moved on to another extra.

So remember, Rouge Wavers, to all-cap your extras and if they need to speak or in any way be further identified, just number them or give them pithy descriptions. As with everything in screenwriting, just as long as it’s clear, you’re good.

As for Stella, she is recovering nicely in the federal pen where she has become the reigning ping-pong champion of cell block H. The INMATES treat her well and the WELCOMING COMMITTEE gave her an attractive set of prison-issue orthopedic shoes.

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