A parenthetical is a short note in parentheses, on its own line between a character cue and the dialogue, that tells the reader how a line is delivered, who it is aimed at or what the speaker does while saying it. Screenwriters use them sparingly: the dialogue and the action around it should carry the scene, and a parenthetical fills only the gap they leave.
This guide covers how a parenthetical in a screenplay is formatted, what (beat) means, the jobs a parenthetical does well, the habits that weaken a script and how to turn an over-directed speech back into a clean one. For the rest of the page — cues, dialogue, transitions — see the screenplay format guide.
How to format a parenthetical
A parenthetical always lives inside a speech. It goes directly under the character cue, or between two lines of dialogue from the same speaker, and never after the last line of a speech. The conventions are few and strict:
- Lower case, inside round brackets, with no full stop at the end: (quietly), not (Quietly.).
- Its own line, indented about 3.1 inches from the left edge of the page — narrower than dialogue, so it reads as a note rather than speech.
- Short. A parenthetical that wraps past two lines is usually action in disguise.
- No blank line before or after it. Cue, parenthetical and dialogue form one block.
NIKO (to the waiter) Two coffees. Black. (to Ines) You still take it black? INES I never took it black.
In that sample the parentheticals change the target of the line mid-speech. Without them, a reader could not tell that the first sentence is for the waiter and the second for Ines — the one case where a note in brackets is the clearest tool available.
What does (beat) mean in a script?
(Beat) in a script marks a short pause inside a speech: the character stops, something shifts, then they carry on. It is the most common parenthetical of all, and it works best when the reader can feel why the speaker stopped.
ODILE The key was in the drawer. I put it there myself. (beat) Who else knew about the drawer?
Here the pause is the moment Odile starts to suspect someone. That is a beat doing its job: it divides two thoughts. Do not confuse it with the larger sense of beat, the smallest unit of change in a scene or a story — the turn a beat sheet maps across a whole film. Both meanings come from the same idea, a moment where something turns.
If a pause matters more than a line, it often reads better as action. A line such as "She looks at the drawer. Then at him." gives the actor and the reader an image, where (beat) gives only a gap.
When to use a parenthetical
A parenthetical earns its place when the line would be misread without it. Four jobs come up again and again:
Saying who a line is for
In a scene with three or more people, (to Ines) or (into the phone) removes doubt about the target. This is the least controversial use, and editors rarely cut it.
Flipping the obvious reading
When the words point one way and the meaning another, a single word can save the joke or the threat. "Lovely weather" during a downpour needs nothing; "I'm fine" from a character who has just been fired may need (meaning it), if the scene depends on her surprising us by being genuinely fine.
A small action tied to the line
(pocketing the ring) or (without looking up) keeps a gesture inside the speech so it lands on the right word. If the action is bigger than a few words, or other characters react to it, it belongs in an action line instead.
Language, volume and medium
(in French), (whispering) or (reading) tell the reader something the words on the page cannot. If a whole scene is in another language, say so once in action rather than repeating it under every cue.
Wrylies and why readers skim them
A wryly is a parenthetical that only names an emotion or a tone — (wryly), (sadly), (angrily). The word is a mild insult from script readers, and it points at the most common way parentheticals go wrong.
Wrylies tell the actor how to feel instead of giving them a reason to. If the dialogue is angry, (angrily) adds nothing; if the dialogue is not angry, the word will not make it so. Actors and directors tend to ignore them, and readers take a page full of them as a sign that the writer does not trust the scene.
The fix is almost always in the lines or the action. Here is a speech that leans on wrylies:
CALLUM (nervously) So. The test results. (sadly) They're not good, are they?
And the same moment with the feeling moved into what we see and hear:
Callum smooths the envelope flat. Doesn't open it. CALLUM So. The test results. (beat) You've already read them.
The envelope he will not open shows the nerves. The last line, a statement rather than a question, carries the dread without being told. The single (beat) survives because it marks the moment he realizes.
Common parenthetical mistakes
- Putting a parenthetical at the end of a speech. Anything that happens after the last line is action.
- Stacking two parentheticals without dialogue between them. Combine them, or move one to action.
- Writing camera or blocking directions — (CLOSE ON her hands) is a shot, not a parenthetical.
- Using a parenthetical for a character extension. V.O., O.S. and CONT'D go after the name on the cue line, not underneath it.
- Using them on every speech. A good rough test: if you can cover the parenthetical with your thumb and the line still plays, cut it.
The Screenplay Museum's The Interview is a one-page scene that leans on subtext instead of directions; read it to see how little a speech needs when the words are doing the work.
Write it in Scenaloom
In Scenaloom's screenplay editor, type "(" on an empty speech line and the line becomes a parenthetical, set in its own 16-to-40-character column. Enter takes you from the parenthetical to dialogue, and Tab on an empty line switches between dialogue and parenthetical, so you never set an indent by hand. The PDF export uses the same layout, and you can start a script on the Free plan.
Questions
What is a parenthetical in a screenplay?
A parenthetical in a screenplay is a brief direction in round brackets placed under a character's name and above or within their dialogue. It tells the reader who a line is addressed to, a small action that goes with it or how it is delivered. It is written in lower case on its own line and kept to a few words.
What does (beat) mean in a script?
(Beat) in a script means a short pause inside a character's speech — a moment where the speaker stops, something registers, and then they continue. It works best when the reader can sense what changed during the pause. If the pause is long or important, describing what the character does in an action line is often stronger than (beat).
What is a wryly?
A wryly is a parenthetical that only names a tone or emotion, such as (wryly), (sadly) or (sarcastic). Script readers use the word critically, because these notes tell the actor what to feel instead of writing dialogue and action that make the feeling clear. Most wrylies can be cut without losing anything.
How many parentheticals should a screenplay have?
There is no fixed number, but many readers expect only a handful per scene at most, and many speeches with none at all. Use one when a line would be misread without it — to show who is being addressed, a small action timed to a word, or a reading that runs against the words. If the line plays the same without it, cut it.
Can a parenthetical go at the end of dialogue?
No — a parenthetical never ends a speech. It sits under the character cue or between two lines of the same character's dialogue. Anything that happens after the speaker's final line is written as an action line under the speech, at the full width of the page.